Summer is coming up and the school year is coming to an end. Parents will face the inevitable question, what to do with the kids?

As part of NASA’s outreach to get young students excited about space and science, nearly 100 seventh-graders at Kyrene Centennial Middle School met and chatted with astronauts this week during a live video call.

The engulfing majesty of the night sky is awe-inspiring, but finding time to view it away from the noise and light of the city is difficult. This Saturday, the East Valley Astronomy Club makes it a bit easier with its annual Star Party at Veterans Oasis Park.

Kyrene Centennial Middle School will be hosting its fourth Family Space Night next week, where students, parents and even staff can stargaze, learn more about telescopes, and participate in other activities.

Curiously, in an election year that was supposed to be about jobs and the economy, social issues with a religious and spiritual dimension have played an important role. Observing the annular solar eclipse last month, I had a little fantasy about what it must have been like to be Giulia Ammannati, the mother of Galileo. So imagine if you will, that the year is 1616.

The ever-identifiable voice of Johnny Cash may not be whistling in the background, but that doesn’t mean East Valley residents and astronomers across the globe won’t be experiencing their own “Ring of Fire” come sunset on Sunday.

Arizona is on the verge of joining a majority of other states in requiring children too big for special child restraints to be strapped into vehicles with booster seats.

The biggest fights of the just completed legislative session did not take place over money or even guns.

The biggest fights of the just completed legislative session did not take place over money or even guns.

Those families looking for a more spiritual option for their kids over the summer break can find a host of options in their own backyard and, chances are, their usual place of worship.

Those families looking for a more spiritual option for their kids over the summer break can find a host of options in their own backyard and, chances are, their usual place of worship.

When you walk into 88-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident Albert Ortiz’s home it’s clear to see that he has a passion.

Brushing aside concerns by astronomers, the state Senate voted Wednesday to legalize existing lighted digital billboards and potentially pave the way for more.

Brushing aside concerns by astronomers, the state Senate voted Wednesday to legalize existing lighted digital billboards and potentially pave the way for more.

It was not meant to be this year for Desert Vista High School.

The geek in all of us gets a pass to go a little crazy starting tomorrow, when the Arizona SciTech Festival kicks off at Arizona Science Center.