Geauga Park District’s Observatory Park, at 10601 Clay Street in Montville Township, is open daily 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. through Memorial Day, then 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. through Labor Day, and park naturalists are excited to help you explore this International Dark Sky Park!
Do you love outdoor movie nights? If so, mark your calendars for Observatory Park’s movie scheduled for these Saturdays: “Ralph Breaks the Internet” on June 22nd,“Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone” on July 27th, and “First Man” on August 10th Preshow activities begin at 8:00 p.m., with each movie starting at dark and including free popcorn and lemonade.
Observatory Park’s historic Nassau Astronomical Station, located at 10350 Clay Street, which opened in August 2017 for night sky viewing through one of the largest public telescopes in the state, will host Nassau Night Sky Viewings these Saturdays, 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: April 13th, May 11th and 25th, and June 8th. If conditions aren’t favorable, enjoy a planetarium show at the Robert McCullough Science Center instead.
Members of the Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society will also host Nassau Astronomy Night with CVAS these Saturdays, 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: April 20th, May 18th and June 15th.
If birding brings you peace, bring your binoculars to ascend the stairs of Nassau Astronomical Station on Saturday, May 11th, anytime between 6:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m., to join us on the outside catwalk, where we will be conducting a bird count from our elevated perch closer to the tree canopy!
If you live in the southern part of Geauga County, perhaps you’d like to visit Observatory Park, as well as Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Park and the recently acquired former Wicked Woods Golf Course property, during the Cross-Country Van Trip starting at Swine Creek Reservation the morning of Saturday, June 22nd. Learn more upon registration online or by phone.
Back at the main campus of Observatory Park, you can enjoy full moon programs from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, April 19th (The Frog Moon), Saturday, May 18 (The Whip-Poor-Will Moon), and Monday, June 17 (The Strawberry Moon).
Hour-long hands-on astronomy education will be presented these Fridays, 7 to 8 p.m.: April 12th (Mapping Mars), May 10th and 24th (Henrietta Leavitt: Visionary Astronomer), and June 7th and 21st (Asteroid Search), followed by night sky until 11:00 p.m. if weather permits.
What are some weird wonders of our moon: how it got there, what it’s doing, what it’s made of, for instance? Kids ages 3 to 5 with an adult love their super-fun, super-hands-on quarterly Astrotots, and this spring’s program will focus on Moon Mysteries during sessions available both Friday and Saturday, April 26th and 27th.
For Boy Scouts, Geauga Park District is pleased to offer Scout Day: BSA Astronomy Merit Badge Workshop here Wednesday, June 12th, with an astronomy Merit Badge Counselor onsite to help complete the process. More information is provided upon registration.
For horseback riders, registration is also required to enjoy one or both of the Horseback Trail Rides scheduled for Sunday, May 19th – the morning one faster, the afternoon one at a walker’s pace.
And finally, Astronomy Naturalist “Astro-Nat” Chris Mentrek will open the Robert McCullough Science Center and Oberle Observatory these Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., all featuring The Sky Tonight Planetarium Shows at 2:00 p.m.: April 28th, May 26th and June 23rd.
Learn more about Observatory Park any time of day or night on our new website. Cloudy skies will cancel some programs; to check in before coming, please call the Observatory Park hotline the day of the program at 440-279-0820.
For more on Geauga Park District offerings, please call 440-286-9516 or visit Geauga Park District online via www.geaugaparkdistrict.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube.
