What do children see or imagine when they Look Up at the Sky?

This study explores children’s perceptions of the sky and the Universe, as reflected in drawings created by Italian primary school students for a calendar competition organized by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), in collaboration with CINECA, UNITOV (Università di Roma Tor Vergata), and INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica), titled “Guarda su (Look Up)!”.

Children’s drawings represent a valuable tool for exploring their conceptual understanding, emotional engagement, and imaginative interpretations of scientific phenomena. In fact, drawing plays a crucial role in children’s development, as it stimulates imagination and represents an effective means of emotional expression.

Launched in 2005, the INGV calendar project invites schools each year to submit student artwork on Earth science themes. The initiative serves a dual purpose: engaging young learners with science, technology, and the natural world, while also providing a unique opportunity to explore their views of Earth and science

For the 2026 edition we invited primary school children to look up at the sky. But what do children know about the Universe? How do they perceive and represent the wonder offered by the sky—its vastness and its mystery?

Throughout history, humanity has looked upward to find route, measure time, and seek answers. Thanks to their imagination, children are able to travel among the stars without limits.  In the competition launched in February 2025, 65 schools from 21 Italian provinces participated, with 1,406 children submitting their drawings. We analyzed the drawings to understand what they represent in the sky and how they choose to depict it. Children transferred in the drawings the celestial objects they observe directly or those they would like to observe. These representations may reflect reality, derived from direct experience and from what scientific research allows us to know today, or they may be based purely on imagination and fantasy. In fact, alongside the Sun, the Moon, and clouds, children also depict planets, constellations, galaxies, and black holes, as well as rockets, spacecraft, and aliens.

Beyond offering insight into children’s feelings about what stands “above”, the results help evaluate how science is portrayed, assessing whether these representations contribute to a shared understanding of scientific concepts and to a less stereotyped image of science.

The 2026 calendar edition was produced with the support of the NET 2024–2025 Project, funded by the European Commission as part of the European Researchers’ Night.