GoCampingAmerica.com | Posted September
    5th, 2014

    Bring Your Kids Back to Nature and the
    Cosmos

    Happy Camper Blog

    Bring Your Kids Back to  Nature and the CosmosWhile
    September and October are great times to see fall colors, the clear nights of
    autumn also provide excellent opportunities to appreciate the night sky and
    to teach your kids about the constellations. Many campgrounds are often a
    perfect location for enjoying the night’s sky with stargazing activities
    on-site or nearby.

    Campgrounds for
    Your Constellation Enjoyment

    Lazy
    River at Granville in Granville, Ohio, regularly provides its guests
    with information about major astronomical events, such as meteor showers and
    lunar eclipses, as well as dates and times when the U.S. Space Station flies
    overhead.

    The
    Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Nashville, Tenn., works closely with
    a nearby program called Skies over Nashville, which takes place at Sudekeum
    Plantarium. Skies Over Nashville is a live program in which a planetarium
    educator shows you how to locate and identify naked-eye seasonal
    constellations, bright stars, planets and other interesting celestial objects
    visible during your visit.

    Palm
    Canyon Hotel & RV Resort in Borrego Springs, Calif., is
    hosting its annual Nightfall event Oct. 23 – 26, when it invites astronomers
    from across the country to bring their telescopes and spend the weekend
    educating children and families about the planets and constellations.“It’s
    one of our most popular events,” said Avery Downs, a spokeswoman for the
    resort. “We typically sell out months in advance.”

    Some
    resorts even have their own astronomy clubs, such as
    Voyager RV Resort
    in Tucson, Ariz. “Arizona is an astronomers dream,” said Debby
    Mitchell, Voyager’s activities director. She said the club has weekly
    meetings and discussions of astronomy-related topics as well as monthly star
    parties on its tennis courts in January, February and March.

    A Few Regions to Consider in the
    Fall

    Bar Harbor, Maine, has the Acadia Night Sky
    Festival
    , which runs from Sept. 25 – 29 and includes a variety of
    special nighttime events, including hikes, boat cruises and workshops led by
    speakers familiar with the constellations.

    Flagstaff,
    Ariz., has an annual Festival of Science that
    includes nighttime stargazing opportunities at Northern Arizona University,
    the U.S. Naval Observatory and at Lowell Observatory, whose achievements
    include the discovery of the planet Pluto and the fact the universe is
    expanding.

    Cape Canaveral, Fla., is set to launch NASA’s
    Orion Spacecraft on Dec. 4, which will be an event that the kids will
    remember for a lifetime. The Orion is an ambitious
    space exploration project
    that will be years in the making, and
    this year spectators will be able to see the first phase take
    off.

    Find Events and Campgrounds
    Around You

    But you don’t have to travel across the country
    to learn about night sky. Numerous organizations, including universities,
    astronomical societies and observatories, have family friendly “star parties”
    that provide excellent opportunities for families to learn about the
    constellations.

    Simply Google search “star party” the name
    of a city where you would like to camp and you’ll find dates, times and
    locations of family friendly star parties. You can then use GoCampingAmerica.com to find a
    campground to further enhance your night sky experience.