Crickets & Constellations

I wrote this lighthearted planetarium show for K-2 audiences: young children generally visiting their local sky theater for the first time. This show is a “hybrid” program, intermixing a prerecorded narrative with live educational interpretation. Its back-and-forth approach keeps young learners engaged, and helps put them at ease in the planetarium’s unfamiliar, unconventional learning environment.

At the time, this was the youngest audience I’d written an educational script for. In addition to my usual process of aligning content with state curriculum standards, I also worked with a literacy specialist to help me strengthen the show’s approaches to vocabulary instruction. That collaboration was a valuable learning experience; one that I still draw upon when writing for young audiences.

Since its premiere, Crickets & Constellations has been licensed by several planetariums across the United States.