SkyDay is a free educational platform with a single goal – to connect people across the world via our magnificent sky! Initially set up by the award-winning artist Ben Whitehouse, as a way to encourage people to talk about our sky and climate, the SkyDay team is now made of an inspiring mix of artists and scientists, including a Nobel prize sharer and an astronaut.

SkyDay is committed to providing free educational tools to people across the world, and from all backgrounds, so that they can learn to fully appreciate the sky from both a scientific and an artistic perspective. Whilst these tools are available throughout the year, Sky Day itself takes place on the 21st September, and in the build-up to this event the team is encouraging people to get involved with two global initiatives to celebrate the sky in all of its many shapes and forms:

1. By taking part in SkyDayProject – simply take a photograph of the sky that contains ONLY the sky, and Tweet it using the hashtag #SkyDayProject. (To get into the Cloud Appreciation Gallery Tweet with BOTH hashtags #SkyDayProject #CloudAppSoc) Participants will be contributing towards an online citizen artwork – a constantly changing and evolving mosaic of the sky made up of images from across the world. See it at skydayproject.org
2. By writing a sky-ku – inspired by haiku, these short poems are a fantastic way for people across the world to collectively share their love of the sky. You can find out how to write a sky-ku and submit your efforts here.

An example of a sky-ku written by Sam Illingworth

If you are interested in running a SkyDay activity at your school or institution then the team would love to hear from you, and they also have a range of educational tools to help! Please feel free to get in contact with Dr Sam Illingworth (s.illingworth@mmu.ac.uk), who would love to hear about how you plan to celebrate SkyDay this year.