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For my 4th class pupils I would introduce: “Design Your Own Dark Sky Place” project as a fun group activity after we have discussed and become familiar with what Dark Sky places are.
Firstly, we would chat about what a Dark Sky Place is, looking at pictures of places like Mayo Dark Sky Park. We’d talk about why it’s special to have a dark sky and how light at night can affect animals, plants, and people.
Next, the class would split into four teams: Lighting Planners, Stargazers, Park Rangers, and Local People (stakeholders). Each team would think about what their group needs, what would make the park safe, and how to keep it dark for looking at the stars.
Then, we’d make a big map and a colourful brochure for our own Dark Sky Place. We’d add star-viewing spots, animals that come out at night, and ideas for visitors. At the end, each team would share their design and explain how their park helps nature and the community.
Thank you for sharing these resources, Rachel. I’m familiar with many of them but not all. I think we all are engaged through art and music and this would be a great way to engage the children in the topic and promote further discussion and creative action.
1. How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
I’d like to start the topic by engaging the pupils curiosity with photos and sound clips of nocturnal wildlife, then ask: “Do animals and plants notice when the lights are left on at night?”
After discussion, the pupils would survey biodiversity in the school grounds during the day, identifying various mini beasts and plant life and perhaps comparing their findings with citizen science data. We could also go on nature walks in the local area to broaden our search.
Using Globe at Night, we’d measure sky brightness in different locations. We’d link results to how light pollution affects wildlife – moths drawn to lights instead of flowers, birds with disrupted migration, bats avoiding lit areas – and act this out in role-play games.
This would also connect to Science (habitats and life cycles), Maths (recording and graphing data), Visual Arts (dark sky vs light-polluted posters), and Literacy (animal diary entries).
Finally, pupils would design wildlife-friendly lighting solutions, then share their findings and proposals with the whole class/school through a “Dark Sky and Biodiversity” display or poster design.
I really like the idea of using Lego, Alison. I saw a mini-garden made from Lego recently and it was amazing. A great way to build homes for mini beasts in a fun way!
Module 3:
1. Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
Our school is based near Mayo Dark Sky Park but also near to the busy, tourist town of Westport.
We could compare and contrast light pollution in the two different locations in our 4th class.
A general class discussion on the topic could be instigated with photographic examples of pristine night skies and ones with various degrees of light pollution.
I also like the toilet roll challenge produced by Prof. Brian Espey. This could be simplified for the particular class level and the children could record and sketch/photograph their results.
Further discussion about the results and comparing the night skies of the dark sky park and the bustling, illuminated town of Westport could be compared and contrasted.
A light audit could then be performed and posters designed to make awareness of the problems of light pollution and what we can do to reduce the waste of light in our environment which has consequences for our nocturnal animals.
Our school is based in Mayo near the Dark Sky Park. It would be great to do an overnight trip or even introduce the children to the area where they could investigate with their families outside of school hours.
3. Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2025 -2026?
I think this activity would thoroughly engage the pupils in my fourth class classroom and it would be a very pleasant way to start the school day. The children would enjoy the introduction of Paxi and our Moon: Phases and Eclipses videos on YouTube. This would help start fire their imaginations and questioning skills.
Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT to devise a colourful poster – a morning moon watching calendar. The children could compare their observations using the naked eye and binoculars with the data given.ChatGPT produced this table for 2025-2026.
| 📅 **Month** | 📍 **Best Viewing Dates** | 🌕 **Moon Phase** | 🔭 **Visibility** |
| —————- | ————————- | —————– | ————————- |
| 🌾 **September** | 11th – 17th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | High in sky before school |
| 🎃 **October** | 11th – 17th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Clear in early morning |
| 🍂 **November** | 9th – 15th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Great for binoculars! |
| ❄️ **December** | 9th – 15th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Bundle up! Cold but clear |
| ❄️ **January** | 8th – 14th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | New Year stargazing |
| 💕 **February** | 6th – 12th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Spot the crescent! |
| 🌼 **March** | 8th – 14th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Craters and shadows |
| 🐣 **April** | 6th – 12th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Lovely spring skies |
| 🌷 **May** | 6th – 11th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Moon says “Good Morning!” |
| 🌞 **June** | 4th – 10th | 🌖🌗🌘 Waning | Early summer sunrise moon |
They could also have their own lunar diary to sketch and record the lunar phases and compare them throughout the year. Photographs could also be taken uses the school’s iPads.
Our school is based in Westport, in County Mayo so observation would be best in the mornings, even before school commences. I think many of the children will find this novel as they may have heretofore only thought of seeing the moon as a nighttime experience. The lunar phases observed will be waning ones and viewed in the eastern sky. We can also link the phases of the moon to other areas of the curriculum, such as the study of light, objects and their shadows. This could also integrate well with 3D objects in Mathematics. As some follow on activities we could use Esero 62 resource and the websites timeanddate.com and heavens-above.com to consolidate and expand their learning.I had never heard of Stellarium or Skyview either but having looked at them in my browser, I feel confident that the children would be highly engaged with these tools at school and at home.
2. Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed.
We are lucky to have a sensory garden in our school with a nice paved courtyard which would be ideal for creating a communal sundial, especially as the classroom leads out to this area.
To start the lesson, it would be invaluable to show them examples of sundials to engage their attention, spark their imagination, and encourage discussion.
They could work collaboratively in groups using the engineering design process to create their prototype.
I would just have to ensure that this place gets enough sunlight throughout the day. The children could observe this, make notes, and decide on the optimal location. Using a compass, the orientation for the sundial could be ascertained.
As a follow-up activity, the children could make their own sundials using the resource 52 on esero.ie.
Introduction of terminology such as gnomon, etc.
To consolidate their learning, a whole-class discussion on the sundials and how we might improve them could be explored.
It’s a great idea to introduce the concept of sundials to children by exploring ancient civilisations and the people who invented them.
I would like to explore this topic with the class I am going to have in the next academic year (4th) but I will have to simplify and differentiate it for their current level of ability.