[Niamh Price]

Triona thank you so much for posting this list I’m saving it!

I actually love Moran’s Moonlit Shipwreck at Sea. It creates such a strong sense of mystery and atmosphere, and I think it would really capture children’s imaginations and be a great stimulus for drama / creative writing.

[Niamh Price]

How many songs / poems / art to connect us to dark skies?

Poems
• The Night Sky by Val Harris
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s The Light of Stars
• The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

Art
• Peter Paul Rubens’s Landscape by Moonlight.
• Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh (1888)
• The Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle by Jackson Pollock (1943)

Songs
• A sky full of stars by Coldplay
• Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra
• Man on the Moon by R.E.M.
• Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
• Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

The arts are an amazing way of bringing a different perspective to science, and connect the existence of the night sky with our own existence and humanity. I included Pollock’s “The Moon Woman Cuts the Circle” abstract on the list because it reminds me of the abstract nature of space and the composition of the universe. There is so much potential for cross curricular study and exploration when using the Arts.

[Niamh Price]

It’s great to hear about all the work your school is doing towards the Green Schools Biodiversity flag! I completely agree that getting the children involved through surveys and hands-on activities like creating bug hotels is a great way to build awareness and appreciation for biodiversity.

[Niamh Price]

The first thing I would do with my class is a biodiversity study to understand exactly what the bio-landscape of our school grounds is. This would include examining sources of artificial light in the grounds.
We could set up an overnight camera to see if we can pick up on any nocturnal species in the school grounds.
We could then do a class project on the nocturnal species we saw on camera, as well as other nocturnal species we suspect may be there. This information could be presented at assembly and is central to incorporating the needs of nocturnal species in the school biodiversity plan by raising awareness of the needs of these creatures.
We could include a commitment and plan to plant wildflowers for nocturnal pollinators such as moths, and task the green schools committee with making bat boxes and bird boxes. We could also look to see how we can reduce the presence of artificial light in the school at night as part of the plan.

[Niamh Price]

I’ve always wanted to visit the Kerry Dark Sky Reserve, I bet it’s beautiful! It’s crazy to read the difference a short drive from there to your school can make in what is visible due to light pollution. The practical activity for your pupils sounds great too.

[Niamh Price]

I really enjoyed this module. I work in the vicinity of a local football stadium which has a massive amount of floodlights as well as an excessive number of street lights along the paths. There is also a lot of traffic congestion which contributes to light pollution at night from headlights. Some ways learners could be engaged include:
• Field research in our area: surveying how many street lights within a 2km radius of the school. Look at how the light from streetlamps is dispersed (targeted, wide etc)
• Make a planetarium using LED lights to represent streetlights and poked holes in the top of the box to represent stars when a torch is shone. The LED lights will overpower the torch light and this can be used to discuss light pollution.
• Explore a variety of lamps and torches at school to playfully inquire into how light is dispersed, and the different visibility afforded by different bulb wattages. Use this as a springboard to design new streetlamp prototypes

[Niamh Price]

I really like your idea of using Stellarium. I think it would make the lesson much more exciting for the children because they can actually see what’s in the night sky. It’s a great way to bring their learning to life and encourage them to keep looking up and asking questions outside of school too.

[Niamh Price]

I thought out some ideas for observing which planets will be visible in the night sky in autumn. I will be working in the HSCL role in September and plan on engaging children and parents in a project around this topic. I have reserved a number of copies of Collins’ “Children’s Guide to the night sky” through the local library that families can use as a reference. Some ideas for the project include:
• Introducing the website timeanddate.com as a resource which shows the planets that are expected to be visible, where to look and the rise/set times
• Children and parents will keep a small journal where they can colour in planets as they see them and sketch pictures of the night sky at intervals. Journals, pencils and crayon packs will be provided to families.
• We will conclude by building a solar system model at school

[Niamh Price]

Hi Karl. I think this is a great idea for pupils because it combines science, maths, observation, and teamwork in a practical way. I like your suggestion of taking the class on a walk around the school grounds to identify the best location for the sundial. This encourages children to think critically about sunlight, shadows, and the environment before beginning the activity. It also gives them ownership of the investigation. Having pupils compare their predictions with real observations throughout the day is a really good way to develop inquiry skills.

[Niamh Price]

I found the “Successful STEM activities and lessons explained (Jolly, 2017)” graphic in Liston’s paper very useful and something that could anchor STEM work in my classroom. Reflecting on this in terms of the resource “One Year On Earth”, I could engage my students in the following ways:

·      Follow the excellent lessons in the document

·      Start a year-long project running September to June to observe natural plant life in our school and how plants grow/change in light of the seasons. This is connected to understanding the 4 seasons within one year which represent Earth’s orbit around the sun

·      Connect scientific observations on plant life with a project on the mini-satellite Proba-V which is tracking vegetation on earth

·      Integrate this work with the wider Arts using music (“Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons”) and dance to interpret movements associated with the seaosns. Visual arts would also be integrated as we make textured colour collages to represent the seasons.

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