The Quality Lighting Teaching Kit: Inspiring our Society to be Part of the Solution to Light Pollution<= /p>
[1]<= /a> 1Natio= nal Optical Astronomy Observatory, USA
Received
16 December 2016, Accepted 03 March 2017
Abstract
As an outcome of the International Yea=
r of
Light 2015, the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory¡¯s Education and
Public Outreach group has produced a Quality Lighting Teaching (QLT) Kit, T=
he
kits are designed around problem-based learning scenarios. The kit¡¯s six
activities allow students to address real lighting problems that relate to
wildlife, sky glow, aging eyes, energy consumption, safety, and light tresp=
ass.
The activities are optimized for 11-14 year olds but can be expanded to you=
nger
and older. Most of the activi=
ties
can be done within in a few minutes during class or afterschool and as stat=
ions
or as stand-alones. Everything you need for the six activities is included =
in
the kit. Tutorial videos on how to do the activities can be found at
www.noao.edu/education/qltkit.php.
90 out of 100 kits have been distributed to SPIE, OSA, CIE, IDA and =
the
IAU in 32 countries.
Keywords: Sustainable lighting, Green
buildings, Dark skies, Light pollution
Poor quality lighting not only impedes astronomy
research and our right to see a starry night sky, but creates safety issues,
affects human circadian sensitivities, disrupts ecosystems, and wastes bill=
ions
of dollars/year in energy consumption. It also leads to excess carbon
emissions. How do you change the mindset of society that is used to turning
night into day? You educate t=
he
next generation on quality lighting.
<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-fa=
mily:
"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;mso-font-kerning:
0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Fig. 1. The posters, activity materials=
and
other components in the Quality Lighting Teaching Kit. Image Credit: Pete Marenfeld, =
NOAO.
2. The Activities=
The concepts and practices of quality lighting a=
re
explored through problem-based learning activities, as well as formative
assessment probes. The six activities use quality lighting to solve realist=
ic
cases on how light pollution affects wildlife, the night sky, our eyes, ene=
rgy
consumption, safety, and light trespass into buildings. The impact of the k=
its
is amplified by providing professional development using tutorial videos
created at NOAO and conducting question and answer sessions via Google+
Hangouts for program instructors. The Quality Lighting Teaching Kit program
leverages NOAO EPO¡¯s work over the last ten years in lighting and optics
education (e.g., ¡°Hands on Optics¡±, the International Year of Astronomy¡¯=
s ¡°Dark
Skies Rangers¡±, the IAU ¡°Dark Skies Africa¡±, and Arizona Public Services=
¡¯ ¡°Dark
Skies Yuma¡± programs). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The premise of the activities is that the instru=
ctor
is the mayor of a fictitious city in which the students live (inspired by t=
he
City of the Future Poster). The mayor has been receiving complaints from
citizens of the city, which all have to do with the lights in the city (sta=
ted
on the Issues Poster). The students have been assembled into 6 different ta=
sk
forces, to determine the underlying problems expressed in each of the 6
complaint categories, as well as to come up with feasible solutions to those
problems.
The students start by reading the information
presented in their group¡¯s poster. The ¡°Now Try This!¡± section gives
instructions for an experiment, game, or activity to complete in order to g=
ain
more understanding of the problems with which they are presented. They use =
the
materials in their box and/or envelope to complete the activity. Using what they know along with he=
lp
from the Problem Solving Poster, the students brainstorm solutions to their
problem. The students then carefully consider the implications (both positi=
ve
and negative) of their solutions as well as any exceptions where their
solutions may not work. They determine if there is any other information th=
ey
need to better understand the problem or have better solutions. This may
involve using the links provided or key ideas from the poster to research m=
ore
about their problem.
2.1. Energy Poster and Activity
In this activity, students are given an aerial
nighttime view of Houston, Texas, USA with a grid superimposed on top. There
are three different colors of lights shown in the image: white (along the
highways), yellow (the blobs on the right side are oil refineries), and bro=
wn
(everywhere else). The students count the number of squares of each colored
light to determine how much energy, cost, and carbon footprint this city us=
es
and wastes each night. These values accurately reflect the actual energy us=
age
of Houston as well as the type of lights currently used. If time allows, they will use the =
Types
of Lights handout to determine a more energy efficient scenario by changing=
the
types and/or wattages of the lights or by implementing timers or motion sen=
sors
to limit the amount of time the lights are on. The energy, cost and carbon
footprint saved can be determined from the difference between the before and
after scenarios. All of these calculations can either be done on the
double-sided Energy Calculation Mat, which can be written on using the wet
erase markers, or with the accompanying handouts.
