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The sky belongs to everyone!
Join the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in our journey to promote Connected Astronomy Learning.
Free, NGSS-aligned astronomy resources, real robotic telescope access, and professional development for middle school educators and youth program leaders.
Free, NGSS-aligned astronomy resources, real robotic telescope access, and professional development for middle school educators and youth program leaders.
YouthAstroNet participants explore light and color with one of the many low-cost hands on activities available in the free curriculum.
The Youth Astronomy Network (YouthAstroNet for short) is a national, online community of youth, educators, and scientists that aims to help youth gain confidence and identity as someone who can do science through personal participation in authentic inquiry, supported by unique access to the resources of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. As a member of the YouthAstroNet community, youth in grades 5-9 engage in authentic inquiry through a number of activities such as requesting images with remotely controlled robotic telescopes, using image-processing software to enhance and make measurements of astronomical images, asking questions, and connecting science to everyday life.
Kid tested activities and materials.
Kid tested activities and materials.
Contribute to research on STEM identity.
Contribute to research on STEM identity.
Free access to the YouthAstroNet Community.
Free access to the YouthAstroNet Community.
Customized access to real robotic telescopes.
Customized access to real robotic telescopes.
Educator Testimonials
The YouthAstroNet program at my school inspired so many students, they never wanted to leave when our time was through - and we met every Saturday for three hours! Kids and parents loved it and almost all of them asked if I would start again in August. Maybe in the future you’ll have some of my students working alongside you! Thanks for a fascinating program with unlimited resources!
-Jennifer, YouthAstroNet Educator
I integrated YouthAstroNet into our 7th grade astronomy unit, which includes an introductory chapter on the EMS and telescopes, and then chapters on the Sun-Earth-Moon system, the solar system, the Sun and other stars, and finally, galaxies and the universe. The students loved being able to connect their learning to real images they requested from the remote telescopes, and they also loved using JS9 to make beautiful images.
-Joan, YouthAstroNet Educator
YouthAstroNet Core Principles:
The sky belongs to everyone
Curiosity and creativity inspired by big questions about our place in the universe are universal experiences.
Listen to student ideas
Student ideas, questions, cultural identities, everyday experiences, and prior conceptions are important resources for YouthAstroNet educators, and are used to make meaningful connections to content and to promote learning.
There are many ways to be a science person
Our assumptions about what scientists do, who they are, and how they work may be based on the dominant cultural norms of STEM and narrow definitions, and can exacerbate disparities in STEM engagement. In YouthAstroNet programs we challenge these assumptions and broaden ideas of who science people are.
YouthAstroNet activity guides make it easy for educators to embrace core principles and prepare for implementation.
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