Elementary Program

What tools do astronomers use to understand the night sky?

Use our programming to help your students explore this question and others as they discover more about light, changes in the night sky and what it takes to be an astronomer. Choose from a number of programs to meet your students' needs and interests.

Planetarium show (45 min)

One Sky Project: Indigenous Astronomy

This collection of three short films made for the One Sky Project features Indigenous perspectives of astronomy, space, time and navigation that have been inspiring minds for millennia.

Thunderbird: The sky is a powerful tool for measuring time, and for the Diné, or Navajo people, the Thunderbird transcends space and time, revealing the passage of seasons and connecting earth and sky.

Celestial Canoe: A First People of what is now northern Canada, the Innu, watched the slow turn of a canoe in the sky mirroring the change in seasons on land. This celestial canoe guided them through a particularly challenging part of the year.

Hawaiian Wayfinders: Hear from a Hawaiian navigator as she describes how the sky provides a compass and calendar for the oceanic people whose voyages connected islands throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Hands-on workshop (1 hour)

Secrets of the Sky: Students identify how animals, plants and humans react to the similarities and differences between day, night, and the seasons. They will also make a sky-inspired take-home craft.

This Little Light of Mine: What is light and how do astronomers make use of its properties? Students will experiment with different tools and use observation and questioning skills to develop a better understanding of properties of light and sources of natural and artificial light.

GroundStation Canada show (20 min)

Day in Space: Astronauts conduct research on the International Space Station. Discover more about what it takes to live and work in your laboratory.

Cosmic Courtyard gallery (30 min)

Visit our space-themed, hands-on gallery. Students can morph into an alien, touch a Moon rock or event try to lift a meteorite.