Verbatim
Image 1 (At school)
Narration
This summer, I had the most amazing vacation camping with my family. I know what you’re thinking: “Sound
s boring!” But let me tell you more about it…
Sound
School area
Image 2 (In the car)
Narration
We left the city and were driving to some unknown destination. In fact, I was beginning to think we were lost.
Bubble
Are we almost there?
Bubble
I’m hungry.
Sound
Car
Image 3
Mother
Stop pestering your Father
! We’re almost there… aren’t we?
Girl
Why are we going to spend our vacation in the woods near a river? There’s nothing to do!
Boy
Yeah! No stores, no video games… Nothing to see for miles around.
Sound
Car
Image 4
Narration
My parents had decided to bring us fishing even though they knew my brother and I didn’t want to spend our vacation in the country. They told us that the decision had been during a family meeting.
Bubble
Meeting? What family meeting?! I sure wasn’t invited!
Sound
Car
Image 5 (In the forest)
Narration
When we arrived at our destination, we were not on a river. Instead, we parked in a clearing in the mountains. I was sure we were lost.
Boy
I thought we were going to camp along a river…
Father
Um, well… Your Mother and I got another idea!
Girl
But there’s nothing here. No friends… No music…
Mother
You mean noise…
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 6
Boy
Dad, are you sure you wouldn’t rather be in a hotel in the city?
Father
I guarantee that what I am about to show you cannot be found in the city!
Narration
My brother and I were disappointed. Except for bugs, I couldn’t imagine what we would find in this clearing that we didn’t have in the city. On the other hand, I could think of a really long list of things that can be found in the city but not in the forest!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 7
Narration
When nighttime came, my Father
showed us something really amazing.
Father
Look!
Boy
I don’t see anything special…
Girl
Look at the sky, not his finger!
Boy
Oops!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 8
Boy
I still don’t see anything special…
Bubble
Let your eyes adjust!
Bubble
Wow!
Narration
There were thousands of stars in the sky. It was fantastic!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 9
Boy
I never realized there were so many. It’s hard to believe!
Girl
Do you know what that white band across the sky is?
Father
That’s the Milky Way. Our galaxy.
Narration
It was incredible! There were so many more stars out there compared to in the city. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. I can’t even describe how it made me feel to see this giant disk of stars that our own Sun belongs to… It boggled my mind.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 10
Boy
Uh, wait a minute… Did you say our galaxy?!
Narration
My dad was right. It was our galaxy. He explained that the Milky Way contains at least 100 billion stars! And beyond it, there are billions of other galaxies, each of which contains billions more stars! I’m telling you, it made me dizzy just thinking about it…
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 11
Boy
I don’t understand why there are more stars here than in the city.
Girl
It’s the same sky after all!
Mother
The reason is light pollution.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 12
Girl
What’s light pollution?
Boy
It’s light that blinds us.
Mother
Your brother is right. Light pollution is the artificial light we shine towards the sky that hides the stars. It’s caused by light aimed in the wrong direction, or too much light, or lights that don’t even need to be on. And it doesn’t just make stars disappear… it creates a bunch of other problems too.
Narration
My dad told us that in cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, more than 95% of the stars have disappeared from the sky. That’s a lot! There’s almost none left!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 13
Boy
You’re exaggerating…
Girl
Yeah… light isn’t like greenhouse gases. We can turn off lights. Light isn’t permanent.
Narration
But my parents weren’t exaggerating. And it’s not just disappearing stars that are the problem. Light pollution also has negative effects on animals, plants and even our health. Not to mention that it’s a big waste of money and energy.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 14
Mother
Even though the effects of light pollution aren’t as serious as climate change, they’re still significant.
Mother
The starry sky has inspired humanity for thousands of years, yet today it’s disappearing.
Narration
When my Mother
<br /> said that, it made me sad. I realized that most kids in our country have never even seen the Milky Way.
Sound
Countryside, animals, fire, strange noise
Image 15
Narration
Suddenly, a strange thing happened! A man came out of nowhere and joined in our conversation about light pollution.
Amerindian
Your parents are right.
Girl
Who are you?
Mother
Where did you come from?
Amerindian
I’m from around here and my name is Magella.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 16
Narration
Magella explained to us that the stars are our link to the Universe. Without them, mankind is like a family living in a house without windows. The starry sky is our window onto the cosmos… it’s our view into that fantastic place that gave birth to the Earth. Light pollution closes that window.
Amerindian
Light pollution upsets many types of animals. For example, some birds fly into buildings because the lights disorient them. Even people are affected. There are some important chemical substances inside us that our bodies can only make when it gets dark. Life on Earth needs the night.
Amerindian
Would you like a marshmallow?
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 17 (At the school)
Narration
I’m telling you, it was fascinating. And it made me wonder why we always insist on making everything so bright at night…
Other Girl
Wow! That’s really cool… What happened next?
Sound
School area
Image 18 (In the forest)
Narration
I asked Magella what we can do to help. His answer was a bit surprising…
Amerindian
Discussing it is enough for now. After all, being aware of the problem is the first big step. You will figure out on your own how you can help.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 19
Narration
Later that night, after a good supper, some marshmallows, and the visit from the Amerindian
who went back to wherever he came from, we fell asleep and I dreamed of the moon, the stars, galaxies… (Sorry, I’m getting carried away!) When all of a sudden…
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 20
Narration
We were awakened by an unnatural noise.
Father
What’s going on?
Sound
Big noise
Image 21
Father
What’s that racket?
Boy
I knew it! We’re camped on a UFO landing site!
Girl
Stop talking nonsense!
