Our February Pack meeting will be held on Monday February 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM (Please note the date and time).
🚀 Theme: SCIENCE! We're reaching for the stars with a special visit to the Montgomery County Community College Observatory.
⏰ Start Time: 6:00 PM
Sharp – Please arrive on time so you don’t miss any of the fun!
Where to go:
The observatory is located on the roof of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC). The ATC can be found on campus nearest the intersection of morris road and 202. There is a small parking lot directly in front of the ATC including the "green lot" which is key-card access (with gates) which will be
open for all to use. This doubles the size of the parking lot and you are allowed to park in either lot. Feel free to park where you can.
To find the building from Morris road:
Turn into campus and make an immediate right. There will be a sign in front of you that says "ATC" or "Advanced
Technology Center" with an arrow to the right. You will essentially dead-end into the parking lot for the building.
To find the observatory:
When facing the ATC from the parking lot, you will be able to see the observatory atop the glass stairway on the
right-hand side of the building. Go up to the third floor either via elevator or stairs. Please be aware there are night classes in session and remind your troops to use indoor voices and be respectful of the active classes.
Where we will meet:
We will meet in the atrium area outside classroom ATC 310. The observing deck doors will be locked and you will be allowed outside once your session time begins. We will end our night upstairs, one more flight, in the observatory after you have finished using the telescopes where my research students will show you how the dome works and tell you about what they learn here at the College.
The Night's Plan:
The observing deck is outside. Please ensure your troops are well dressed: hats, scarves, gloves, coats etc. We will be using 10-in Dobsonian telescopes and the kids will be allowed to touch and interact with them. I will have students volunteering to help the kids as they learn how to use
the telescope. This makes the session much more hands on and I think all the kids, yours and mine, enjoy it a lot.
Afterwards, we will go upstairs into the observatory. Please let your troops know that it's a scientific telescope which means you can't put your eyeball up to it and look through it. It uses a professional grade digital
camera to collect and analyze data. The research students will show the kids how the dome works and tell them about what they learn here at the College. The kids are welcome to continue asking questions until the time runs out. It is a tight fit in the dome, so we may need to squeeze in depending on how many adults and kids are in your group.
If the weather is not clear:
If the weather turns out to not be good, I will give a short presentation followed by questions and answers from your troop. They will then take a tour of the observatory but we won't open or actually use it.
