The Durham Region Astronomical Association is a strong and active participant in the community. With 5 years of success delivering Astronomy to the public, the Association is backed with financial support through The Ontario Trillium Foundation. The DRAA is proud to have served at many events in the community. Please visit our Journal of Activities to review our community participation.

As you may have seen on our web site, the Association delivers Monthly Meetings and Astronomy in the Park events to the public. The Durham Region Astronomical Association has several services to offer to other organizations as well. The Association can help other organizations, schools and businesses to bring astronomy to their audiences through multiple interactive activities. These sessions can be open to the public or be restricted to only your organization.

Astronomy in the Park

This event is the most basic of all the services available. Members of the Association simply come to your venue with telescopes and handout literature. The members will set up their scopes and engage in astronomy discussions with attendees while they have an opportunity to view celestial objects through the members' telescopes. This event can take part during the day or in the evening, as our members are equipped with special equipment that allow viewing of the Sun through the telescopes (never look directly at the Sun, with or without a telescope without special filters designed for this purpose or else permanent eye damage will result). In the event of inclement weather, alternate dates can be arranged.

Astronomy Lectures

Lectures are available on Astronomy at all levels of experience. These events are held indoors at your venue and feature several members presenting a topic to your audience. The lectures include multimedia presentations and are followed by a question and answer period. Because the lectures are held inside they do not include an opportunity for the guest to have views through the telescopes, however telescopes may be brought in as part of the lecture. These events are not subject to the weather so there is not need for alternate dates to be planned. In case of good weather the lecture can be followed by an "Astronomy in the Park" event if requested.

Astronomy Display

The DRAA has a self standing display that features different aspects of astronomy. The display can be scaled to size the venue. At its maximum size, the dispaly consists of 9 panels 8 feet tall, and 3 feet wide configured in 3, 3-sided columns. Each panel on the display consists of photos, charts and descriptions grouped together by subject. If your venue can be secured, the display can be left for several days allowing your audience to pass through the exhibit and read the information at their leisure. We do recommend that you arrange to have DRAA members present with the display as much as possible since this provides a great deal of value by answering any questions that may arise. Like the "Astronomy Lectures" this event can be incorporated with an "Astronomy in the Park" session. For large audiences it can also include an "Astronomy Lecture".

Scheduling any of these events is subject to the availability of our members and equipment. The DRAA does not charge for any of these services, but a donation, although not required, is always appreciated. To obtain more information on scheduling a session with the DRAA please contact us via the information on the Contact Us page.