Mother
Ah, silence! That’s better.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 22
Narration
It was amateur astronomers coming to watch the sky.
astronomer Good evening everyone! Beautiful place, isn’t it? Why don’t you get dressed and come look at the stars with us?
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 23
Boy
Wow!
Technician
Don’t be intimidated by all that equipment. He might have a telescope and computer, but without his gizmos he wouldn’t even know how to find Cassiopeia.
Narration
The man talking to us was the Technician
of the Mont Mégantic Observatory.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 24
Boy
But his stuff is so cool!
Technician
It sure is. A telescope is a very powerful piece of equipment! Don’t forget, though… you can still admire the stars without one.
Girl
True!
Technician
Yup! All you need are your eyes in a place like this where the sky is really black. There’s a lot you can see with the naked eye, and with a simple pair of binoculars, there’s even more to discover. There’s no point in using fancy equipment if you’ve lost our sense of wonder!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 25
Boy
Sure, but you have to admit, this telescope is really cool!
Technician
You’re absolutely right. Telescopes have changed our view of the world. Looking through a telescope is like magic. It shows us the Universe!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 26
Technician
Look up at the sky. Using only your eyes, you can see
stars
planets
constellations
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 27
Technician
And you can use a star finder to help you find the main stars and constellations in the sky.
Girl
Neat! How does it work?
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 28
Narration
The Technician
explained that many amateur astronomers in the region use simple tools like a star finder, binoculars and a telescope, big or small.
Father
Did you come here because this is one of the best places for stargazing?
Technician
Absolutely! You know how it’s almost impossible to see stars anywhere near a city …
Boy
Yes, we know!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 29
Girl
And there’s nothing we can do about it!
Technician
City lights are essential, but many of them are badly aimed or not really needed. That’s what makes light pollution.
Technician
Come with me… I want to show you something.
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 30
Narration
The Technician
walked us through the woods for a few minutes.
Boy
Where are we going?
Mother
I didn’t realize we were so close to the observatory.
Boy and Girl
Wow!
Sound
Countryside, animals and fire
Image 31 (At the observatory of the Mont-Mégantic)
Technician
I want to tell you about the program we put into place to curb light pollution.
Boy
Something can be done about it?
Father
Certainly. But everyone must make an effort.
Technician
Of course.
Image 32
Boy
Amazing! This is my best vacation ever!
Technician
Play the interactive game to reduce light pollution.
Technician
Now you can see through the telescope.
Narration
Imagine! I got to look through one of the biggest telescopes in Canada. There’s just one word I can think of to describe it: WOW!
Sound
Machinery of the observatory
Image 33
Narration
The Technician
explained how his work begins after sunset. First he checks the weather and adjusts the telescope and instruments. Then, when the stars come out, the real work begins! The astronomer knows what he wants to see, and the Technician
knows how to see it using the telescope.
Girl
Hey, it’s pretty cold here!
Father
The nights are chilly in the mountains, even in summertime.
Technician
And the telescope room is never heated. Even in the winter! If we heated it, the heat would leave through the dome and blur our vision of the stars. But the control room is warm! That’s where we keep our screens, computers and some hot chocolate to keep us awake!
Boy
Wow! That’s Saturn!
Narration
These days, astronomers don’t look through telescopes with their eyes… instead they use instruments. Luckily for us, they had just installed an ocular the night we were there because they were getting ready for the public astronomy festival taking place the following day.
Sound
Machinery of the observatory and the Sound
of the doors
Image 34
Boy
The Universe is so big!
Father
It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Technician
In fact, stars are so far away that the light they emit takes several hundred years to reach us! Their light carries a picture of how the stars looked several hundred years ago… It’s basically an image of the past! Galaxies beyond the Milky Way are even farther, and some of the images that reach us are several billion years old! They date back to when the Universe was very young. That’s why we say that telescopes are like time travel machines!
Girl
Is it true that astronomers are a bit like explorers of the history of the Universe?
Technician
Yes, that’s true. By exploring the stars, we have discovered that our existence here on Earth is part of 15 billion years of cosmic evolution. The history of the Universe is our history too…
Mother
Fascinating! But we still don’t know if there are other life forms out there, do we? We’re six billion humans floating in space… I sometimes wonder why we are here!
Technician
I don’t know if we are alone or not, or why we are here, but one thing is for certain: it’s all infinitely spectacular and mysterious… Never knowing the answer doesn’t really matter. The most important thing is not to lose our sense of wonder.
Sound
Machinery of the observatory
Image 35
Girl
Look. It’s beautiful!
Image 36 (In the forest)
Boy
I can hardly wait for nighttime so we can start stargazing again!
Mother
But we’re leaving today.
Boy and Girl
Oh no! We want to stay for the astronomy festival!
Sound
Countryside and fire
Image 37
Father
Okay! We’ll stay an extra day.
Boy
You mean, an extra night!
Father
Yes… an extra night!
Boy and Girl
Yay!
Sound
Countryside and fire
Image 38
Girl
Yay! Thanks, Dad!
Boy
Thanks, Mom!
Boy
I bet I can find Cassiopeia before you!
Girl
You’re on!
Sound
Countryside and fire
Image 39 (At the school)
Narration
In the end, I won. I found Cassiopeia before my brother. And now I’m starting up a project to help us see stars from where we live. Would you sign my petition? I’m sending it to the mayor so he can take steps towards reducing light pollution in our city.
Other Girls
Cool! I’ll sign it!
All the Girls
Me too!
Boy
In the end, I won. I found Cassiopeia before my sister!
Sound
School area
