The San Antonio Astronomical Association has educational programs for all age groups.
We host star parties almost weekly at schools and educational institutions throughout the school year.
Many schools choose to schedule on a night that coincides with their STEM or science programs.
If interested, please contact us for available dates well in advance.
You can make a request thru our Event Request Page.

What To Expect
A school star party generally consists of evening viewing from dusk to dark.. around 6:30-8:30pm but shifting
an hour later depending on Daylight Saving Time. Members will arrive around 5-5:30pm and set up
equipment on the school property. We usually have 3-5 members with different types and sizes of telescopes.
We can request more or less members based on the number of students expected.

Each member will choose an object or two to present. Students can then line up at multiple stations,
moving from one station to the next. Once the attendees/students have visited all of the stations they
may choose to visit a station again. As time progresses, viewing conditions may improve, objects may be
higher in the sky (allowing better viewing), or more objects may be visible.

Depending on the time of year, certain planets may or may not be visible. You can ask when scheduling what will
be visible so that you can adjust your lesson plans to match what the students will be able to see.

Faculty and staff, parents & siblings are invited to take part in these events.

What we ask for in appreciation of our services.

• Students be instructed not to touch or move telescopes without permission.
• A field or piece of property with minimal lighting, or maintenance with the ability
  to turn off lighting in that area.
• Vehicle access to the field or area, or just adjacent to the area. Some telescopes weigh more
  than 50-75lbs.
• An on-site meal for volunteers is requested.
  (Many members will be traveling to the school directly from work)

Travel Stipend for Outreach Outside The San Antonio Area
If your school is outside the San Antonio area, we ask for a gas stipend which is
determined by number of telescopes needed & distance from San Antonio. An example of locations
that would meet this ask would be (Bulverde, New Braunfels, Boerne, Castroville, Floresville).
An outreach coordinator can discuss this further with you.

Rescheduling Due to Inclement Weather
We can offer an indoor plan if weather forecasts indicate cloud cover or rain, or reschedule for
another date usually several weeks later if one is available.