As part of the Stellar Dreams initiative led by ‘Dr. Raven the Science Maven‘, 30 students from Western New York were presented with high-tech telescopes.

The students, all through grades 5-12, would receive not only a telescope from the prominent brand Celestron, but receive training from the Buffalo Astronomical Association (BAA). They were honored with a walk down a red carpet, and an outside star party at nightfall.

Little did the students know, Dr. Raven Baxter was also giving each student pins to exchange so they could socialize with each other ahead of their action-packed evening.

After a word from Dr. Baxter and her partner Dr. Ronald Gamble the students were dispersed into two groups. One group would first learn how to operate their new telescopes with the BAA first (Milky Way), and the other would go to a planetarium show orchestrated by Director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium, Dr. Kevin Williams.

The Telescopes 101 lesson was taught by BAA President Michael Humphrey, as well as some of the association’s members including Ernie Jacobs, Tim Collins, Dan Marcus, and Thom Szwed. The lesson was given to the students to explain not only how to use the telescopes, but how to maximize their usage of the telescope.

While the BAA was teaching the students how to use their telescopes, the rest of the students were being taught about different stars, constellations, and what they could look for in the sky in the form of a show in the planetarium directed by Williams.

After their respective lessons were over the groups would switch places, getting the best of both worlds and making memories that would surely last a lifetime. Once the groups were done with their second activity, the students and their families returned to the Atrium for the unboxing of their telescopes.

Each student was called up individually, walked the red carpet and were greeted by Dr. Gamble who would present the student with their very own telescope. This gave the students a great memory, and recognition of the exceptional achievement in their lives. Once each student had received their telescope, the students were then tasked with unboxing the telescope and putting it together with assistance from the members of the BAA and other faculty at the event.

The students took their finished product outside and used their telescopes for the very first time. Each student had the opportunity to embark on their own adventure, as some students gazed the skies for the moon or a specific star, while others fixated on other planets like Jupiter.

The scene was filled with gratitude as attendees filed out of this unforgettable, out-of-this-world event!