Travel with the Wasatch Mountain Institute to Jordanelle Reservoir for an evening of stargazing and guided sketching under Utah’s famously dark skies. Timed with a slim crescent moon, participants will observe constellations, planets, and deep-sky objects while creating their own star maps through simple drawing prompts.

This Cosmic Light Mapping event is an evening where we invite families to look closely at the sky above and investigate their connection to the cosmos. This event is inspired by the works of Erika Blumenfeld as well as the historical, scientific findings of the group known as the “Harvard Computers,” whose meticulous, hand-drawn maps of the sky inspired Blumenfeld’s artistic practice. 

This event will be conducted in conjunction with the Wasatch Mountain Institute at Jordanelle State Park, one of Utah’s renowned Dark Sky parks. Members of the WMI’s team will lead participants through the park and provide them with an up-close look of the sky above via their telescopes. They will then be able to partake in their own documentation experience through utilizing traditional mapping techniques in order to create personal “light maps” that show their own perception of the stars. Families will create maps that can be scientific or imaginative, making their own constellations and creating art from their own guided observations.