Schedule:

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Thursday is an evening event only.

6:00 – Welcome & Merchandise pickup desk opens. Also, the food truck will be open for business. Bring your food to the Pavilion for dinner and mingle with the volunteers.

7:30 – The program begins with a welcome and a What’s Up Tonight presentation.

8:00 – Constellation Tour begins (If cloudy, programming will remain at the pavilion)>

8:30 – Telescope observing and nightscape photography workshop begins (astronomical twilight ends ~8:42).

Friday, September 15, 2023

Pre-event Activities:

The area abounds with potential activities that are not part of the festival. See the Searcy County Activity Guide for activity inspiration and the Dining Guide for meal inspiration. In addition, you might inquire about tubing at Grinder’s Ferry or Shine Eye. For an eye-opening insight into how settlers lived in the Ozarks not very long ago, visit the Collier Homestead at Tyler Bend, one of the last homesteads grants.

8:00 – 11:00 AM – Nature Hike, North Central Arkansas Master Naturalist. Gather at the NCAMN Table at 8:00.

Festival Activities at Bear Creek:

3:00 – Welcome/merchandising desk opens.

3:15 – The Sun, Real-time solar telescope views.

4:00 – Tabling (“tables” may be help-yourself unstaffed sources of information, continuously staffed, or periodically staffed for topic-specific workshop presentations. “TBD” means a precise time for a workshop has not yet been determined.)

- About library telescopes (NCAMN/ANSA).
o Using small telescopes and binoculars for sky-watching (4:00 - 4:30)
o Scale solar system walk (continuous with a special event 4:30 - 5:00)
o Observing the planets (5:00 - 5:30)
o How to participate in the festival scavenger hunt (5:30 – 5:45))

- Nature at Night (NCAMN)
o Learn about the various impacts of artificial light at night on wildlife (continuous)

- Central Arkansas Astronomical Society meteorite table.
o Touch, examine, and learn about meteorites (continuous)

- Observing Solar Eclipses (CAAS)
o Learn about the upcoming solar eclipse and how to observe it (continuous)

- Birds and Light Pollution (Audubon & LOH)
o How birds are impacted by light pollution during migration and other bird safety concerns. (continuous)

- Responsible lighting (ANSA)
o Self-certifying your home lighting as night sky friendly (4:15, 5:15)
o Measuring light pollution in your neighborhood and reporting it as a citizen scientist to Globe-at-night. (4:45)

- The STEM table (NWAS)
o Hands-on experiments involving the creation of impact craters and orbital mechanics. (continuous)
o Crater modeling (TBD)

- Explorer Scientific
o telescopes and related equipment (continuous)

- Wild Ones, Monarch Butterfly Conservation Partnership & NWACC
o Learning to use iNaturalist and Seek Apps to find and report on wildlife near you as a citizen scientist, and information/consultation for landscaping with native plants. (4:15, 4:45, 5:15) Check out the lightening bug display any time.

- Photo contest display and voting (AOPC)
Other activities, not at tables, for adults and children.

- Real-time solar projecting solar images (4:00 – 5:00)
- Giant bubble blowing (4:00 – 5:00)
- Stomp Rockets (5:00 – 5:45)

Pavilion Activities and Presentations:
5:45 – Dinner break, food is on your own
6:45 – Dinner Program - What literature tells us about how our connection to the night sky has changed, Phillip McMath
7:15 – Welcome and door prizes
7:30 - Dr. Dan Scheiman, the impacts of light pollution on birds.
8:00 – Transition to observing area, telescope show and tell (If cloudy, programming will be at the pavilion)
8:15 – Constellation Tour (nautical twilight ends ~8:12)
8:30 – Telescope observing and nightscape photography workshop (astronomical twilight ends ~8:42)

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Off-site - See Friday’s list.
9:00 – 11:00 AM – Nature Hike, North Central Arkansas Master Naturalist. Gather at the NCAMN Table at 9:00.

