  Population III star formation during the dark ages shifted from minihalos
(~10^6 Msun) cooled via molecular hydrogen to more massive halos (~10^8 Msun)
cooled via Ly-alpha as Lyman-Werner backgrounds progressively quenched
molecular hydrogen cooling. Eventually, both modes of primordial star formation
were suppressed by the chemical enrichment of the IGM. We present a
comprehensive model for following the modes of Population III star formation
that is based on a combination of analytical calculations and cosmological
simulations. We characterize the properties of the transition from metal-free
star formation to the first Population II clusters for an average region of the
Universe and for the progenitors of the Milky Way. Finally, we highlight the
possibility of observing the explosion of Population III stars within Ly-alpha
cooled halos at redshift z~6 in future deep all sky surveys such as LSST.
