The sky belongs to everyone.
Across rural America, millions of students grow up under some of the nation’s darkest and clearest night skies. However, they often face opportunity gaps in accessing the specialized equipment and hands-on education material found in urban centers. With the right support, rural schools can turn these skies into powerful classrooms for discovery.
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) created Smithsonian STARS to bridge this gap. We believe the sky belongs to everyone, and that curiosity has no zip code.
A Gateway to STEM Learning
Astronomy sparks an initial wonder that leads students towards science, technology, engineering and math. Through STARS, and with the help of our donors and community partners, SAO is providing telescopes, astronomy lesson plans, educator training, and community star parties to rural schools across the nation. By empowering educators and partnering with rural schools and communities, we aim to create a pathway to lifelong STEM learning and careers for students of rural America.
Enriching our Rural Schools.
THE NEED FOR STARS
Rural schools are underfunded with 64% located in areas with high poverty
- 33% of all US schools are rural.
- 20% of all students attend rural schools.
9.5 - 9.8 million students attend
32,200 rural schools nationwide
Field trips are limited to 1-hour travel time, reducing visits to museums and planetariums
There are approximately 32,200 rural schools serving between 9.5-9.8 million children in the United States. When compared to their city counterparts, rural schools are significantly underfunded, with limited or no access to field trips that go to museums and science centers. More than 64% are located in areas of high poverty.
This typically results in rural students having limited opportunities to engage in meaningful experiences with STEM sciences, including astronomy.
Smithsonian STARS aims to provide hands-on STEM learning experiences by leveraging the incredible dark skies over rural communities. These experiences are enhanced by lesson plans that meet Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and plug right into each state's science curriculum.
