The OKC Astronomy Club will be holding a star party for the JD McCarty Center Camp ClapHans Fall Camp for children with disabilities this year.
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 a star party for this camp.
The 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. 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 this 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 this camp might not be able to use eyepieces for direct viewing.
The 2026 Fall camp star party date:
- Friday Oct 16 - (Saturday Oct 17 alternate)
- NOTE: This is during Okie-Tex 2026
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 session will be 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.