Participants in Chicago Westside Sports play baseball at Columbus Park. (WTTW News)

A group of police officers and community leaders are using their time off to give back to underserved communities by getting young kids to play sports. We head to Columbus Park on the West Side to learn more.  

Chicago as seen from the International Space Station. The Palos Preserves Urban Night Sky Place is outlined in green. (Courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center)

Palos Preserves has been named an Urban Night Sky Place by the International Dark-Sky Association. The site emits nearly 1,000 times less light than downtown Chicago, with four times as many stars visible in the night sky than can be seen in the city.

This combination of book cover images shows cover art for upcoming releases. (AP Photo)

From wars to plagues to the Sept. 11 attacks, the literary response to historic tragedies has been a process of absorbing trauma — often beginning with poetry and nonfiction and, after months or years, expanding to narrative fiction.

This view of Jupiter was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft on Feb. 12, 2019, as the spacecraft performed its 17th science pass of Jupiter. (Courtesy of NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS)

Jupiter and Earth are currently about as close as they get to each other. The outer planet is visible from sunset to sunrise and is among the brightest objects in the sky.

View of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Park. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

An entry fee proposed by the National Park Service would provide funding for additional visitor amenities at the park and address a maintenance backlog, officials said. Here’s how you can weigh in on the plan.

A hawk moth. (Ian Lindsay / Pixabay)

If crack-of-dawn birding isn’t your thing, maybe give under-the-cover-of-darkness moth-watching a try this weekend at Indian Ridge Marsh. 

Teens can learn to build a fire, pitch a tent and work as a team as part of a new Chicago Park District program. (WTTW News)
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From starting a fire to pitching a tent, some Chicago teens are learning what it takes to camp in the great outdoors. We visit the Lincoln Park neighborhood to learn more about the program.

The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa. (WTTW News)

The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa as part of the Chicago Works Capital Plan to modernize infrastructure and improve access to and safety of transportation.

Water safety advocates want flotation devices like life preserver rings or life buoys made available throughout the lakefront. (WTTW News)

Lake Michigan is one of Chicago’s biggest attractions. And while it’s scenic, it’s also sometimes dangerous. What water safety advocates are proposing to stop people from drowning and dying in the lake.

Each hole on the new Douglass 18 minigolf course represents a specific bird. (Courtesy of Douglass 18 Partners / Lincoln Park Zoo)
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Three years in the making, the Douglass 18, a bird-themed mini-golf course, opens Saturday in Douglass Park. Neighborhood teens researched and designed the holes, drawing inspiration from Chicago’s bird population.

(WTTW News)

The industrial history of Chicago’s Southeast Side has drawn criticism for its impact on the environment and residents’ health. Some say it also makes it difficult for residents to get around by foot or bike. How one South Deering program is working to change that.

A preschool student listens as her teacher talks during class at Dawes Elementary School at 3810 W. 81st Place on the Southwest Side, Monday morning, Jan. 11, 2021. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Chicago Sun-Times / Pool)

Playing sports. Hugging family and friends. Going to school or the doctor's office. What’s the risk of COVID-19 exposure for each of these activities among children who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine? More than 100 physicians weigh in as part of a new survey.

Bill Clements, head trainer at Tempel Farms. (WTTW News)

At a farm just north of the city, trainers are working to preserve an art form on display at the Tokyo Olympics. We visit Tempel Farms to see the Lipizzan stallions they’re teaching to dance.

Kameron Stanton and Chevon Linear give us the last word on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices.” (WTTW News)

Meet travel enthusiasts Chevon Linear and Kameron Stanton who are using TikTok to encourage Black people to explore the outdoors. 

Visual artist Marcella Torres. (WTTW News)

Marcella Torres, an artist-in-residence at the Pilsen garden described as an “outdoor community center,” tells us about the new project she’s creating for the space with a little help from volunteers.

The Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center has brought Afro-Latin dance, music, and art to Chicago’s West Side since 1971. (Courtesy of SRBCC)

Chicago’s oldest Latino cultural institution has brought Afro-Latin dance, music and art to the West Side since 1971. Now it’s celebrating a milestone after one of the most difficult years arts organizations have ever faced.