Learn how Adler Teens are combatting light pollution in Chicago with Youth Organization For Lights Out in the Adler Planetarium’s exhibit, Chicago’s Night Sky.

What do you get when you mix an indoor soccer field, 500 cubic feet of helium, 100 middle schoolers, endless duct tape, 40 Adler staff and volunteers, 150 boxed lunches, and a pile of Snap Circuits? Why, Operation Airlift, of course!

Header Image: Adler Teens venture onto Lake Michigan in 2019 looking for fragments of a meteorite! Listen. It’s been five years since a meteor crashed into Lake Michigan and a team of Adler teens, scientists, and other determined meteorite hunters decided to go after it.  The odds were stacked against them at basically every turn. […]

Header Image: Adler Teen’s who were a part of the Aquarius Project used this underwater sled to search for meteorite fragments. This teen-led underwater meteorite hunt is the podcast you need right now First: The elevator pitch. A meteor crashes into Lake Michigan. An actor who works at the planetarium on the lakeshore assembles a […]

Header Image: Adler Teen Stratonaut Duncan A. Yuen presenting the team’s findings about light pollution from the trip to Little Red Schoolhouse at an Adler Planetarium event. Seeing a night sky—specifically one that is not affected by light pollution—can be life-changing! If you live in Chicago or a large city with lots of lights, those […]

Header Image: Adler Teen Alum Grace Crim is seen here working with other team members who were part of the Adler Teens Stratonauts program. Seeing a night sky—specifically one that is not affected by light pollution—can be life-changing! If you live in Chicago or a large city with lots of lights, those lights will drown […]

Header Image: Gamaliel Cruz (far left) alongside Isaiah Meza and Ibrahim Diop (middle & far right respectively) observe a sophisticated machine that is utilized for soldering purposes. Hello! We’re Gamaliel, Isaiah, and Ibrahim—Adler teens from ITW David Speer Academy, a STEM-focused public charter high school in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, working as interns […]

Header Image: The Adler Planetarium’s new exhibit, Chicago’s Night Sky, features a Far Horizons high altitude balloon and an image of the city of Chicago at night from above. When was the last time you took the time to notice your night sky? If you live in or near the City of Chicago—or any large […]

By Rosalía Lugo, Teen Programs Manager, and Colleen Cesaretti Header Image: 2017 group photo of Adler Interns, including former Adler Teen, Mia Berrios. Credit: Mia Berrios Over the years, many teens have passed through our front doors, and in honor of Latinx Heritage Month, we are celebrating two of our stellar former Adler Teens, David […]

By Brenda Galan, former teen intern in the Collections Department through the Smithsonian’s Latino Center Young Ambassadors Program. In her spare time, you can find her writing poetry, watching food and travel shows on Netflix, cooking, and trying to learn a new language on Duolingo! Header Image: Dr. Ellen Ochoa floating upside down on the […]