{"id":199523,"date":"2021-04-05T16:23:45","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T22:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familyfuncanada.com\/edmonton\/?p=199523"},"modified":"2025-11-15T21:51:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T04:51:24","slug":"international-dark-sky-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familyfuncanada.com\/edmonton\/international-dark-sky-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate International Dark Sky Week: Visit a Dark Sky Preserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re so used to it. Street lights, traffic lights, business signs, billboards, car lights, security lights. When you start to make a list of all the nighttime lights that we see in towns and cities across Canada, it adds up quickly! All of this lighting is considered light pollution. Being North America’s northernmost major city, we take pride in our nearness to the Northern Lights, but sometimes the city lights are so bright, we have trouble viewing the beautiful night sky.<\/p>\n

Light pollution is a complex issue that we can learn more about as families. The International Dark Sky Association<\/a> has great resources that can help you (and your kids!) understand how nighttime light pollution is affecting human health, wildlife, ecosystems, and more. You can check out this interactive map from The New World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness<\/a> to see how much light pollution is in major urban areas across North America. And then, as a family, you can talk about the ways that you can reduce outdoor light pollution<\/a> around your house.<\/p>\n

Your kids may also enjoy some of the great free educational resources<\/a> that the International Dark Sky Association has available such as word searches, colouring pages, mazes, and more!<\/p>\n

After learning about light pollution, be sure to take the family out to one of the nearby Dark Sky Preserves to enjoy the beautiful night skies and celebrate International Dark Sky Week April 5 – 12, 2021<\/strong>. Dark Sky Preserves are designated areas located all over the world where artificial lighting is reduced to a minimum and the reduction of light pollution is promoted and encouraged. When visiting Dark Sky sites, be sure to follow light etiquette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Dark<\/p>\n

Gazing up at the night sky and admiring it’s vastness and wondering at the unknown is a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy an evening stargazing. However, if you’d like to know a little about the stars and planets you’re gazing at, you can do a little research before you head out. Here are some great sites we recommend:<\/p>\n