Note: I can't say enough how effective this activity is when conducted in a dark room. Frankly, it's perhaps the best weapon in the dark sky advocate's arsenal. After seeing the demo, people get it. They understand glare, light trespass, and sky glow. Though I haven't had time to put together images and video and text for a finished web page here about the Maglite Demo, it's too important of an activity to let languish or go unseen. So here are some links and excerpts from several sources who have done something with it. Thank you. --Chuck Bueter
Light Pollution Demos
http://analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/lights.htm
A young student offers two light pollution demonstrations on the Paper Plate Education website. An excellent book to do the second demo with is There Once was a Sky Full of Stars, written by Bob Crelin and illustrated by Amie Ziner. Align the Maglite in candle mode against a streetlight drawn on the page that begins, "Lights, lights, billions of lights..."
Shielding Demo
Shielding Demo from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) resources that support Globe at Night. This file is on the Let There Be Night DVD Disc 2.
Accendiamo le stelle! (Let's light up the stars)
YouTube video shows how to construct scene and do Maglite demo with different shields.
Town Mat
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb7eryzSBno
Play mat template: town3jB8VP.jpeg
At workshops we have used a plastic play mat with some toy figures and Matchbox® cars. Since the Mini-Town mat is no longer on the market, we offer this hand-drawn version for you to print out. If you make a poster-sized copy of it, the students can first color in the landmarks before you do the demonstration.That way it is personalized and they have more at stake in watching and participating in the demo. Also to make the experience more personal, a participant can use his/her hand to shield the light, as shown in the video.
More Activities: See the teachers.html page for more activities that support dark skies.
