Fort Laramie National Historic Site will host its annual star gazing program on Saturday July 15, 2023. Join your guide, Kendall Jacobs for a “walk among the stars” at 8:30 p.m. on the historic parade ground. Participants are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, insect repellant, and a flashlight.
During his program, Mr. Jacobs will take you on a tour of the bright stars, constellations, and visible planets. Science fact, sky lore, myths and legends make this a wonderfully informative and entertaining family program. Weather permitting; we will view nebula, star clusters, galaxies, the Moon, Jupiter, and Mars through telescopes.
Some of the specific deep sky objects we will look at include the Ring Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, Lagoon Nebula, and Albireo. The presentation portion of the program begins at 8:30 with telescope observation to follow. Observing will continue until the last stargazer falls asleep or the sun comes up – whichever comes first!
Jacobs teaches Mathematics at Casper College. He presents a monthly star show for the Casper Planetarium and is very involved in Math and Science education in Wyoming. The park will also host a living history weekend, July 15 & 16th focused on the early years of the National Park Service (NPS) at Fort Laramie with an emphasis toward preservation work conducted by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
An encampment along with living history interpreters wearing period CCC clothing will be a highlight of the weekend. Throughout the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, over 2 million young men served within the Civilian Conservation Corps often referred to as the “Tree Army.”
The CCCs contributed greatly to not only planting trees to fight the Dust Bowl, but also built significant infrastructure in our National Parks including Fort Laramie, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Wind Cave, Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Badlands National Park.
Admission to the park is free. For more information contact the park at (307) 837-2221 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/fola.