There’s no one better to explore the universe with than kids. Their natural sense of wonder lends itself well to the magic of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival, and there’s lots of activities that families will enjoy. Get some ideas with the events below, and explore the entire festival schedule here!

Jeanine Holowatuik is an aurora-chaser, astrophotographer and speaker at the 2022 Jasper Dark Sky Festival! After participating in the festival last year, she is now sharing her thoughts on why the JDSF is a must-do for any star-lover. 

There are some elements of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival that visitors can experience year-round. The planetarium shows, the telescope tours, the astrophotography experiences are all available in one form or another at other times of year. But the top benefit of visiting the Jasper Dark Sky Preserve during the festival (Oct. 14-23, 2022) is the amazing caliber of talent of the speakers. 

This fall, NASA’s robotic snake, EELS, will slither around the Athabasca Glacier, an icy tongue of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. The EELS team will test the snake’s ability to travel through crevasses and other ice features in the hope that one day it will help search for extraterrestrial life in the subterranean ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. 

There’s a universal awe that comes from staring up into a sky full of stars. For millennia, people have told stories about the shapes they see in those twinkling dots above – but what if we could actually tell stories by making the stars move. That’s a bit of the magic that drone light shows create. And the result is spectacular. 

From October 14 to 23, the town of Jasper will sparkle with non-stop dark sky events. From symphonies under the stars to planetarium shows to astrophotography workshops, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival celebrates the art, science and culture surrounding the night sky.

Late last September, I received a message on Instagram about an interesting wildlife encounter in town. Given the month, you might guess it involved a testosterone-filled bull elk gearing up for the rut, or perhaps a school field run-in with a feisty Canada goose making its way south. But this one surprised me. 

Levitating movie magic will soon dazzle the Rockies for the second year in a row. This October, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival will have a hypnotizing light show of hundreds of choreographed drones moving in sync above the mountain town.

Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate, speaker, martial artist and adventurer. She’s also a Jasper Dark Sky Festival Veteran, having been a featured speaker for multiple years.

The Jasper Dark Sky Festival has tons of new, adapted events for the 2021 festival but if you don’t have tickets for events in the official program, there’s still plenty of ways to enjoy the world’s second largest dark sky preserve independently. 

The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is returning with a star studded line up of speakers. Space pros, scientists and more will be joining us in the Jasper Dark Sky Preserve to observe the cosmos and get lost in space.

The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is returning to the mountains, and our telescopes are locked and loaded. For the eleventh year in a row, legions of amateur astronomers and space pros will flock to the northern Rockies for a celestial line-up of speakers, events, activities and independent exploration.

The final weekend of the 2020 Jasper Dark Sky Festival is around the corner, with plenty more safe and fascinating events lined up. Here’s a taste of what’s in the schedule. 

With a 40-seat domed theatre located on the lakeside grounds of the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the largest, most powerful telescopes in the Rockies, the Jasper Planetarium is the local source for guided tours of the universe.  

Here’s a few of the experts that will be speaking (some in person, some online) at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival.  

Jasper National Park was designated a dark sky preserve in 2011 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.  Here’s why Dark Sky Preserves are important and where you can gaze at the stars in Jasper National Park.

This years theme offers guests the experience to ‘Venture Beyond Earth’

The universe can make anyone feel small, but even more so when you’re already small. Kids have a natural fascination with the stars above, and the family memories of gazing and learning and storytelling while looking up can last a lifetime.  

Here’s a few ways to explore Jasper’s Dark Sky Preserve with your littles. Remember that since bedtimes might be pushed a smidge later than normal, be ready with extra layers, warm drinks, and lots of snacks.  

Each October for the past decade, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival has brought star-studded line-ups and legions of amateur astronomers to the mountains.  

This year – our tenth anniversary – the festival will look a little different. Due to Covid-19, there will be some changes to prioritize safety for all involved, as well as lots of new opportunities to learn and see the stars. But the awe we feel when looking up at the stars is universal, and we look forward to showcasing the world’s second largest dark sky preserve in a new way. 

Mixing food and science, Food Lab is a fun, interactive cooking demo of molecular gastronomy. Led by Estelle Blanchette of Jasper Food Tours and local chef Darryl Huculak, the experience will introduce unique flavours, textures and styles, and explain the quirky cooking techniques behind them. The guests then get to indulge in each mouth-watering dish. 

The northern lights are one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena. The shimmering waves of electromagnetic energy have long inspired astronomers, photographers, scientists, tourists and legions of others to stay out after dark and turn their gaze skyward.  

Jad Abumrad is the host and creator of Radiolab, a public radio program broadcast on 524 stations across the nation and downloaded more than 9 million times a month as a podcast. On October 25, Abumrad will deliver the Keynote talk at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival. 

From October 18 to 27, the town of Jasper sparkles with non-stop dark sky events. From symphonies under the stars to planetarium shows to astrophotography workshops, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival celebrates the art, science and culture surrounding the night sky.

Available for purchase at the festival, this limited-edition line of clothing and accessories are the perfect way to commemorate Jasper’s world-renowned two-week stargazing bonanza.

There’s plenty of reasons to preserve the dark skies that are rapidly being bullied away by light pollution around our world. Here, a group of experts (among them astronauts, scientists, science writers, dark sky photographers and more) tackle the question individually, and their nine unique answers are as thought-provoking as they are inspiring.

Watch as we discuss this year’s Jasper Dark Sky Festival alongside SPACEtalks panelist, Dr. Shawna Pandya.

Attend two great events for one great price! For $50, dark sky enthusiasts can attend both the keynote presentation by Jad Abumrad and the fascinating Spacetalks panel.

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most highly anticipated celestial events on astronomers’ calendars. And there’s no better place to watch than in the world’s second largest dark sky preserve.  

Hold onto your telescopes because part of the speakers lineup for the 2019 Jasper Dark Sky Festival just dropped and our lil space nerd hearts are shaking.

Join the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Strings and conductor Bob Bernhardt for an unforgettable concert at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. 

Gourmet meals meet fascinating science demos at Food Lab, a delicious new event presented by Jasper Food Tours and Olive Bistro.

The stars have long inspired the human race. From early navigators who told stories anchored by constellations to modern artists like Destanne Norris who commit stunning nebulas to canvas, the cosmos is an boundless muse.

From stargazing atop a mountain to nighttime photography workshops to touring the most powerful telescope in the Canadian Rockies, the Jasper Planetarium has fantastic events happening every night of the festival.

One is a executive producer of an Emmy nominated TV show, one is the star of her own acclaimed YouTube channel. But what both Emily and Dianna have in common — besides being speakers at the forthcoming Jasper Dark Sky Festival — is that they are both women in an industry commonly dominated by men

The SPACEtalks event, happening Oct. 20 during the 2018 Jasper Dark Sky Festival, has been an audience favourite in the past, and this year’s illustrious panel of astronomers and academics are set to continue the trend.

On October 19, Mark Kelly and his brother Scott Kelly will deliver the keynote address at the 2018 Jasper Dark Sky Festival.

Star gazers and science lovers rejoice! The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is back for its 8th year and the lineup is better than ever.