Stars At Yerkes Home
Stars at Yerkes Observatory
Created by the Astronomy Resources Connecting Schools (ARCS)
Google has shut down the original version of this site. This copy of the site has been ported to the new google sites to provide continued access. If you want to see the site in it's original form, use the webarchive link at archive.org - starsatyerkes.net. For any questions, contact Marc by Email.
STEM Professional Learning Community
Yerkes Observatory
ARCS at Yerkes
Our Latest View
Stars at Yerkes SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors for 2014
-photo credit Margie Corp
Congratulations to our Stars at Yerkes colleagues on their selection to the SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Program!
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, will become a flying classroom for our Stars at Yerkes outreach educators Lynne Zielinski, Kathy Gustavson, and Marcella Linahan (pictured here L-R in the Yerkes Observatory Morgan Room).
Lynne Zielinski (National Space Society, Long Grove, Illinois) and Marcella Linahan (Carmel Catholic High School, Mundelein, Illinois) have teamed together, and will fly sometime in early summer.
Kathy Gustavson (Nicolet High School, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin) has teamed with Jean Creighton (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Manfred Olson Planetarium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to bring the excitement of learning the infrared to their respective institutions. Their flight on March 26, 2014 is highlighted in a YouTube video seen here.
We could not be happier for our Stars at Yerkes SOFIA Ambassadors - way to go!
Read the official press release from the SOFIA site here. Visit the SOFIA homepage here or the NASA SOFIA Mission Page here.
Visit our Teacher Workshops Page for this year's line up for learning.
Click here for a printable copy of our 2013 - 2014 brochure.
Find us on Facebook or join our news feed or view our calendar for announcements of our 2013 - 2014 calendar events.
Registration now open!
Summer Camp Sampler Workshop
at Yerkes Observatory with Stars at Yerkes
Saturday, April 11, 2015
The next "killer asteroid" headed for Earth? Modeling crater impacts shown here from previous camp activities.
- photo credit: Margie Corp
Come explore with us! Our next Stars at Yerkes teacher workshop will present a sampler of activities to be presented at our 2015 YAAYS Summer Camp. Hands-on activities and technology based lessons will be integrated to study asteroids and comets. Learn how you can take these lessons and share them with your students and youth groups.
Workshop will be held at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
Registration will begin at 8:30 am. Workshop will be from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Cost for the workshop is $35.00 and registration is suggested. Registration includes lunch.
Click here for registration form.
Join us as we share the wonders of the night sky!
Thanks to all who participated in asteroid hunting, lunar exploration, and other topics in astronomy during our 2012-2013 workshops, 2011-2012 workshops and our 2010-2011 workshops.
Our calendar of events and opportunities is now posted in the Stars at Yerkes calendar
and on our Teacher Workshops page.
You can receive reminders via YOTeach or on Facebook.
Find us on Facebook at
Yerkes Public Star Party
Saturday, April 11, 2015
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Yerkes Observatory
Fee: $5.00 per person
$15.00 per family
Even if it is too cloudy to observe, there is much to do. Indoor activities include hands-on activities, presentations, and facility tours. The Yerkes tour features a look at, but not through, the 40-inch Great Refractor within the unheated 90-foot diameter dome.
Participants will say farewell to winter constellations and hello to spring ones. If skies are clear, we will observe both with the unaided eye and through telescopes. Venus dominates the western sky. In the east, giant Jupiter with its four moons steals the show. The very bright constellation Orion and its Great Nebula hang nearby, close to Sirius, the brightest nighttime star. Come to see these and more!
Remember to dress appropriately for standing outdoors on a chilly night, with hats, mittens, scarves, winter coats and sturdy shoes. The cost will be $5 per person, with a maximum of $15 per family. All children must be accompanied by an adult. No pets, please. If you wish, bring your own binoculars, digital cameras on a tripod, or telescope. We can help you to use them.
Click here for registration page.
M2 (NGC 7089) in Aquarius. Image taken for Hands On Universe at Yerkes Observatory
with the 24-inch Telescope, August 28, 2000.
Click here for information about public evening Star Parties at Yerkes Observatory.
Yerkes Observatory also hosts Family Night Programs.
Click here for Family Night information, dates and registration.
Upcoming Events: New events coming soon!
Please join us as we learn about the moon, stars, planets and more!
In the Spotlight
Congratulations to Lynne F. Zielinski!
Lynne has been selected by the National Space Club as the 2013 recipient of the National Space Educator Award!
- photo by the National Space Society www.nss.org
Stars at Yerkes very own Lynne Zielinski was presented with the National Space Society's National Space Educator Award on March 22, 2013
at the 56th annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Since 1982, the award has been given annually to secondary school teachers who mentor students in the field of space, science, and technology. Recipients are also given a $1,500 grant and a plaque for their respective school.
"Lynne Zielinski is the first two-time winner in the thirty year history of the National Space Club National Space Educator Award. After being selected in 1988 for exemplary work motivating students to do research by planning and flying experiments on the Space Shuttle, she did not rest on her laurels," said National Space Club Award Chairman Kerry Joels.
"She spent the next quarter century expanding her students' opportunities to participate in space science research, encouraged dozens to pursue science and engineering degrees, and expanded community awareness of space science. Her career is an impressive and exceptional model for a space educator," he added.
Click here to read the full article posted by the National Space Society.
Lynne has devoted many hours to coordinate our monthly public star parties, work on our family astronomy nights,
and has been workshop leader for several Stars at Yerkes teacher workshops. Lynne continues to mentor fellow S@Y teachers
and give presentations at conferences like SEEC and so much more.
Congratulations Lynne - We are proud of you!
Meet all our Stars at Yerkes teachers here.
Our Mission
The mission of Stars at Yerkes is to serve and inspire students and teachers by providing events, opportunities, and professional development to further advance astronomical knowledge and connect science to the stars.
Through the sharing of teacher-created resources and access to Yerkes Observatory scientists and instruments, Stars at Yerkes strives to create connections to elevate STEM education in the classroom and beyond.
The Ring Nebula - m57- taken with Stone Edge telescope
