Dark Skies, Bright Kids Year 9
Abstract
We present updates from the ninth year of operation of Dark Skies, Bright Kids (DSBK) including new club content, continued assessments, and our seventh annual Star Party. DSBK is an entirely volunteer-run outreach organization based out of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia. Our core mission is to enhance elementary science education and literacy in Virginia through fun, hands-on activities that introduce basic Astronomy concepts. DSBK’s most fundamental program is an 8-10 week long after-school Astronomy camp at surrounding local elementary schools, where each week introduces new concepts through interactive hands-on activities. Over the past two summers, we have traveled to four rural Virginia locations to bring week-long Astronomy camps to otherwise overlooked elementary school districts. These programs aim to inspire a curiosity for science and include inquiry based activities in topics ranging from the electromagnetic spectrum to the classification and evolution of galaxies. We strive to be self-reflective in our mission to inspire scientific curiosity in the minds of underserved demographics. In this effort, we continually assess the effectiveness of each activity through feedback in student-kept journal pages and observed excitement levels. This self-reflection has initiated the development of new curriculum. In addition, differing from our normal collaboration with local elementary schools, we have found great success partnering with local youth organizations, who may better represent DSBK's target demographics and have infrastructure to support incoming outreach groups.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231
- Pub Date:
- January 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AAS...23136001B