Night Walks:Activities for Autumn

Despite the ninety degree temps we all know that the days are getting shorter and shorter! Pretty soon it’ll be dark before our littles’ bedtimes.

Whether or not you have the ever-present battle against screens in your household, it can be hard to decide what to do with your evenings, especially when adding in dinner, bath time, bed routines, and finding time for yourself to decompress.

An easy breezy add to your weeknight is a brief Night-Time Walk together! These do not require much prep, can involve kiddos of any age, and can span any amount of time you need.

Optional Materials: Binoculars, Paper, Coloring Implements, Compass, Flashlights

FOR CLEAR SKIES

1. Creating your own constellations: Much like looking for shapes in clouds, you can look up at the stars on a walk and ask your kids if they see any shapes! Tell your own stories about the shapes they see.

2. Learning the constellations: older kids may be interested in constellations and the stories they tell! You can pair this with one of these amazing constellation story books!

   1. Star Stories: Constellation Tales from Around the World

   2. Glow in the Dark Constellations: A Field Guide for Young Stargazers

   3. Constellations for Kids: The Stories of the Stars

   4. Find More Here

3. Moon Phase Journal: We talk about this a lot, but by having your child do observational drawings of the moon as it changes, it helps your child begin processing how time passes long term. If you do the observations from the same spot, your child will also see how the moon moves around the sky based on the seasons!

4. Bonus: Help them learn how to use a compass when finding the moon, the planets, and the stars so that they can begin to learn basic parts of navigation!

5. Autumnal Celestial Events:

   1. Sea and Sky Events 2023 has all of the upcoming celestial events in the night sky. We will list a few of the best ones below.

   2. September 23 - September Equinox. The September equinox occurs at 06:43 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.

   3. September 29 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 09:59 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Corn Moon because the corn is harvested around this time of year. This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year. This is also the last of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

   4. *EARLY EVENING* October 8, 9 - Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the the 8th and morning of the 9th. The second quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn't interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

   5. October 28 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 20:25 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon.

   6. October 28 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)

For cloudy nights

1. Weather Journal: During a lovely evening walk together you can discuss the weather! What do the clouds look like? Who thinks it’s going to rain? Is there wind? How does the outside feel at night versus during the day? What kinds of animals are we hearing and seeing? Afterwards, you could have kids do a brief journal entry. Kids can do observational drawings, write questions, and create graphs to see what kind of weather shows up the most in a week/month/year!

2. “Night Sounds and Sights” Scavenger Hunt:

   1. Night Bird Sound

   2. Rustling of Leaves

   3. Crickets (or other night bug sounds)

   4. A Bright Star: Planet or Star?

   5. The Moon: What phase is it?

   6. Autumn Leaves in multiple colors

   7. Moth

   8. An Evergreen Tree: Bonus - can you smell it?

   9. A Flickering Streetlight

   10. A Stop Sign — Did you notice anything interesting about this sign? (point out how it’s reflective so it’s visible in the dark)