Celebrate International Dark Sky Week
By Clara Wodny on March 28, 2025 in Blog
Celebrate International Dark Sky Week
A global celebration of the night, International Dark Sky Week occurs annually in April during the week of the new moon. This year, it is celebrated from April 21st through the 28th.
Founded in 2003 by Jennifer Barlow, a high school student from Virginia, Dark Sky Week aims to encourage people to switch off their artificial lights, marvel at the beauty of the stars and moon and appreciate the importance of natural darkness.
With the rapid rise of light pollution, we risk losing the natural light we rely on, as well as our view of the stars. Additionally, light pollution has negative effects on the health and daily cycles of humans and wildlife. Dark Sky Week draws awareness to this issue and invites everyone to take meaningful actions to protect the night.
What is Light Pollution?
Light pollution is the excess of artificial light (from sources such as house lights, streetlamps and car headlights) that disrupts the natural sky. Like other pollution, light pollution is a form of waste energy that can have negative effects and degrade the environment.
For more information on how artificial light threatens nature, check out this blog.
How Can We Protect the Night?
Light pollution has been increasing at an alarming rate, nearly 10 percent each year. If this concerns you, you may want to take action. But where to start?
One of the simplest ways to protect the night is to be mindful of your own light pollution. Try not to leave lights on in or around your house at night if you’re not using them. To get started, try completing this home lighting assessment.
Another way you can show your support for dark skies is by signing the Dark Sky Pledge. The goal is to get to 10,000 pledges!
More ways to get involved and take action can be found here.
Dark Sky Week Activities
Don’t forget — the point of Dark Sky Week is to appreciate and celebrate the night sky! There are endless ways to enjoy the night with your friends and family, so get creative and remember there are no rules. Here are a few of our favorites:
Try going on a night hike! Find an open natural area, preferably away from city lights, and enjoy interacting with the environment and its inhabitants in a new way. Check out the events calendar of your local conservation board to see if they have any guided night hikes on their schedule.
Go stargazing! Again, go to an open field or park that is away from city lights in order to best see the stars. See if you can find any constellations or make up your own!
Build a DIY constellation projector using a cardboard tube, flashlight and a piece of paper with holes that represent stars. Attach the paper to one end of the tube and put the flashlight at the other end. Take it to a dark room and point it at an empty wall or ceiling to see your constellations come to life!
Create a light pollution map in your neighborhood. After reading and talking about light pollution, take a walk in your neighborhood at night to see how artificial light affects our view of the night sky. Draw your route on a piece of paper before leaving, then color in each area based on how bright the lights are as you go. Try thinking of ways you could help reduce the light pollution in your area.