Education
Our Education Mission is to educate and disseminate credible information and research results to educators and the public so they can review it and share it with others. Reducing Light Pollution and not creating new Light Pollution all starts with education.
One effort in our Educational arena is to develop activities and materials that teachers and other educators can directly use to compliment their lesson plans. The chart below lists items we have developed for general use by anyone who may benefit from them. We are always creating new items so check back frequently or email us to be put on our notification list when we add new items.
Click on the yellow words below to access the materials.
Educational Materials to Compliment Lesson Plans - Light Pollution and Dark Skies Themes
Prepared by the Southern Arizona Chapter of the International DarkSky Association
Please Note: We are always looking for good educational ideas regarding Light Pollution and the importance of Dark Skies. We welcome your suggestions and ideas. Please email us: joe @ sa-ida. org or mail to Southern Arizona Chapter of IDA, PO Box 65126, Tucson, AZ 85728-5126
|
Grades best guess |
Description (minimum time for activity - just a suggestion, can easily often be varied) |
Type of Activity |
Subject/Connections |
Supplies/Equipment |
|
K to 1 |
ED-01* Sea turtle hatchlings - impact on them from outside lights (10 min.) |
Single sheet - coloring page - draw lines on a maze |
Science, puzzles |
crayons or colored pencils for each student |
|
2 to 6 |
ED-02 Light Pollution Catcher Game - fortune teller hand creation ( 20 minutes) View/Download |
Origami folding, play a light pollution game |
Science, following directions |
scissors, one per 4 students |
|
4 to 6 |
ED-03* Experimenting with light hands-on exercise - up to 25 students at a time (30 minutes)-at FUNFEST Nov 2010 |
Discovering how light scatters, reflects, causes light pollution |
Science, optics |
flashlight and a black/white paper card, per student |
|
3 to 6 |
ED-04* USA Lights at Night (30 minutes) |
Identify major cities in the US based on upward light pollution |
Geography |
11x17 poster of USA or use letter size, ea. student |
|
4 to 6 |
ED-05* Shielded Lights put light on the ground (20 minutes - group activity) |
Activity to use a floodlight and discover where light goes |
Ecology, energy savings |
Clip on lamp with and w/o a shield. |
|
4 to 6 |
ED-06 Saving Electricity and Water while Reducing Pollution- calculations - 2 similar Exercises, 5 problems each one (20 to 30 minutes each) Work Sheet Excel Sprd.sheet |
Calculations using addition/multiplication keeping units straight |
Math, Ecology |
Pencil, calculator optional for each student |
|
3 to 6 |
ED-07 "Dark Skies" Video Presentation (16 min. + discussion time) View/Download |
View video, discussion after, basic dark sky concepts |
Ecology, save energy |
Computer to play file |
|
3 to 6 |
ED-08 "Wreaking Havoc" Video Presentation (18 min. + discussion time) View/Download |
View video, discussion after, impact on wildlife |
Ecology, animals |
Computer to play file |
|
2 to 6 |
ED-09 Discussing and Understanding Light Pollution (20 min.) View/Download |
Discussion - Group activity |
Ecology |
small tri-fold brochure for each student- Print/cut 2/page |
|
3 to 6 |
ED-10* Discovering and understanding contrasts - white/black and seeing stars (15 min) |
Learning about contrasts and why you can’t always see stars |
Science |
chalk, black pen, white and black paper, one flashlight |
|
3 to 6 |
ED-11 Bingo using dark sky terms (30 min) View/Save |
Learning about Light Pollution |
Science, Ecology |
bingo sheet, pencil |
|
2 to 6 |
ED-12 CrossWord Puzzle using Light Pollution and Dark Skies Terms (30 min) Entry Level Advanced Level |
Using Light Pollution Terms |
Science, spelling |
crossword puzzle sheet, pencil |
| 1 to 5 |
ED-13 Educational Word Search (15 to 30 minutes) Entry Level Advanced Level |
Using Light Pollution Terms |
Science, spelling | grid with letters, sheet, pencil |
*This material/exercise is currently being developed.