Tyler Bend Pavilion Campground:
10:00 – Girl and Boy Scout Astronomy Merit Badge program at Tyler Bend Pavilion

Festival Activities at Bear Creek:
1:00 PM Welcome/Merchandising desk opens.
2:00 – Tabling (“tables” may be help-yourself unstaffed sources of information, continuously staffed or periodically staffed for topic-specific workshops. See workshops below.)

- About library telescopes (NCAMN/ANSA).
o Using small telescopes and binoculars for sky-watching (2:00 - 2:30)
o The 250-yard Solar System (2:30 - 3:00)
o Observing the planets (3:00 - 3:30)
o Nerf-X Launch and Landing Tournament (3:30 - 4:00)
o How to participate in the festival scavenger hunt (5:00)

- Nature at Night (NCAMN)
o Learn about the various impact of artificial light at night on wildlife. (continuous)

- Central Arkansas Astronomical Society meteorite table.
o Touch, examine, and learn about meteorites (continuous)

- Observing Solar Eclipses (CAAS)
o Learn about the upcoming solar eclipse and how to observe it (continuous)

- Birds and Light Pollution (Audubon & LOH)
o How birds are impacted by light pollution during migration and other bird safety concerns. (continuous)

- Responsible lighting (ANSA)
o Self-Certifying your home lighting as night sky friendly (2:15, 3:15, 4:15, 5:15)
o Measuring light pollution in your neighborhood and reporting it as a citizen scientist to Globe-at-night. (2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30)

- The STEM table (NWAS)
o Hands-on experiments involving the creation of impact craters and orbital mechanics. (continuous)
o Crater modeling (TBD)

- Explorer Scientific
o telescopes and related equipment (continuous)

- Wild Ones, Monarch Butterfly Conservation Partnership & NWACC
o Learning to use iNaturalist and Seek Apps to find and report on wildlife near you as a citizen scientist, and information/consultation for landscaping with native plants. (4:15, 4:45, 5:15) Check out the lighting bug display anytime.

- Photo contest display and voting (AOPC) Continuous)
Other activities, not at tables, for adults and children.

- Real-time solar projecting solar images (2:00 – 4:30)
- Stomp Rockets (2:30 – 3:30)
- Giant bubble blowing (3:30 – 4:30)
- Children’s celestial drawing contest (CAAS)(4:15 – 5:45)
- Solar-cooked marshmallows & Smores (2:30 – 3:30)

2:15 – Welcome and intro to the Festival – Dr. Daniel Barth or Bruce McMath
2:30 – Planning for and observing a solar eclipse, Carl Freyaldenhoven and Darcy Howard, Eclipse Committee Central Arkansas Astronomical Society.
3:00 – Light Pollution, an overview of the harms and solutions, Bruce McMath
3:30 – How Insects are impacted by light pollution, Aaron Boswell, Army Corp of Eng. Ranger and Diamond Lakes Region Master Naturalist.
4:00 - break
4:15 – Nightscape photography basics, Hal Mitzenmacher, E Brennen Nicole & Erik Stinnett
4:45 – Gardening for Nighttime Pollinators-Laurie Scott, North West Arkansas Community College, NWA Master Naturalist.
5:15 – What’s up tonight, Rocky Togni, an Astronomical League Master Observer.
5:45 - Dinner, food on your own
6:45 – Dinner Program, The Life and Death of Stars, Allan Staib
7:15 – Welcome and door prizes, photo contest winners (important information)
7:30 – Unfolding the Universe with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – Dr. Amber Straughn
8:15 – Constellation Tour begins (nautical twilight ends ~8:12) (If cloudy, programming will be at the pavilion)
8:30 – Telescope observing and nightscape photography workshop begins (astronomical twilight ends ~8:42)

Dates: September 14 - 16, 2023

Location: Bear Creek Log Cabins, 6403 United States Highway 65, Saint Joe, AR 72675

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