McCall Astronomy Club

McCall Astronomy Club
The Astronomy Club at McCall Elementary, is organized and run by McCall parent volunteers who are excited about our night skies! The association’s activities will depend largely on parental involvement along with their child’s interest.

Please take a few minutes to review the Participation Guidelines below.
Visit McCall Astronomy Club Photo Gallery to see pictures of past meetings.
Visit McCall Astronomy Club News to read the latest news.

Meetings & Calendar

Members meet twice a month on Friday evenings
Indoor meetings and outdoor star gazing activities
Please note that there will be no bus service provided. It will be the parent’s responsibility to bring their child to meetings.

1st Meeting - Indoor Introductory meeting

Introduction
Student kits
Information about observing logs and rewards

Indoor Meetings - Guest speaker or indoor activities

Indoor meetings are from 6-7 pm in the McCall library
Presentation by local experts

Outdoor Meetings - Stargazing

Outdoor meetings are in the school basketball court
Outdoor meetings start at sunset and last about 1½ - 2 hours, depending on weather, time of sunset and clear skies.
High quality telescopes are setup for the stargazing activities

Calendar 2019-2020

1st Indoor introductory meeting : September 13, 2019
Subject to change and cancellation. Please check update email update before each meeting.
If weather is undesirable, outdoor meeting could be rescheduled to either on Saturday or next Friday.

Month	Indoor (6-7 pm)	Outdoor (Sunset)
September	13	27
October	4	18
November	1	15
December	6	TBD
January	10	24
February	7	21
March	---	20
April	3	17
May	---	8 (Year end party)

* Tentative dates for trip to Dark Sky Observation at Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus in Crowell, TX

Saturday, 2016/10/29
Saturday, 2016/12/03

Registration

For membership registration, visit: Online Toolkit and select Astronomy Club Registration. Membership fee is $30 per student. Registration will be open on in late August.
There is a 35 student limit on the membership. If the registration is full, be sure to stay on the waiting list. The club will try to accommodate all students with help from parent volunteers. You will be notified via email if your application has been accepted for membership for the school year.

Participation Guidelines

Indoor meetings are in classroom presentation format. General classroom rules should be followed.
Outdoor meetings are open events. All family members and guests are welcome. No pets please!
Outdoor meetings will be in the dark. Safety is of utmost importance and each student must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Outdoor meetings are held in the basketball court behind the school.
Parents are encouraged to get involved and volunteer. All volunteers are required to complete the PISD Volunteer Application each year.

Useful Links

Ask A Question - Here you will find answers to questions asked by kids, which are answered by a help desk at IPAC, NASA. You can ask a question too!
Astronomy For Kids - Simple, easy to understand facts about the universe for younger kids, wonderful Images from the Hubble telescope.
Frisco StarFest - A Texas Astronomical Society event. This free event is held at Frisco Commons Park on 2nd Saturday of the month. Approximately a dozen telescopes will be set up for your viewing pleasure. Begins at dark and concludes at 10:30pm.

Kids Astronomy - Packed with games, activities, fun facts, and resources to help Teachers, Parents, and Students of all ages.
NASA Kids club - An informative site with Astronomy related games.
Planetary Images from NASA - Detailed, in depth information about the planets in our solar system with great images taken in outer space.
Star Child - A website created by Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA, for kids to learn more about our universe
The Space Place - Offers information, games, and cool activities for both kids and teachers.
Be an Astronomer Right from Your Window! - You can be your own astronomer and your own scientist, all from the comfort of your own home or your own backyard.