For info about  monthly CCAS star parties, see Star Parties

For notes about past outreach events, please scroll down the page.

This page provides information about CCAS' community involvement.  The CCAS occasionally considers requests for astronomy and space exploration presentations and/or star parties.  Given that the CCAS is a very small organization of volunteer amateur astronomers who have very busy professional and personal lives, our outreach activities depend on the availability of members to volunteer their time to devote to an event.

If your school, organization or business would like the CCAS to conduct a presentation and/or a star party, please see CCAS Operations for the names of personnel to contact or send an email to ccas@ccastronomy.org to start the ball rolling.  We will give your request serious consideration, contacting you to discuss the physical logistical issues and see what members may be interested in participating.  If a star party is desired, please pay close attention to the guidelines below, especially that we will need direct vehicle access to the viewing site for equipment setup and operation.

Please be aware that the CCAS conducts its monthly star party at the Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground, which the public is strongly encouraged and very welcome to take advantage of.  There is no admission charge.  This is by far the best first opportunity in participating in stargazing having some nice telescopes to look through and knowledgeable astronomers in attendance.  For further information about monthly CCAS star parties, see Star Parties.   Or, contact the CCAS at ccas@ccastronomy.org.

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Guidelines and Words of Caution

If you wish to have the CCAS conduct an astronomy or space exploration program, here are important items to think about and be prepared to answer when contacting the CCAS.  Programs can be very simple or more in-depth depending on the audience and availability of knowledgeable volunteer CCAS astronomers.

Regarding Children
The CCAS highly encourages the involvement of children at presentations and star parties.  We gladly support schools when possible.  But, please understand the following note of concern.  If a program involves children, please bear in mind that astronomy is only appropriate for children that can pay attention and concentrate on the presentation.  Star parties are very, very dark, so children must also be able to take direction well and be very careful working outside in total darkness.  A star party viewing area is not a play area.  Very young children are generally not encouraged to attend a program so that the audience can concentrate on what is being presented.  Children must be fully supervised by adults as CCAS members are not prepared to handle such matters and will not bear such responsibility.  Plus, there may be very expensive and delicate telescopic equipment involved (some having electrical wiring running on the ground, etc.) that needs to be treated carefully.  Please consider the following ....

General Considerations
Do you wish to have a slide presentation or a star party or both?  As stated above, if you are interested in a star party, an excellent first option is to attend one of the CCAS' monthly star parties held at the Santa Margarita Lake KOA Kampground.  For additional info, see Star Parties and consult our Calendar for dates of upcoming star parties.  Here are some important items to consider:

» What are the possible dates for your program?
» Where will the program be held?  What address?
» What facilities will be used?  A large room and chairs for a slide show? Covered windows?
» Will restroom facilities be available?  A must for events.
» Will adequate parking be available?
» Do you have appropriate liability and facility insurance coverage?
» How many people will be in the audience?   Adults, children or both?
» If children are involved, what is the age range?   Will their parents be present?
» If children are involved without their parents, who is responsible for the children?
» Will special accommodations be needed for disadvantaged audience members?
» What is your desired goal for the program?
» What is your desired time length of the program?

Presentations
» Do you have an indoor facility having sufficient seating for the audience?
» Do you have several 5-ft or 6-ft tables for astronomy table displays?
» Is there a place to set-up a slide projector and a portable screen?
» Does the facility have a large, pull-down projection screen?
» Is a white-board and color markers available?   A chalk board?
» Will someone be available "early" to open gates & facilities, to coordinate and set up seating, etc.?

Star Parties
» Please see Star Parties for info on monthly CCAS star parties and pointers.
» Do you have a dark viewing location?  Building lights and street lights are BAD.
» If using a lawn area, be sure that automatic lawn sprinklers do not operate that night
     and have not run the past day to insure dry ground conditions.
» Safety is an important issue as it is extremely dark during stargazing.
» Children must be supervised at all times due to safety and expensive equipment.
» Are you interested in viewing the Moon, the cosmos or both?
» How late can attendees stay?  Sometimes good viewing is late in the evening.
» Astrophotography is very specialized, so this is not part of CCAS star parties.
» There must be vehicle access to the telescope viewing area for set-up.
» Will there be locked gates that must be unlocked for the event?
» CCAS members may want to arrive early for equipment set-up.
» White-light flashlights are not to be used in the viewing area.
» Please notify the police of the late-night event.
» Cloudy weather will cancel a star party.

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Selected Past Outreach Events

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.  For photos of this event, see Star Parties.