Spring is officially here! And if you are like me, you're ready to get outdoors and shed off your cabin fever. Tulips are popping out of the ground...birds are returning to roost...and the world is waking up from its winter slumber. And I just can help wanting to be outside, especially on a cool, spring evening.
When I was a kid, I use to bundle up in a blanket and watch the stars from my parents' front porch. Those quiet evenings have stayed with me all my life. To this day, I still remember the names of constellations, my first shooting star and the night I stayed up to 2 AM to watch my first lunar eclipse. It is a moment I'll never forget.
But for me, it was more than a learning experience - in the textbook kind of way. They were nights that allowed my imagination to roam, to think about the world around me and my place in it. "Way up there is the moon...and someone as actually walked on it!" The realization still takes my breath away. Looking back on those nights, one thing that I have learned is that kids contemplate too - just as much as an adult does. "What do I want to be when I grow up?" "What is my place in this world?" And it's these experiences and emotions that help shape them into the people they will grow up to be.
So...here's my suggestion. Take the time to let you kids experience the stars and to wonder about the world around them. National Astronomy Day falls on April 21, 2007 and is part of the larger Astronomy Week, April 16-22. Go for a walk at night. Sit quietly and stare at the stars. Dream.
Below I have included links to get you started:
http://www.minnesotaplanetarium.org/mnsky.htm
http://www.astronomy.com
--Mindy
When I was a kid, I use to bundle up in a blanket and watch the stars from my parents' front porch. Those quiet evenings have stayed with me all my life. To this day, I still remember the names of constellations, my first shooting star and the night I stayed up to 2 AM to watch my first lunar eclipse. It is a moment I'll never forget.
But for me, it was more than a learning experience - in the textbook kind of way. They were nights that allowed my imagination to roam, to think about the world around me and my place in it. "Way up there is the moon...and someone as actually walked on it!" The realization still takes my breath away. Looking back on those nights, one thing that I have learned is that kids contemplate too - just as much as an adult does. "What do I want to be when I grow up?" "What is my place in this world?" And it's these experiences and emotions that help shape them into the people they will grow up to be.
So...here's my suggestion. Take the time to let you kids experience the stars and to wonder about the world around them. National Astronomy Day falls on April 21, 2007 and is part of the larger Astronomy Week, April 16-22. Go for a walk at night. Sit quietly and stare at the stars. Dream.
Below I have included links to get you started:
http://www.minnesotaplanetarium.org/mnsky.htm
http://www.astronomy.com
--Mindy
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