Youth Engagement Articles

Discover the Park – Youth

The stars aligned: After a successful Dark Sky Star Bright event, planning begins for next year

The stars aligned: After a successful Dark Sky Star Bright event, planning begins for next year

Well over 1,000 people attended one of the more than 50 events that made up our Dark Sky Star Bright festival this year – art exhibits, candlelit dinners, astronomy programs, author talks, film-screenings, saunas under the stars, and more. “The response to our first-ever festival was out of this world,” says Jeff Rennicke, Executive Director of Friends of the Apostle Islands.Festival goers enjoy the indoor planetarium and other activities in the Bayfield Pavilion - Jon Okerstrom photoInside the planetarium - Bob King photoAurora corona display - Bob King photoThe success of the new event, a...

Stories, songs and science fill day two of Bayfield’s Dark Sky Star Bright Festival

Stories, songs and science fill day two of Bayfield’s Dark Sky Star Bright Festival

It was standing room only at Apostle Islands Booksellers on day two of the Dark Sky Star Bright Festival in Bayfield. The nine-day festival organized by the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore features more than 50 events tied to celebrating and preserving our precious night sky. During his bookstore appearance, Michael Laughing Fox Charette told stories, sang and performed with a variety of flutes and a drum to present "Dark Skies from the Asnishinaabe Perspective." He is a Native American storyteller, poet, and member of the Red Cliff Band of...

First-ever Dark Sky Star Bright Festival is off to a stellar start in Bayfield

First-ever Dark Sky Star Bright Festival is off to a stellar start in Bayfield

An indoor planetarium, night sky painting and other activites drew hundreds of people to Bayfield's Lakeside Pavilion for the kick-off of the first Dark Sky Star Bright Festival. They came from as near as Bayfield, Washburn and Ashland to as far away as St. Paul, Duluth, Cloquet and Virginia, Minnesota. The nine-day event organized by the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshor features more than 50 events designed to celebrate and draw attention to the spectacular night sky we are fortunate to enjoy on the Bayfield peninsula.In just three hours, 170...

The stars aligned: After a successful Dark Sky Star Bright event, planning begins for next year

Dark Sky Star Bright celebration schedule of events for January 17-25, 2026

Bayfield’s winter has always had a quiet kind of magic — the kind that shows up when the lake is still, the nights are long, and the sky finally has your attention. Dark Sky, Star Bright was created to celebrate exactly that. From January 17–25, 2026, we’re inviting you to slow down, look up, and experience winter on Lake Superior in a whole new way. This nine-day event will bring together stargazing, photography, wellness, and night sky education — all designed to help you reconnect with nature and yourself in the calm beauty of Bayfield’s winter landscape. In collaboration with the...

Friends donation supports Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Junior Rangers program

Friends donation supports Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Junior Rangers program

Thousands of children who aspire to become Apostle Islands Junior Rangers will be able to complete their activity booklets, take the oath and earn their badges thanks in part to Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. In support of our Education Pillar, the Friends board of directors approved a request from the park to pay for printing of 2,000 booklets, to support the Lakeshore's ongoing Junior Rangers program.The National Park Service Junior Ranger program is an activity-based educational initiative designed for children from 4 to 12 years old and their families. Like many of...

Friends of the Apostle Islands and you: the art of making a difference

Friends of the Apostle Islands and you: the art of making a difference

A letter from our Executive DirectorsDear Friend, With so many good causes out there this time of the year, how do you decide which organizations to support? Well, making a difference is an art. As you plan your charitable gift-giving this holiday season, we hope you will consider:Giving to support the a place you love: the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is one of only three national lakeshores in the country, “a unique collection of islands” according to Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day and sponsor of the 1970 legislation to create the national lakeshore.Giving to a group that...

2024 Island School students depart Bayfield for an adventure of a lifetime

2024 Island School students depart Bayfield for an adventure of a lifetime

A Superior send-off. For more than three decades, Island School has empowered local school kids to learn in and experience the beauty of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. They departed City Dock today on a three-day, two-night immersion experience on Stockton Island, led by Northland College and the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute and funded in part by Friends of the Apostle Islands.More than 5,000 students have attended Island School since it began in 1986... students who might otherwise not get to experience the islands. Former Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore...

Celebrate the Apostle Islands during National Park Week, April 20-28

Celebrate the Apostle Islands during National Park Week, April 20-28

Video courtesy National Park ServiceThe Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a national treasure. It's also one of more than 400 national parks being celebrated during this special nine-day event, April 20-28, 2024.The National Park Service has given each day a theme: Saturday, April 20: Discovery What will you discover? A new place, a new interesting fact, a new activity. For parks that have them, entrance fees are waived on this day. (The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore does not charge entrance fees.) Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is doing an Earth Day Community...

Protecting the Apostles from plastics one lunch at a time

Protecting the Apostles from plastics one lunch at a time

Sandra Harris just wanted to make her kids a healthy lunch. She may have started a revolution that could change your next trip to the Apostle Islands. Harris, who worked as an investigative journalist, was all-too aware of the worldwide plastic pollution problem and its associated health issues. But from years in the nonprofit world, she knew too that change could happen if people just had the tools to work with. Then, an idea came to her one-day while packing school lunches for her kids.Stainless steel lunch boxes and snack containers - Ecolunchbox photo“I wanted to eliminate plastics from...

Connect with your Friends at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin March 10-12

Connect with your Friends at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin March 10-12

If paddling the amazing sea caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is on your bucket list, we invite you to see us at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin next weekend, March 10-12. This annual event includes more than 100 educational presentations and clinics on kayaking, canoeing and related topics, including two by Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke. You'll also be able to learn from the experts what gear you need to safely explore the islands.Alliant Energy Center1919 Alliant Energy WayEvent host Rutabaga Paddlesports of Madison says Canoecopia is the largest paddlesports...