Resources
Celestron Celestar 8"
An 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a nominal focal length of 2032mm (f/10).
Coronado Solar Telescope
A Coronado SolarMax MaxScope60 (60 mm aperture) H alpha scope with adjustable etalon for prominences, filaments and sunspots. It has a Coronado Cemax 25 mm eyepiece.
85mm Stellarvue Refractor on Celstron CG Mount
An 85mm refractor telescope.
Our Galaxy, Our Universe Kit
Two of the most misunderstood concepts in astronomy are distance and scale. Related to those are the difference between the Solar System, the Galaxy, and the universe. This ToolKit consists of activities and resources that are designed to help your audiences visualize the basic structure and organization of our Galaxy and the rest of the universe, and the place of our Solar System within it.
Exploring the Solar System Kit
This ToolKit includes hands-on activities to show the structure of our solar System, including models for sizes and distances, and to connect what is seen in the sky with where the planets are in relation to Earth. The many NASA missions that explore our Solar System serve as an inspiration to children and adults. This ToolKit also provides activities that give an introduction to the many ways we can explore, learn, and discover: fly-bys, orbiters, landers, probes, sample returns.
Life in the Universe Kit
Aliens are a favorite topic for many visitors to public astronomy events. This ToolKit is designed to take science fiction questions and direct them toward scientific facts and exciting new discoveries being made in the search for life outside Earth.
Shadows and Silhouettes Kit
Hands-on activities on Moon phases, lunar and solar eclipses, transits, and Venus phases. Features NASA’s Kepler Mission and provides activities to explore searching for planets orbiting in the habitable zone around other stars.
Space Rocks Kit
Our smallest Solar System neighbors are often overlooked when we think of objects in our solar neighborhood. But in fact, asteroids and comets have had dramatic effects on Solar System bodies, including Earth. Impacts are not just a part of history. The Earth is hit all the time with literally tons of space rocks. This ToolKit explores some of our smallest neighbors, asteroids, and their significance for us here on Earth.
Glass & Mirrors: An Inside Look at Telescopes Kit
Use the demonstrations in this ToolKit to answer questions that the public (or new club members!) may have about how telescopes work. Show how both a reflector and a refractor work.
Supernova Kit
The SUPERNOVA! ToolKit tells the story of the lives of stars, cosmic radiation, and how Earth is protected from that radiation. Using marshmallows and macaroni, explain nuclear fusion and the radiation generated from a supernova explosion. Use balls in an activity that illustrates what happens when a star explodes. Find the stars in the night sky likely to go supernova. Discover the importance of supernovae in the universe.
Telescopes: Eyes on the Universe Kit
This ToolKit provides hands-on activities to answer common questions at the telescope: Why don’t I see any color? Why is the image upside down? What power is your telescope? Why doesn’t it look like the photos? Can you see the flag on the Moon?
Our Magnetic Sun
This ToolKit provides activities and demonstrations that explore the Sun and its powerful magnetic fields, how these fields generate the features we observe, and how the Sun’s magnetic activity affects our way of life and technologies here on Earth.
Black Hole Survival Kit
This Toolkit consists of hands-on activities and resources that are designed to address gravity in general and black holes in particular as an extreme form of gravity.
Planet Quest Kit
The search continues for planets around distant stars. Many have short orbital periods. If planets like Earth exist, with smaller masses and longer orbital periods, their discovery will require more sensitive instruments and years of precise, sustained observation. The PlanetQuest ToolKit provides activities designed to pique interest and answer visitor questions about the hunt for exoplanets.
Big Astronomy Kit
This kit features the large telescopes in Chile. Activities include models of the Milky Way Galaxy, light pollution demonstrations, fun with filters, and legends from around the world.