Stargaze with your Kids

image via pacsci.org

This is the perfect time of year to gather your family and a blanket and head out for some stargazing. Here are some great tips to get you started:

First you need to find a good location. This could easily be your own backyard, but if you live near bright city lights, this might mean waiting for a long weekend in the country or the woods. Once you've seen the stars away from the city, you'll realize that what a difference it makes. 

If your kids are old enough, grab a few constellation charts and try to find them. If stargazing seems like a hobby your family enjoys, you might want to consider investing in a decent telescope so you can actually see some of the planets or the craters on the moon. A good way to check this out is by attending a Star Party - these are events held around the country by local amateur astronomers that allow you to "test drive" their equipment before you buy your own. We had a great time last summer out at the OMSI/Rose City Astronomers Star Party at Rooster Rock. We'll never forget seeing the rings of Saturn up close.

Once you've gone stargazing, you can continue to foster an interest by:

• Sticking some glow in the dark stars on your kids' bedroom ceiling

 

• Read books about the stars. A great one to start with is The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A Rey. If that name sounds familiar, you might now him better as the author of Curious George.

• Visit a Planetarium. Here in the Portland area you can visit the Kendall Planetarium at Omsi.  

•  Visit an Observatory. This summer we plan on visiting the Haggart Astronomical Observatory located on the campus of Clackamas Community College. 

•  Learn what's in the sky on any night at www.whatouttonight.com or clear sky chart

• Try some astronaut ice cream.  

 

•  Join the Pluto Fan Club Page at Olliebollen.com.  

•  Make your own glow in the dark comet

Get Outdoors

Saturday is National Get Outdoors Day - an annual event created to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun. Participating partners will be offering opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities. You can just go to this page and look for their site locations. They've got over 90 events scheduled around the country tomorrow. Our family will be heading over to the Water Resource Center in Vancouver.

It's also Free Fishing Days here in WA and OR. This means that no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing.   It also looks like a number of other states are offering a FREE fishing day the 2nd Saturday in June (tomorrow), so make sure to check the list of states offering FREE fishing days.

What else can you do today?

Have a Family Movie Night and watch E.T. It premiered back on this day in 1982. I can still remember watching it at the Drive In, from the back of my family's station wagon. For more ideas, check out the recommendations from Kids Off the Couch. (If you haven't heard of Kids Off the Couch before, go sign up for their weekly newsletter. They offer a free, weekly, fun filled, film-related adventure that shows parents how to connect families to each other and the world around them.)

  Today over at Craft Camp at Skip to My Lou, you can learn how to make a Friendship Bracelet.

image via Skip to My Lou

 Head on over to Cascadia Kids and enter to win an overnight trip in Portland. (Our family recently won their Seattle contest and we can't wait to go.)

What are your family's plans for the weekend?

Craft Camp

I'm a avid reader of Skip to My Lou and have been loving her Craft Camp feature this month.

 
She's assembled a great group of bloggers and they've got a new craft for your kids each day in June. Follow along here.

Do you have any great craft ideas for your kids this summer?