Tour of the Universe by Children of the World

Tour of the Universe by Children of the World is an exciting multimedia DVD project celebrating childhood experience of the cosmos and showcasing artwork, astrophotography, and photos and videos of real people like you.  The finished product will be a mutlimedia slideshow presentation set to a very special song called "You Are A Star" by Kyle Andrews.  Listen to the song here.

 Right now, we're looking for submissions of audio clips with kids' voices chanting "You're a star" in their native language to be incorporated into the song.  Your kids' voices have the potential to be heard around the world!

Here's what we're looking for:

• Children speaking or chanting the words "You're a star!" in their native language
• A short clip (no more than 30 seconds; we will trim what we need)
• MP3 format, 192 kbps, 44100 kHz
• Please make sure all recordings are good quality.  Listen to it before you send it in! 

Even if you've never recorded an MP3 before, don't worry!  It's easy.

1. You need a microphone (many computers have built-in microphones, but it'll sound better if you use an external mic)
2. You need recording software.  If you're on a Mac, you probably have Garage Band installed.  If you're on a PC, use whatever audio recording software you have or download this free software.
3. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with how the software works if you haven't used it before. Every software is different.
4. Record the child or children chanting "You're a star!" in native language. Solo voice or group. For group recording, it is best if each voice has own microphone assigned to separate track.  The kids can chant or cheer or speak the words however they like!
5. Save or export your recording in MP3 format and upload your audio clip here.
6. That's it!  There's no guarantee we will be able to use your audio clip in the finished product, but every submission we get is very imporant to the success of this project!  Hope to hear from you soon!

Astrophotography is a great way to ignite an interest in science for kids of all ages, and adults too!  The magic and beauty of the cosmos is awe-inspiring, and seeing an colorful image of a deep-space nebula can instill a sense of wonder.  Getting kids to do this themselves so they feel a sense of discovery and ownership in something like this is hard to top.

There are a few different ways you can do this.

• If you have an SLR or DSLR camera, you can take your own backyard astrophotography images with or without a telescope.  Here's a great tutorial on how to do this. 

• Another option is to use a remote/robotic observatory like Global Rent-a-Scope.  This offers a few advantages:

1. Kids can do real-time observing without having to stay up late at night
2. The telescopes are set up in areas that aren't as affected by the light pollution you'll get in most cities and towns
3. This is professional-quality equipment with research-grade telescopes, available to you as an amateur astrophotographer.  The results can be amazing!

Watch a video demonstration of Global Rent-a-Scope (GRAS) here.

If you need any help processing your images once you have them, we can help!

When you have your finished image, upload it here. 

1. Use the name of the object you imaged as the title.
2. Select "Astrophotography" from the Galleries list.
3. Tags are optional, but can help people find your content.  If your object has a common name or catalog number, for instance, include that here.
4. Enter any additional information you want in the description.  You might want to include information like: camera used, exposure length, processing information, etc.
5. Select the file you wish to upload.  It should be saved in jpg format. 

An essential component of Tour of the Universe by Children of the World is children's cosmic creativity. We're looking for artwork in any media (photographs or scans only, please) that's space, planet, or even alien-themed.  Encourage kids to use their imaginations.

Scan or photograph the work, and upload it here.

1. Give your artwork a title.
2. Select "Cosmic Creativity" from the Galleries list.
3. Optional: Enter some tags to describe your artwork.  For example, if it's a picture of an alien on Saturn, you might enter "Saturn, aliens, alien surfing, drawing".
4. Enter a description, saying anything you want about your artwork.
5. Select the image you want to upload. It should be in jpg format. The maximum upload size is 1200x1200 pixels or 1.6 megabytes.  Large files will be automatically resized.
6. Make sure you leave the checkbox for "Tour of the Universe by Children of the World" checked. That's it!