Dates: Tuesday, April 21st OR Thursday, April 23rd

Location: Check your e-mail for the link!

Cost: Free

This week we are talking to the Voyageurs Conservancy, a part of the Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. We will be talking about dark skies and light pollution. Below you will find some information about the park, about Dark Sky, and some questions/lessons provided for us before our talk. Enjoy!

Voyageurs National Park

Voyageurs National Park is located in northern Minnesota. Established in 1975, was created to preserve the history of French-Canadian fur traders who once inhabited the area. The name of this relatively new park, “Voyageurs” is a tribute to the fur traders who shaped the region, known for their excellent navigation of the waterways and trade with the indigenous people of the area. The park is located on what is known as the Canadian Shield, some of the oldest rocks on the North American continent. They average between 1 and 3 billion years old! The park stretches over 218,000 acres with several lakes, beautiful waterways, and lots of local wildlife.

You can also check out this great site about preparing for a visit: 

Dark Sky

Voyageurs is what is known as a designated Dark Sky Park, because it is far removed from excessive urban light. In order to receive this designation, Voyageurs partnered with the National Park Service’s Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). To read more about Voyageurs and its Dark Sky Designation, check out its explanation here: 

The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division is dedicated to measuring and studying light and light pollution in order to protect ecosystems, including human ones. You can see a wonderful story map of their work here (just keep scrolling down on the page): 

The International Dark-Sky Association also works to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and dark skies through a number of avenues. 

Read on for the pre-work sent to us by Voyageurs National Park! Remember, it’s not graded, but meant to get you thinking about the topic this week. Enjoy!

Pre Activity  - Light Pollution - Introduction Worksheet

Today we are going to introduce ourselves to the term “light pollution”. Take a moment to observe the two photos below: 

1. If you were to visit the environments shown in the photo labeled “light pollution filled night sky” and the photo labeled “light pollution-free night sky”, which one would allow you to see more stars in the night sky? Why do you think that is? 

2. What are some words that come to mind when you hear the word “pollution”?

3. What are specific examples that you can think of when you hear the word “pollution”?

4. Now that you have thought of some words and have provided some examples of pollution, do you think that light can be a type of pollution? Why or why not? 

5. Do you think animals can be negatively impacted by too much light at night time? Why or why not? 

6. Have you ever seen the Milky Way? If so, where were you? How did it make you feel? If you have not seen the Milky Way, what have you noticed in the night sky? 

7. Create a list of questions that you have about the night sky and darkness.

Light Pollution - Map Exploration Worksheet

After discussing your answers from the previous worksheet, head to the following link:

This map shows the entire globe with a range of different colors displayed. Answer the following questions below and see if you can understand what the map is showing us: 

1. Explore the map for 5-10 minutes. Zoom out across the continents or zoom in to specific cities. What are some of the groups of colors that you see? 

2. Zoom out. What parts of the world do you see the most green, yellow, white and pink? What parts of the world do you see the most blue, grey, and black? 

3. Relocate yourself back to America. What color patterns do you notice? 

4. Towards the top left corner, find the search bar and type in the name of the town where you live. What colors do you see in your hometown? 

5. Now type Voyageurs National Park into the search bar. What colors do you see? 

6. What do you think the colors represent? Write down your answer here and discuss it with  your classmates. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyageurs_National_Park

https://www.nps.gov/voya/learn/nature/dark-sky-park-designation.htm

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=3.21&lat=53.0241&lon=-99.2883&state=eyJiYXNlbWFwIjoiTGF5ZXJCaW5nUm9hZCIsIm92ZXJsYXkiOiJzYl8yMDI1Iiwib3ZlcmxheWNvbG9yIjpmYWxzZSwib3ZlcmxheW9wYWNpdHkiOiI2MCIsImZlYXR1cmVzb3BhY2l0eSI6Ijg1In0=

https://www.nps.gov/maps/stories/the-night-skies-of-the-us-national-parks-service.html

https://www.nps.gov/voya/learn/nature/dark-sky-park-designation.htm