They were explorers from Saratoga.

More specifically, they were an excitable gaggle of 21 third-graders, part of Kelly Gangemi's class at Argonaut Elementary School, who were visiting Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve as part of a night hike.

Their mission: to seek different stars, planets and constellations in the night sky.

"We try to do it every year. I used to do this when I was a teacher in Micronesia and Thailand," said Gangemi.

She has been organizing the night hike for Argonaut third-graders for the last five years. On this trip, her students were shepherded by two docents who volunteer at the preserve.

"It makes the school curriculum more meaningful. It's easier to teach a concept," she said. Gangemi said that her students have to learn about the solar system and various constellations in class. "We have to study how the Earth rotates around the sun and how the moon rotates around the Earth," she said.

"My students have been waiting for this trip for months," Gangemi said.

Richard Rothschild, whose son Teddy was part of the group, said, "Some of his friends have been coming for this hike the last few years. Teddy was eager to come here. I grew up in the area. I like being here, too."

Teddy could not agree more as he rushed off to join his classmates.

One part of the trip involved the students and their parents turning off their flashlights and walking in complete silence. Gangemi explained that the exercise would enable everyone to hear the sounds of the night, better view the starlit sky and help bond with nature.

Silence prevailed for the first few minutes. But then a familiar question interrupted the silence.

"Are we done yet?" asked one of the students. Very soon, everyone was talking again.

Daryn Lau, another parent, said that he had left his office early to ensure that his daughter, Julianne, could be part of the night hike.

"I have brought my star gazer [small telescope]. I want to see some rabbits, maybe a badger," said Jacqueline Garbe. Her father, Kurt, said that she had been practicing looking for animals in the backyard of their home.

Bruce Lou, another student, said that he was most interested in looking for bats and owls. "The best thing about this night hike is that there is no homework," Bruce said. "I've never been here, in this part of the mountains, before."

"I want to see bobcats and coyotes. I've been on field trips and gone camping before," student Thomas Hunt said.

There were critters aplenty, but no bobcats or badgers could be sighted.

But did it matter? Certainly not.

There was enough excitement to keep everyone on their toes.

"Look, that's Venus," cried one excitable third-grader. "No, it's a plane, you dummy," said another.

Thankfully, Venus was found a little while later. "It's not twinkling, so it must be a planet," Thomas said.

Everyone else agreed and the problem of finding Venus was solved.