The OKC Astronomy Club will be holding star parties for the JD McCarty Center Camp ClapHans Summer Camps for children with disabilities again this year. This will be our 11th year working with JDMC holding star parties for their camps.
This year JDMC is hosting a total of 6 summer camps in June and July, spaced one week apart (skipping the week of July 6th). Sharla Bardin, the Public Information Officer for JD McCarty Center, has asked if any club members would be willing to volunteer to bring telescopes and answer questions during star parties for these camps.
The star party for each camp will take place on Monday of that week at the camp grounds, with an alternate of Tuesday if we must cancel for weather.
Each camp session will have typically up to 12 children attending, ages 8-18 plus several adult counselors who also like to look through eyepieces and work with the kids to help things go smoothly. Setup starts at 7PM, and the kids are generally off to bed by 10PM or even earlier.
Anyone with a telescope and who enjoys working with kids is welcome to attend. We have a few volunteers who have regularly attended in the past, but fresh faces are always welcome! There is plenty of space for setup with an open field. Since the kids will only have an hour or so after twilight before they generally need to head off to bed, multiple scopes looking at different objects works very well.
Ideally we would like to have at least two volunteers/scopes for each night, but there is room for at least 5-6 setups easily. Many of these kids have limited mobility with varying levels of physical disability, and a few may have difficulty using eyepieces, so at least some easy viewing options would be best. Chairs, stools, and small step ladders are also good things to bring along. Adult camp counselors will be there to assist.
If you have the ability to provide video camera projection that would be a great bonus, as some children at each camp might not be able to use eyepieces for direct viewing.
The summer camp star party dates for 2026 are:
- Monday June 8 - (Tuesday June 9 alternate)
- Monday June 15 - (Tuesday June 16 alternate)
- Monday June 22 - (Tuesday June 23 alternate)
- Monday June 29 - (Tuesday June 30 alternate)
- Monday July 13 - (Tuesday July 14 alternate)
- Monday July 20 - (Tuesday July 21 alternate)
The JD McCarty Center is located at 2002 E. Robinson in Norman OK, which is on the East side of Norman and away from most lights. The camp sessions are held on the JD McCarty Center campus in their camp area, which is a large open area with a few camp buildings away from the rest of the complex. There is good visibility to horizons in all directions, with moderate light pollution. Generally, we will be trying to limit the use of white light as per general star party etiquette.
J. D. McCarty Center - Camp Claphans
Google Maps - camp location
Please reply here with any questions or let us know if you would like to attend, or you can send me a PM.