For Teachers & Schools
We love to give presentations to schools and kids, but there are a few things you need to consider before sending us a request. Carefully read over our guidelines here, and if it still sounds like something you want to do, then send us an email.
After your initial request, you will be contacted by a member of our club about particulars for your event. While we do not charge for our services, donations are always welcome to the club.
Check out some feedback from past events:
Read About Past Events
Thursday, August 6th 2009, 11 PM
Star Party at Meadow Park in San Luis Obispo
Wow – what a fantastic event! We had over 200 people show up at sunset for our outdoor slide show, and about seven telescopes armed by CCAS club members Aurora Lipper and Gerard Pardeilhan and assorted Cal Poly students. We started off the night with a planetary slide show highlighting the laser beams on Jupiter, diamonds on Neptune, and why the sun burps and spits fireballs into space. Afterwards, we headed into deep-space by learning about how stars form, why they explode, and how to detect black holes. The evening ended with star gazing and cookies (brought by the attending families) of Jupiter, the Moon, and great astronomy tidbits by the local talent. We offer these free public viewing every summer at Meadow Park, and it’s well worth the trip!
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Sunday, 8-12-2001, 8:00 AM
Star Party at Santa Margarita Elementary School
Last night’s special star party for the Friends of Santa Margarita Library was a grand success! We were extremely fortunate to have 10 telescopes in operation for the public to look through. CCAS members volunteering their time, telescope and talent were Lee Coombs, Jim Carlisle, Kent Wallace, Glenn Elliott, Greg Campbell, Mike Arnett, Len Sutherland, Robin White and Walt Reil. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky, warm and calm. And we had a wonderful treat during the evening … the Perseid Meteor Shower. There was a sizable crowd of star gazers with many of the visitors having lawn chairs and blankets for a relaxed evening of viewing the Perseids. This was definitely a great evening. Doesn’t get better than this. Many, many thanks go to the Friends of Santa Margarita Library for organizing this event, inviting the CCAS to participate and in encouraging the public to get out of their homes and enjoy truly one of the fascinating aspects of our life on Earth.
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Saturday, 9-2-2000, 6:15 PM
Special August Star Parties a Grand Success
Reported by Lee Coombs in CCAS’ September Celestial Observer newsletter:
I want to thank all the members who helped out with the two MESA star parties in August. A couple of hundred kids seemed to enjoy themselves under clear, dark skies. Special thanks go out to Mike Arnett, Greg Campbell, Jim Carlisle, Fred McQuilliams, Melody Moore, Gereard Pardeilhan, Len Sutherland, Jim Swarbrik, Kent Wallace and Ray Yamamoto. Most showed up for both dates and their time is greatly appreciated. If I missed anyone, please accept my apologies.
I also had two observing sessions at my home observatory for a SLO Parks and Recreation program which consisted mainly of kids between the ages of 6 and 8! The challenge was having to lift many of them up to the eyepiece since my small step ladder was just one step too low for most of them when observing objects close to zenith. I wasn’t expecting such a young group but they were well-behaved and had good adult supervision. In addition, they were kept occupied with various projects while waiting their turn at the telescopes. The organizer, Terri Lipperk, did a really great job with the program. Mike Arnett provided some help with the first group and I had the whole show for the second one (about 15 kids and over 15 adults)!
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Saturday, 4/22/2000, 8:30 AM
Carrisa Plains Elementary School Star Party a Grand Success
The Carrisa Plains Elementary School Star Party last night was a WONDERFUL success! Having Jim Carlisle, Lee Coombs, Kent Wallace, Len Sutherland and Greg Campbell there with their telescopes and cosmic wisdom was outstanding. The weather was touch & go right down to the minute, but when it came time for the rubber-to-meet-the-road, the sky was totally clear for our viewing pleasure for the whole evening. The hotdog BBQ that the Carrisa Plains Elementary School put on was a very nice treat and all of our CCAS members (including my wife and daughter) were all very appreciative. The presentation by Walt Reil on the basics of beginning astronomy (the first time for greenhorn Walt giving such a presentation) went well with Jim, Kent, Lee and Len all providing much needed backup when Walt ventured into totally uncharted waters. Judging from all of the Oooohhh’s and Aaahhh’s in the darkness last night, the evening’s star gazing was a big hit, with pods of star gazers moving from scope to scope like bees around honey, buzzing about the stars as they went.
As always, Kent’s 20″ Star Splitter scope was very popular. Just as important, the other great scopes provided an excellent example to the audience of what real amateur astronomy is all about and what they might buy for themselves someday. My hat’s off to everyone for making this star party a fantastic success. Community outreach at its best. And having Sharon Graves’ direct involvement in providing much needed weather prognostication was outstanding. Well Done Team! You are all to be commended. On behalf of the CCAS, I wish to express a big Thank You to Carrisa Plains Elementary School, especially Debbie Twisselman and Jani Kasfeldt, for allowing the CCAS to visit them and their wonderful support of the evening’s activities. We hope that we have been successful in sparking that all important imagination and desire for learning more in the minds of the youngsters in what our Universe, Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System and its planets is all about … literally our future.