16th Annual


Indiana Family Star Party
and Greatcon 2018

Preliminary Schedule of Events:
Tuesday 3:00 pm Gates open
     
Wednesday 3:00 pm Gates open
  9:01 pm Sunset
  dusk till dawn Observing
Thursday 3:00 pm Gates open
9:00 pm Sunset
dusk till dawn Observing
Friday 10:00 am Gates open
10:00 am- noon Brunch at the Nature Center.
daytime Solar observing at the Observatory.
11:30 am -noon Swap meet at food and picnic shelter.
4:00 pm Single-day admission opens
6-7:30 pm Swap meet at food and picnic shelter.
6:15 pm Ice Cream Social and IFSP Orientation in front of the Nature Center.
7:00 pm Brian Tanner will present his talk about 'Mars Next'
8:00 pm Sky Trekker Launch at the Nature Center.
8:30 pm Beginning Astronomy Workshop at the Nature Center.
8:59 pm Sunset
  9:00 pm Constellations talk by Lisa at the Nature Center.
10:00 pm Sky Trekker Testing
Dusk till dawn Observing
Saturday 10:00 am Gates open
10:30 am GREATCon Astro-Quiz
daytime Solar observing at the Observatory.
11:30 am-noon Swap meet at food and picnic shelter
  12:45 pm Intro session: IFSP Orientation at the Nature Center.
  1:00-2:00 pm Rafael Lang will be presenting a some of his research and understanding of 'Dark Matter and Dark Energy'.
  2:30 - 3:30 pm B.J. Austin will be presenting 'Where We Have Been, Where We Are Going, and How We Are Going To Get There'
  4:00 - 5:30 pm Ron Whitehead will be presenting about 'Things you didn't know about Astronomy'.
  6-7:30 pm Swap meet at food and picnic shelter.
  6:00 pm Awards and door prizes in the Nature Center.
  8:00 pm Sky Trekker Launch in the Nature Center.
  8:30 pm Beginning Astronomy Workshop at the Nature Center.
  8:58 pm Sunset
  9:00 pm Constellations talk by Lisa at the Nature Center.
  10:00 pm Sky Trekker Testing
  dusk till dawn Observing
Sunday 12:00 noon Event closes
GREATCon Astro Quiz: The Great Lakes Region of the Astronomical League will be holding an astro-quiz at 10:30 am Saturday in the Nature Center.
Note:  The exhibition area at the south end of the Nature Center is still available (after Friday brunch) if you have images or artwork or telescopes/equipment you'd like to exhibit for general appreciation.

Sky Trekker and Sky Trek Adult: Sky Trekker and Sky Trek Adult are popular programs for learning how to find major star patterns (constellations and asterisms) and other objects in the night sky.  Sky Trekker is for kids and teenagers and Sky Trek Adult is for anyone 18 and older.  Click here for more information.

Daytime Solar Observing: The Observatory has an H-alpha solar filter for the 16" LX200R, and a white-light filter for the 7" refractor, which will be used for observing sunspots and solar prominences during the day.

Swap Meet: 11:30am-12 noon and 6:00pm-7:30 Friday and Saturday, at the picnic shelter north of the Nature Center. An extra table will be set up for this since the picnic shelter will also be used for the food vendor.

All Night Long: Stargazing. And if it clouds up, or you just need a break, Sci-fi movies will be showing all night long (Fri-Sat only) in the Nature Center. Free coffee, hot chocolate, and popcorn will be available from 9pm till midnight (Fri-Sat only).