2.2. Safety
Poster and Activity
It is a common misconception that more light is
safer; however, this is not always true. While light is needed to see and be
safe at night, poorly designed or placed lights can actually be less safe!
Poorly shielded or glaring lights provide areas for criminals to hide;
criminals also exploit the false sense of security people feel in overly lit
areas. In this activity, students will use a lux meter to measure light lev=
els
of different scenarios and compare their results to standardized lighting
levels. They determine what minimum light levels are needed for a variety of
environments to still be safe while conserving energy, cost and carbon
footprint.
2.3. Animal
Poster and Activity
NOAO EPO staff designed a game for students to
explore how light pollution affects animals, specifically birds. In the game
they are Kirtland¡¯s Warblers, which migrate from the Bahamas to the Great =
Lakes
region of the United States and back again. Along the way, they fly through
many major cities. Each year, up to 1 billion birds are killed by crashing =
into
buildings in North America alone. Lit buildings at night cause many of these
deaths and injuries. Birds and other animals use the sun or stars to naviga=
te,
and the lights can confuse the animals causing them to circle the building =
and
collapse from exhaustion. These issues are explored in the game. A great ¡°Going Further¡± idea is =
to have
students research and design a game centered on where they live and on an
indigenous animal that is threatened by light pollution.
2.4. Glare
Poster and Activity
As one of the three main types of light pollutio=
n,
glare is caused by an exposed light bulb. An overly bright bulb can severely
impair vision, especially while driving at night. Glare is worse for older
adults due to the presence of cataracts and loss of pupil control. In this activity, the students will
explore glare from a ¡°headlight¡± (a capless Mini-Maglite) at night (in a
darkened room). With an unshielded light source, students will see how glare
affects their ability to read an eye chart 6 meters away. Layers of inkjet transparencies ar=
e used
to simulate varying degrees of cataracts. The students then explore how
cataracts (both with and without a glaring light) can impair their reading
ability. The students then come up with and test a solution to redress the
problem.
2.5. Night =
Sky Poster
and Activity
As a second major type of light pollution, sky g=
low
is caused by unshielded lights from a city shining up into the sky. This li=
ght
scatters off of dust, water, smog, clouds, and other things in the atmosphe=
re
creating a light dome or glow over the city. Sky glow washes out the stars =
from
view; as a result, most people in cities have never seen a dark night sky. =
The
dark night sky has inspired the arts, literature, philosophy, and many other
areas of our cultural heritage.
In this activity, the students use a star projec=
tor
to determine how different kinds of lights and shields affect the number of
stars that can be seen. The students try different lights and shields as
described in the ¡°Now Try This!¡± section of their poster to see the effec=
ts on
the night sky and come up with possible solutions to mitigate the effect of
light pollution and test them.
2.6. Light
Trespass Poster and Activity
The third type of light pollution is light tresp=
ass,
where light goes where it is not needed, wanted, or intended. The most comm=
on
example of light trespass is a streetlight shining into a window at night. =
This
can make sleeping (even with curtains or blinds) difficult. The light is not
shining where it is supposed to and is trespassing on other property. Light=
at
night, in particular, can have health effects on humans. For instance, blue
light (which is common in most LEDs) at night inhibits the production of
melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone, which is only replenished when asleep in=
the
dark. Other sources of blue light such as computer, tablet, and cell phone
screens before bed also inhibit melatonin production.
In this activity, the students have a 40:1 scale
model of a street, complete with a house, a person, a streetlight with a sl=
ight
drop-down Cobra lens (the book light) and a globe light (Mini-Maglight with=
the
ping pong ball). The students=
try
to recreate the problems voiced in the complaints poster and experiment with
the position and angle of the light. They then come up with solutions to ke=
ep
the light task-oriented (e.g., find ways to shine the light where needed) a=
nd
mitigate light trespass (e.g., find ways not to shine light where it¡¯s not
needed).
