THOUSAND OAKS : Students Learn ‘Their Place in the Universe’

Brian Winchester climbed a stepladder and squeezed one eye closed to look through the telescope aimed at the sun from his playground at Madrona School in Thousand Oaks.

With a filter to screen out the dangerous rays from his eyes, the 7-year-old looked fearlessly at something he takes for granted every day.

“Whoa, neat! It’s orange,” the second-grader declared to his classmates, who bounced up and down in anticipation as they waited their turns.

The children were taking part in a program called Lights in the Sky, which parents paid for through fund-raisers that brought in more than $500. The program saves the cost of a field trip by bringing the sky-gazing equipment to the elementary school.

By looking through a telescope, “students get an appreciation for their place in the universe,” said astronomer Tom Dorff, who runs the program at schools throughout California.

A similar program at Hollow Hills Fundamental School in Simi Valley brought students and parents together after dark to learn more about the sky, teachers said.

Project Astro, funded by the National Science Foundation, provided training and equipment to make the subject come alive for students.

“What we’re doing has a hands-on emphasis, rather than just memorizing the names of the planets and constellations,” fifth-grade teacher Jeanine Miller said.

As part of the project, local astronomer Tim Robertson has volunteered to help Miller and two other fifth-grade teachers in the classroom throughout the school year.

The astronomy lessons will culminate later this school year with a trip to the Moorpark Observatory, Miller said.