Patoka Lake hosts its annual star party on July 30
Patoka Lake will host its 31st annual star party on Saturday, July 30 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Patoka Lake Nature Center and 7 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. at the Patoka Lake Beach. There will be a number of activities to celebrate the sky.
Participants can make solar bead bracelets with an interpretive naturalist from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The beads change colors with the sun, and some glow in the dark. Cost is $2 per bracelet.
From 1 to 4 p.m. attendees can safely view the sun through specially filtered telescopes with help from members of the Evansville Astronomical Society (EAS). At 2 p.m., the EAS will give an informational program about the sun. At 3 p.m. the EAS will give a talk titled Astronomy 101, which will cover the basics of how to look at planets, stars, and galaxies.
At 7 p.m. at the beach, naturalists from O’Bannon Woods State Park will give a presentation about Indiana’s native snakes. At 8:30 p.m., members of the EAS and Louisville Astronomical Society will have telescopes set up to view the night sky and will help viewers find celestial objects.
The entrance fee of $7 per vehicle for Indiana residents and $9 for out-of-state vehicles is required for the Newton-Stewart State Recreation Area at Patoka Lake, located north of Wickliffe Indiana, Highway 164. For more information regarding this program or other interpretive events, call the Nature Center at 812-685-2447.
Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is at 3084 N. Dillard Road, Birdseye, IN 47513.