2.7. Capsto=
ne
Presentations
A key component of problem-based learning is
presenting methods and findings to an audience. After the students have
completed their research and activities they present this information to the
mayor of the city and other task groups. Presentations can take many forms,
such as oral (e.g. Powerpoint) presentations, posters, videos, skits, songs,
brochures, or pamphlets. After all groups have presented, the instructor le=
ads
a discussion in which the groups meld their ideas together. After the presentations and discus=
sion
have concluded, the post-assessment is given, mainly to assess student
understanding and growth during the project and to gain the teachers¡¯
recommendations for improvements.
3. Dissemination and Professi=
onal
Development
3.1.
Dissemination
One hundred Quality Lighting Teaching (QLT) Kits
were built in late 2015. In early 2016, kits were sent to 90 stakeholders i=
n 32
countries (including Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile,
China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Jordan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, Romania,
Russia, Singapor, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, Tartarstan, Thailand, United
Kingdom, USA and Zambia). The recipients were chosen by our project partner=
s,
SPIE¡©–The International Society for Optical Engineering, CIE–I=
nternational
Commission on Illuminations, OSA–The Optical Society, IDA–the I=
nternational
Dark Sky Association, and the IAU OAD–Office of Astronomy Development=
. This is
the first time that all six stakeholders have partnered in educating the pu=
blic
on the importance of quality lighting and its effects on society. Although =
the
kit recipients are experts in the fields of illumination engineering, light
pollution mitigation and astronomy education, the kits stood a better chanc=
e of
actually being used if recipients received extended training on using the k=
its.
3.2.
Professional Development at a Distance
<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-fa=
mily:
"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;mso-font-kerning:
0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Fig. 2. Workshop in the Canary Islands =
on
the Quality Lighting Teaching Kit at the Starlight, Beyond Light Pollut=
ion
workshop attended by astro-photographers, local teachers, astronomers a=
nd
staff from the La Palma Office of Tourism. Image Credit: Valentin Grigo=
re,
SARM
Reactions from kit recipients who have utilized =
the
tutorial videos have been extremely positive. Peter Offor, Scientific Offic=
er
at NASRDA - Centre For Basic Space Science in Nsukka, Nigeria, said, ¡°The =
video
tutorials added flesh to the whole activities. ¡¦ going through the videos,=
I
could appreciate each activity better.¡± He added that ¡°the Hangouts I
participated in gave me courage to go out teach our younger generation what=
I
have learnt.¡± Other particip=
ants
felt that the Hangouts helped create an engaged community of educators using
the kits.
The SPIE student chapter from the Universidad
Nacional de Tucumán in Argentina organized a meeting before the Hang=
outs got
started in which they watched the tutorial videos and performed the activit=
ies.
They felt that the explicative videos made everything quicker and easier to
learn. This student outreach group also translated into Spanish ten of the
eleven posters included in the kit and performed the activities in classroo=
ms.
The tutorial videos and Google+ hangouts have be=
en
excellent for reaching the many project partners around the world. Even tho=
ugh
alternative ways were created to train on activities at a distance, traditi=
onal
workshops are still done when possible. An emphasis for NOAO is on areas of
astro-tourism surrounding observatories, in La Palma in the Canary Islands
(Figure 2), Yerkes Observatory, Hilo, Kitt Peak National Observatory, or in=
La
Serena, Chile near Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
4. Conclusion
The funding from OSA Foundation, IAU and NOAO ma=
de
building the Quality Lighting Teaching Kit possible. The partnership with O=
SA,
SPIE, CIE, IDA and the IAU OAD made the distribution to people that will use
the kits possible. The QLT Kit program is the fourth program developed by N=
OAO
Education and Public Outreach to address issues on and solutions to light
pollution. We consider it the penultimate kit in this area, internationally
unique. From the responses to the vast testing of the kit in 2015 and those
received from recipients using the kit thus far, the kit has been wildly su=
ccessful
in its popularity and effectiveness and has been applicable to a wide varie=
ty
of audiences and ages. The program is becoming a legacy of IYL2015. To cont=
inue
to make that possible, our next steps are to build another 100 kits (either
commercially or through foundation funding), provide subtitles in Spanish (=
at
least) to the tutorial videos and, in some cases, tweak aspects of its
activities to locations the kits will be sent. Like the changes in cultural perce=
ptions
and actions on smoking and littering, we can bring more awareness on how
quality lighting locally can redress light pollution issues globally. Many
hands can make light work.
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