Night Time Offerings:

• Night Sky Tours are star parties without telescopes. Limited to a maximum of 40 people. We gather outdoors after dark at your location. John will lead the group through a tour of the constellations and stars visible that evening. We will also find and discuss any visible planets, the Milky Way, as well as meteors (shooting stars) and satellites. The presentations always include a bit of sky-lore storytelling and time for questions and discussion. $200 plus mileage.
  

• Star Parties with Telescopes. Let Northern Stars bring its telescopes to your location and share the wonders of deep space with your group. We have a 8” Celestron telescope that John will keep on interesting objects such as visible planets, galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. We will also bring along several smaller telescopes for you and your students to try out. You will be instructed in their use and then allowed to try your hand at finding some interesting night sky wonders. $250 plus mileage.
  

• Binocular Sky Exploration This is an add-on to the Night Sky Tour. All participants must bring their own binoculars. John will lead the group through a binocular tour of sky objects using the “star hopping” method. Participants may see planets, binary stars, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies, as well as the Milky Way up close and personal! Free addition to both Night Sky Tours and Telescope Star Parties.

  These evening activities do not use the planetarium and are weather contingent. It is limited to schools and venues within 70 miles of Waterville, Maine.

Daytime Outdoor Astronomy Activities

• Safe Solar Observing John will lead your students on an understanding of our star the Sun through outdoor activities and discussion. The presentation will also discuss telescopes by looking at the one John will bring along for safe solar observing. Using a solar filter on the telescope, John will project an image of the Sun onto a screen for all to see. He will also demonstrate why you should never look directly at the Sun with your eyes alone or with a telescope. $165 for the first session, $120 for each subsequent session that day.

  
  

• Solar System Scale Model We will construct a scale model of the solar system outside of your school that illustrates both relative sizes of the planets as well as the distances between them. Once the model is in place well practice putting it in motion. This requires a large lawn, playground, or field and is limited to one classroom per session. $165 for the first session, $120 for each subsequent session that day.