Los Angeles KidsOutAndAbout Newsletter
January 8, 2026

Local in-person events this weekend

FREE events this weekend

Local in-person events next weekend

Master Guide to Winter Fun

Big List of Memberships and Season Passes

Post your organization and events to our site (It's all FREE!)

Tue, Jan 13: LILA Mini Club - French Classes at International School of Los Angeles / Lycée International de Los Angeles
Sat, Jan 17: MLK Day at the Skirball - Skirball Cultural Center at Skirball Cultural Center
Mon, Jan 19: Museum OPEN for MLK Day at Pretend City Children's Museum
Fri, Jan 23: Free Family World of Magic & Wishes Event at The Shops at Mission Viejo

Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:
 

I'm in Phoenix this week for a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, where I'm giving a talk about my new book, The Eclipse Effect. One of the best parts of being here is getting to attend the other presentations, too, which is how I found myself Monday night inside under the Dorrance Planetarium Dome at the Arizona Science Center, gazing up at a sky unlike any I’ve ever seen. Thanks to cutting-edge LED projection technology and the first imagery from the nearly-complete Rubin Observatory in Chile, the dome became a portal into the depths of our galaxy and beyond, rendered in light so vivid and detailed it felt like we could fall in.

The room was full of astronomers, researchers, educators—professionals who have dedicated their careers to explaining the universe. These were the very people who helped build the tools, who'd worked the math, who’d waited decades to see the science take shape... and even they were astonished: Their faces were lit up with the kind of awe you usually only see in children. It was a reminder that at its heart, science is about connection. Connecting those points of light above my head, yes; connecting the dots, sure... but also connecting people—to each other, to wonder, and to what’s possible.

If you want your kids to connect deeply with science—or history, or nature, or culture, or space—you don’t need a telescope on a mountain, you just need a person. So go to the museum, walk the trail, step into the planetarium. But don’t stop at the exhibit signs: Find the people! Ask them questions. They want to talk to you! These docents, tour guides, librarians, explainers, and educators are the ones who turn information into illumination. They are the lens your kids can look through to see what their future might be.

So seek the sky painters. Then stand next to your kids, look up, and be amazed together.
 
—Debra Ross, publisher

KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more.

If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes from Deb" section of our site.