AstroFest Returns for Stargazing and Astronomy Activities During Arts Festival

As the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts returns in-person after a two-year hiatus, so too will Penn State’s AstroFest, a four-night festival of astronomy activities and stargazing.

The Eberly College of Science’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics will welcome visitors to Davey Laboratory on Pollock Road from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. each night from Wednesday, July 13, through Saturday, July 16. For more than two decades, the free astronomy event has been held in conjunction with the Arts Festival.

“After two years of purely online outreach events, it’s so exciting to bring programs like AstroFest back to campus,” Tim Gleason, director of the Eberly College of Science’s Office of Science Outreach, said in a news release. “There’s nothing quite like seeing the planets or experiencing the planetarium with your own eyes.”

Events will be held rain or shine in classrooms and in the planetarium on the fifth floor of Davey Lab, where on clear nights visitors will be able to use rooftop observatory telescopes to get a closer look at the stars. On the way in, kids can pick up an AstroFest Passport to be stamped at presentations and demonstrations and returned for science-themed prizes.

Planetarium shows and 3-D shows featuring Mars and the universe are among the returning activities.

“We are especially excited about our featured presentations this year,” Jane Charlton, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics who co-founded AstroFest in 1999, said. “We will have topics ranging from the mind-blowing size of the universe to cosmic explosions to planets, planets everywhere.”

For those who can’t make it in-person, a virtual AstroFest lobby with activities and some live broadcasts will be available online.

More information is available on the AstroFest website and Facebook page.