For more information and to pre-register today visit http://bobfest.catawbasky.org. While BoBfest is FREE participants are encouraged to pre-register online. Participants also receive 50% off CSC admission!
Calling all amateur astronomers! BoBfest is a FREE in-person event open to any and all who have an interest in astronomy.
This is the 33rd Annual BoBfest! BoBfest is a place for regional astronomers to gather and share in their mutual love for the stars and beyond.
8:30 am – 4:00 pm Doors Open for Registration & Door Prize Ticket Sales Lobby
9:30 am Welcome & Club Announcements
9:45 – 10:30am Keynote Speaker #1
10:30 am Club Announcements/Break
10:45 – 11:30 am Keynote Speaker #2
11:30 am Lunchbreak
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Table Top Talks Round #1
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Table Top Talks Round #2
3:30 pm Door Prize Drawings Main Event Room
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Barre Spencer Astro Photo Awards Main Event Room
4:00 pm Closing Remarks — BoB Eskridge Main Event Room
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm After BoBfest Open House for Attendees — Hosted by CVAC Members Lucile Miller Observatory
Family Science Activities — CSC Staff/Volunteers Room 1
Join us from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm for fun kid-friendly astronomy provided by CSC Staff & Volunteers friendly activities all about space!
Artistic Astronomy and Simulations — Frank Westmoreland Room 9
Ongoing from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm
8:30 am - 3:00 pm Barre Spencer Astrophotography Contest Room 7
8:30 am - 4:00 pm Vendors & Swap Tables Open a.k.a. The BoBfest Marketplace! Room 8
Are you looking for some extra astronomy items? Do you have too many 25mm Plossls? We encourage all participants to bring astronomy related items to sell or trade. Come to the BoBfest Marketplace and explore the vast universe of astronomy doo-dads, thingamajigs, and whatnots! You might just find something you cannot live without, or you might be able to sell or trade your items. We should be able to provide table space for you, but if you have a lot of stuff to move, you may want to bring your own tables. If you have any questions or plan to bring a lot of items and need tables/space, please contact us.
Located on the North side of campus in the Bus Parking Lot. A Shuttle will be available to take participants from the West Wing Building to the Food Trucks.
Catch a Planetarium Show in Catawba Science Center's Millholland Planetarium. BoBfest attendees receive 50% off their admission!
30 minutes
Travel with Jack and Annie, stars of the Magic Tree House® bestselling children’s book series, as they visit an observatory and beyond into space with the help of an astronomer and astronaut.
32 minutes
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly to Mars? NASA-and others- have their sites set on the Red Planet. Fly through the International Space Station, where astronauts are already living and working in space, and follow the rockets and vehicles that will take humans beyond the moon and, one day, all the way to Mars!
30 minutes
The night sky, both beautiful and mysterious has been the subject of campfire stories, ancient myths, and awe for as long as there have been people. This stunning voyage through space and time conveys, through sparkling lights and sounds, the Universe revealed to us by science. From Earth to the Universe takes the audience out to the colorful birthplaces and burial grounds of stars, and still further out beyond the Milky Way to the unimaginable immensity of myriad galaxies.
30 minutes
Legends takes an imaginative look at the stories and legends about the constellation Orion, the great hunter of the winter sky, his two hunting dogs, and Scorpius, the scorpion in the Summer sky.
25 minutes
From water worlds to molten landscapes, inhabitable moons to planets with multiple moons, these exotic worlds aren't just science fiction anymore.
We love the Science Center! I take my 2 and 4 year old boys weekly to play and enjoy the exhibits. The staff are wonderful and the classes offered are excellent! We are so blessed to have such an amazing resource in our area.
This place was great. We have kids from 8 to 1 and they all had a great time. What I really liked is most of the exhibits are hands on and that really kept them occupied.
Fabulous and I don’t often give praise. We took our grandson and were there for hours. He loved it and so did we.
Took the kiddos and they loved it. Employees were nice and helpful. If your looking for something to do with the kids give this place a shot.
What a wonderful place to visit! Great environment to learn and the staff is very helpful! Hickory is lucky to have great family education and entertainment.