This February, it’s easy to spot Jupiter in the night sky and point it out to kids. Helping them learn to spot Jupiter is an easy way to help kids see our place in the solar system. You can see Jupiter high in the sky in the evening, and it’s the brightest “star” you’ll ever see up there. Venus is brighter than Jupiter, but it’s visible only when it’s near the horizon. You can also use game pieces from my game Planet Voyagers to show kids where Jupiter is compared to Earth. It’s 5 times as far away from the sun as we are, and it’s currently about 90° to one side. Jupiter appears to the east of the sun, which is to the left in the northern hemisphere and to the right in the southern hemisphere.

On the 14th & 15th, the moon appears near Jupiter in the sky. If you show kids where the moon is a couple different days starting around the 12th, you’ll see the moon get both more full and further east from one evening to the next.

Planet Voyagers is available direct from the publisher, Simply Fun.