SUNSET: 
Looking for astronomy resources? Whether you are temporarily or permanently homeschooling, these events and websites offer virtual resources to educate your child.
Virtual Events
Livestreams
Lowell Observatory Livestreams
- Weekly talks exploring different astronomy topics, and live interviews with astronomers.
- Livestreams of celestial events such as meteor showers.
- Every Wednesday at 5:00 pm Pacific / 8:00 pm Eastern).
- Videos are saved on YouTube channel to watch anytime.
- Hosted by Universe Today founder Fraser Cain and astronomer Pamela Gay.
- Weekly 30-minute live podcasts with an interactive question & answer session afterward.
- Livestreams of the moon (and more) done by South African-based observer Cory Schmitz from his backyard.
- The Irene W. Pennington Planetarium will be live-streaming planetarium sky shows every Thursday at noon and 7 PM, with shows saved on YouTube afterward.
- Star Gazers is the world’s only weekly television series on naked eye astronomy. Each weekly episode features selected objects for naked eye viewing during the following week.
- Please contact your local PBS station if it is not currently carrying Star Gazers.
Homeschool Astronomy Projects from Sky & Telescope
- Find a free printout with star charts, a map of the Moon, and observing tips
- Make a sundial
- Make a star clock
- Make a star wheel
- Our astronomy Q&A can help you answer specific questions your students might have
Astronomy Websites for Homeschooling
- Use the online simulator to view the night sky and Celestial objects. WWT uses seamless visualization and sharing of scientific data and stories from major telescopes, observatories, and institutions among students and researchers, through science museums and full-dome immersive planetariums, and in scholarly publications.
- Provides tools to explore space, communal exploration of the universe, and gamified, guided learning.
- Holds educational livestreams of astronomy lessons.
- Offers space and astronomy resources for students from pre-K to grade 4.
NASA's StarChild (ages 5-13) and Imagine the Universe (14+)
- Afterschool Universe: an out-of-school-time curriculum for middle schoolers to learn about the universe and the ways that scientists study it.
- Tons of curriculum support materials, such as Cosmic Times, which covers big advances in astronomy in newspaper form, and an astronomy video game called SpaceForensics.
NASA’s Night Sky Network Outreach Resources
- Each link offers a series of activities to explore the universe.
- Packets are marked as for “child,” “teen,” and/or “adult”
- Resources, typically in the form of PDF download, are divided by grade level.
- Not free, but individual resources are typically inexpensive. Requires registration.
Discover the Universe – Astro at Home (video archive)
- 30-minute courses in astronomy for kids 8-12 years old offered every weekday at 2 p.m. EDT
- Courses are streamed live on YouTube, and kids can ask questions in the comments
ScienceWerkz® Earth and the Solar System
- ScienceWerkz® has produced an app that uses a combination of a school book, classroom conversation, and hands-on activities to teach about the Earth and the solar system, covering topics such as Earth’s revolution, Earth’s rotation, the nature of Earth, and the Moon’s phases.
- $1.99, available on Apple, Android, and desktop devices.
- These teaching resources make use of NASA’s Great Observatories to teach concepts of astronomy such as wavelengths, gravity, and the solar system
- Each activity is marked for specific grade levels
- Some lessons may take a bit more setup, but instructions are easy to follow
- This popular remote-learning resource offers lessons on the basics of physics and astronomy.
- Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit their night sky brightness observations. It's easy to get involved - all you need is computer or smart phone.
- Offers specialized units focused on Earth and space science.
- Offers a range of different activities and learning materials about the universe for children, teachers, and space enthusiasts of all ages.
- Resources are available in English, French and German.
- Sends children's books to the International Space Station. While in space, astronauts are videotaping themselves reading these books to the children of Earth.
- Astronauts on the ISS will also conduct and videotape educational demonstrations.
Cosmic Duologues (video archive)
- For each duologue, ESO has invited two speakers who will present in short, dynamic talks, their side on a challenging scientific topic or related to the sociology of science.
- Duologues will be made available online and aim to cover the current state of some of the biggest questions in astronomy in a lively way.
- Best for high-school level and up.
Space At Home from the Cincinnati Observatory
- Astronomy resources and activities for students.
- Group programming available.
Audio & Video Astronomy Resources for Homeschooling
Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast - Discover the Night Sky
- For a guide to the celestial events coming up this month, take a listen to our astronomy podcast, Sky Tour. S&T Senior Editor J. Kelly Beatty covers each month’s highlights of “what’s up” in the night sky in a bite-size podcast.
- World-renowned astronomers highlight their research topics in engaging talks that typically run 10 to 15 minutes.
- Best for older (middle school or high school-age) students, depending on interest level.
- While not specifically geared toward students, this popular podcast discusses the latest in astronomy research — from planets with iron rain to home-wrecking asteroids — in a fun and engaging way.
- This popular astronomer on YouTube offers in-depth explanations of astronomy topics that would be good for high schoolers (and middle schoolers, depending on interest level).
Nova Videos (video archive)
- For a collection of educational astronomy videos suitable for all ages (but perhaps more interesting to mid-elementary age and up), visit WGBH’s NOVA. Explore the solar system, black holes, the Apollo missions, and more.
REACH: A Space Podcast for Kids
- A weekly, family friendly exploration of our galaxy (and beyond!) with hosts Brian Holden and Meredith Stepien (of the wildly popular musical theatre company Team Starkid).
- Built for kids and based on questions from kids, Reach educates with entertaining segments, fun at-home experiments, and interviews presented in association with subject matter experts & thought partners from leading institutions like the Adler Planetarium, Cosmosphere, and more as well as friends from the world of entertainment and children's media.
Looking Up podcast by the Cincinnati Observatory
- Hosted by Cincinnati Observatory's Dean Regas and Anna Hehman, Looking Up brings you the latest astronomical discoveries in a fun, quick-paced conversation.
