Sponsored by BREC
The night sky is full of magic. Step out for an evening exploring the stars to connect in a dazzling way. Observatories are the best places to gain some cosmic perspective.
Guided by astronomical experts, the Highland Road Park Observatory (HRPO) is a joint partnership of BREC, LSU and the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society (BRAS). HRPO houses a 50-cm reflector, a 40-cm reflector and over a dozen smaller telescopes to bring the majesty of the night sky to you.
Out of this world experiences, for date night or family night
HRPO’s Evening Sky Viewings are held most Friday and Saturday nights, weather permitting.
Connect through the cosmos: Grab your favorite stargazer, take in a celestial lecture, and peer through the powerful telescopes at HRPO. Don’t worry, no scientific expertise required. The lectures are fun, informative, and given by experts but geared toward a general adult audience.
You never know what you’ll get to see, but you will always leave looking at the sky a little bit differently. These lectures are not for children under 12, so they make a perfect date night escape.
Inspire young astronomers: Saturday nights are the best time to bring children under 12 who may be interested in looking through the telescopes, but not necessarily in sitting for a lecture. Bring the family most Saturdays, usually 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Science Academy Saturdays: HRPO Education Program Specialist Amy Northrop, introduces Cadets to the wonderful world of astronomy—on their level. Each Saturday they get to explore gravity, simple machines, stars, spacecraft, meteors, the Earth♁ and the Moon, asteroids and comets, the electromagnetic spectrum and the American space program. Cadets take part in hands-on demonstrations, crafts and experiments! Click here to learn more.
Look for the lights: When HRPO has scheduled nighttime viewing, red guide lights can be seen at the pavilion between Highland Road and the main building. Keep headlights off while parking and leaving, and drive slowly!
Mark your calendar: February 12
Don’t miss “Love is in the Air,” HRPO’s monthly Plus Night.
Sky viewing starts at 7 p.m. and includes a scavenger hunt, quiz game with prizes, and plenty of other fun.
— Warm up with a marshmallow roast at the campfire ring behind the observatory.
— Super cool demonstrations will perplex and amaze: fire tornado, gravity cans, Euler’s Disk, and more.
— A sky tour shows you major features of the sky for that season, followed by a low-magnification tour of the Moon to show “hidden” details of the Moon, Mars♂ and Jupiter♃, and nebulae (when they are available).
Summer programs for future astronomers, engineers, physicists and astronauts
HRPO’s astronomy camp has been going strong for 20 years. Campers explore astronomical concepts in a fun and engaging way.
It’s challenging to find summer programs to please the middle schoolers. Tweens love HRPO camps because each age group has unique investigatory and crafting activities and every session will have a field trip and a rocket launch.
These camps fill up fast. In-parish registration begins Saturday, March 5 at 9 a.m. Out-of-parish registration begins Tuesday, March 15 at 3:30 pm. Click here to learn more about BREC’s engaging summer programs.
