The Stars Always Shine

I think we can all say that we want to begin the year of 2021 with hope. And I can’t find a better way of looking for hope than looking up in awe at the stars in the night sky. As we are about to embark on the spring semester of school (after what was a very trying 2020), I sat down with the kids to do this experiment and we ended up chatting about having faith and finding hope.

We discussed how even though we can’t see the stars during the day, they are still there, shining brightly. And we marveled that we can only really see the stars, and appreciate them, in the darkest clearest of nights.

What you need: A white index card, a white envelope, a hole punch, black sharpie marker, and a flashlight

How you do it:

• Draw a star with a permanent marker on a white index card and hole punch the points
• Place the index card in the envelope and hold it up in a well lit room to see if you can find the star and the holes through the envelope (this simulates the daytime)
• Next shine a flashlight behind the envelope while viewing the front of the envelope – the star’s hole punch points will appear!

What’s the science?

The contrast of light in a well lit room is not enough to view the holes punched out on the index card causing the holes to just blend in. This is similar to how sunlight causes the light of the stars to blend in during the day. But, when a flashlight creates backlight behind the envelope it causes the front of the envelope to be darker allowing light to pass through the holes and illuminate.

I hope this simple experiment will remind you that even though you cannot see the stars during the day, they are still there. What a great reminder to never give up hope 😉

For more ideas like this on astronomy experiments see one of our favorite books by Janice VanCleave found here.