Shooting Stars

Sometime over the last few weeks my little boy has become obsessed with wanting to see a shooting star.  This obsession magnified during our very warm week here in CT because we were actually able to stay outside at night and look at the stars without feeling the least bit chilly.

Unfortunately, in our neck of the woods, we don't have the ability to see a lot of stars.  We can point out the North Star and the big and little dipper on most nights, but we don't actually have the darkness or clarity to see the stars beyond that, much less shooting stars.  Having traveled to places like Lake Tahoe, I know the difference.  When my husband and I went there in 2005, we spent over an hour one night looking at the sky and were amazed to see not one, but many shooting stars.  I, personally, counted up to eleven that night!

As my little boy looked up at the sky each night last week with anticipated wonder, I desperately wanted to make something happen.  After all, how can I keep his fascination with shooting stars alive if he can't actually see one?  My first thought was to lie; you know...make up a harmless fib and tell him that if the stars appeared to be twinkling, they were "shooting stars."  Okay, well that thought only lasted 10 seconds.  He'd eventually learn the difference and end up feeling disappointed.

So, after some thought and a little research, I decided to take Lewie to a small science museum near us that has a planetarium.  In the early afternoon, they have a show reserved for smaller children (age 7 and under) called "The Little Star that Could"--surely, he'd be able to see a shooting star there!

Lewie's first visit to a Planetarium.

Pretending he's driving a rocket ship before the big show.

"The Little Star that Could" did not disappoint.  Not only did Lewie get to see some shooting stars, but he actually got to pretend like he was one as "the little star" soared through space to see if he could find himself a planet.  In the end, "The Little Star that Could" actually turned out to be the sun all along.  (Sorry if I'm ruining the ending for you...)

Now that the chillier temperatures have returned to CT, Lewie is not spending his time looking at the night sky, but I'm sure his little hobby will return once summer is upon us!  For our next trip, we may have to go camping :)