When you think about national park and public land astronomy programs, you might picture remote locations far from city lights. But a recent NASA Earth to Sky training, funded by NASA’s Science Activation Program, challenges that assumption, demonstrating how urban parks, wildlife refuges, museums, and green spaces can be incredible venues for connecting communities with space science. Programs facilitated in urban spaces can reach people where they already live, work, and recreate. This creates opportunities for ongoing engagement as urban astronomy program participants can discover that the skies above their neighborhoods hold the same wonders as remote locations.
During the first week of August in 2025, NASA Earth to Sky collaborated with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deliver an innovative astronomy training program called “Rivers of Stars and Stories: Interpreting the Northern Night Sky” at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Minneapolis-St. Paul. This three-day course brought together 28 park ranger interpreters, environmental educators, and outdoor communicators from across the Twin Cities area. Presentations and discussions centered around engaging urban audiences with the wonders of space science by leveraging the benefits of metropolitan spaces and the unique opportunities that city skies provide.
Throughout this immersive training, participants explored everything from lunar observations and aurora science to NASA’s Artemis Program and astrobiology. The training empowered participants by affirming that everyone is an effective stargazer and night sky storyteller, transforming beginners into confident astronomy communicators. One participant captured their experience by noting they went from “not knowing much of anything to having a much better grasp on basic concepts and most importantly, where to find more resources!” In addition to sharing resources, this training also launched a community of practice where communicators can continue to collaborate. Participants engaged in discussions on how to respectfully incorporate the local indigenous perspectives into astronomy programming and honor the traditional stewards of the land while avoiding appropriation or misrepresentation of indigenous science.
The course also created a lasting community connection to NASA through presentations by NASA experts and demonstrations of NASA activity toolkits. As one participant noted in the evaluation, “This is just the start of a long learning journey, but I know now where to look and how to find answers.” Toolkits and resources shared included GLOBE (Global Learning & Observation to Benefit the Environment) Observer’s NUBE (cloud) game, Our Dynamic Sun by the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (HEAT) and the Night Sky Network, the Aurorasaurus Citizen Science project, and the local Solar System Ambassador Network.
Participants’ sense of belonging to the Earth to Sky community increased dramatically. These outcomes support NASA’s strategic goal of building sustained public engagement with Earth and space science. The overwhelmingly positive feedback, with 100% of participants expressing interest in taking more courses like this, demonstrates the tremendous value it is for Earth to Sky to collaborate with the National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service, as all agencies’ public communication goals are addressed.
This kind of collaborative work is crucial because it builds a network of science communicators who can reach thousands of visitors across Minneapolis-St. Paul’s parks, nature centers, and outdoor spaces. By training local informal educators to confidently share NASA’s discoveries and missions, the program expands access to space science for urban audiences throughout the Twin Cities region.
The Earth to Sky team will continue fostering these valuable partnerships with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as other state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations. Learn more about Earth to Sky’s work with park interpreters and nonformal educators to share NASA space science by visiting: https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/earth-to-sky/
Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/.
