With sand, water, stars and sky, the 13th Annual Astronomy at the Beach took place September 25 and 26, 2009 at Maple Beach, Kensington Metro Park, Milford, MI.  Astronomy at the Beach, more commonly known as AATB, is a yearly event hosted by the Kensington Metro Park and the Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs (GLAAC) - the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club, Warren Astronomical Society, The Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University, University Lowbrow Astronomers, Oakland Astronomy Club, Seven Ponds Astronomy Club, Sunset Astronomical Society and the Amateur Astronomers of Jackson.  Major sponsors for AATB 2009 included Cranbrook Institute of Science, Co-op Services Credit Union, Camera Mart, Rider's Hobby Shops, Detroit Science Center and Celestron. AATB is unquestionably Michigan's largest public outreach astronomy event drawing thousands upon thousands of guests each year that are eager to learn about astronomy, space and science. Many Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, elementary, middle school, high school and college aged students attends the event in droves to learn and enjoy anything and everything about astronomy!  Guests also have the opportunity to observe through telescopes, listen in on exciting astronomy talks or just being around anyone else sharing the same interest in astronomy.

Celestron's Marketing Coordinator, Yasmine Rios, and I flew out to Michigan and represented Celestron at this year's AATB event. While back home in Los Angeles, our colleagues attended the big Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS), which also took place the same weekend. We teamed up with Rider's Hobby Shop's John Kirchhoff and Bob Justin, to display and demo our telescopes and astronomy related products for the guests.  Rider's Hobby Shops also helped to organize a children's treasure hunt, where kids were encouraged to view at least 6 different celestial objects through telescopes and learn more about what they saw from telescope operators.  Children also had to answer astronomy related questions and once completed (with or without help), were submitted in to receive prizes.  What a fun way to learn about astronomy!

Cloudy conditions graced Friday night's sky compromising telescope viewing somewhat, but that didn't seem to put too much of a damper on people's spirits.  Guests were still gathering at the beach while excellent talks were taking place inside the main tent, many of which were aimed at families and children.  It wasn't uncommon to hear laughter coming from the tent throughout the evening.  Sky and Telescope's Editor-in-Chief, Robert Naeye and Rider Hobby Shop's John Kirchhoff were among many excellent speakers that presented that evening.  The Detroit Science Center brought along an inflatable, portable planetarium with a star projector which provided tours of the night sky.  It proved to be a big hit with all the kids and parents alike.  Yasmine and I wanted to go inside and see the planetarium show too, but the line was too long.  Maybe next year!  Next door at the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club's table, members sold cool, colorful, bendable glow sticks. It was quite a sight of seeing these colorful "bracelets" worn on people's head, neck and wrists while "floating" about in the darkness.  AATB definitely wasn't a dark sky party, but it didn't have to be to learn all about the cosmic wonders of our universe, and having a great time too!

On Saturday afternoon, I presented a talk to GLAAC members at the Kensington Metro Park's Nature Center.  The topic - Celestron's Community Relations and an overview of Celestron's new optical system - the EdgeHD.  Highlights from "Celestron On-The-Go" included - IYA events, dealer shows and major star parties that we had participated in during the year.  Other topics included an overview of Celestron's social networking sites - CelestronLife.com and CelestronImages.com.  In addition, I really wanted to emphasize who we are as a company, and who we are as employees.  With Celestron on the verge of celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2010, we are moving forward and will be sharing in the celebration with our loyal customers and fans.

Before the start of Saturday's AATB event, Yasmine and I took a tour of parts of Kensington Metro Park's 4,481 acre grounds and marveled at all the great things to see and do here.  Although time was extremely limited, we did see many key features of the park including - hiking trails, picnic areas, wooded forests, wetlands, beach areas, wildlife viewing and so much more!   Autumn foliage was beginning to take shape, as leaves began dressing in their finest reds and orange colors.  We stopped at the Farm Center for a few minutes to visit some of the local farm animals including sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, cows and turkeys.  Coming from a big city, we really do not have many opportunities to see farm animals, so it was a wonderful experience.  What a thrill it was for Yasmine to see her favorite horses and sheeps up close.

While clouds were once again predicted for Saturday night's viewing, by late afternoon, the clouds miraculously parted just enough that left enough visible sky to commence the evening star party to the delight of everyone in attendance.  By dusk, the viewing area began to fill up with people, as telescopes of every make and model adorned the beach.  The Quarter Moon gracefully lit up the sky, and people pointed out the bright "star" like object in the sky - Jupiter!  As expected, the vendor and astronomy club's area remained busy, but the majority of the crowds were out observing on the beach.  It was truly delightful to see so many people from every age group interested in astronomy and excited to observe through many telescopes set up that evening. One example which stands out in my mind took place at Eastern Michigan University's C14 setup - after viewing through the telescope, a young girl excitedly ran back to her parents and yelled out "I think I saw M13!"

AATB 2009 officially came to an end at the stroke of midnight that Saturday night.  A raffle drawing took place in the outdoor pavilion immediately after for those who worked or helped plan the event. Several great raffle prizes were donated by many of the event's sponsors including gift certificates, DVDs, eyepieces and telescopes.  The grand prize was a Celestron NexStar 4 SE that Celestron had donated

Yasmine and I left Detroit the following day and flew home with an abundance of great memories of AATB and of all the friendly and enthusiastic people we had met throughout the 2 day event. We would like to personally say "Thank You" to Greg Ozimek, official photographer of AATB, for initially contacting and inviting Celestron to participate; George Korody, of the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club, for providing us with information regarding AATB at the Florida WSP; John Kirchhoff, Manager, Rider's Hobby Shops, for supporting, supplying and transporting our products; the entire Greater Lakes Association of Astronomy Club's officers and club members for their dedication towards public outreach and for banding together to host this wonderful family oriented event for the community; and Kensington Metro Park for providing an outstanding nature venue to hold AATB.  We hope to see you all again at next year's AATB.