Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge Evening with the Stars

Are the long winter nights getting you down? Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge invites families to embrace the season and come to the Refuge for an evening with the stars! Learn how wildlife use the stars to navigate and do some skywatching of your own. There will be activities for the whole family, including story-time (in both English and Spanish) and the College of Idaho’s StarLab. There will be a short presentation at dusk, followed by an hour of stargazing with volunteers and telescopes from the Boise Astronomical Society. Night Sky Pocket Guides will be available for purchase (cash or check) at the Friends of Deer Flat Nature Store.

Those who are interested can also learn about the night sky before the event by checking out a community-based scale model of the solar system. The Caldwell Public Library is the sun, the center of the solar system. The Refuge is the last planet, Neptune. Other solar system objects are scattered on their orbits elsewhere in the community. Community members are encouraged to watch for clues to locations on the Refuge Facebook page (facebook.com/DeerFlatNWR/) and upload a stellar selfie with the sun, planet, or asteroid belt. Each person submitting a selfie will be entered into a drawing to win a bird feeder. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to providing access to this event for all participants. Please direct requests for sign language interpreting services, closed captioning, or other accommodation needs to Susan Kain (208-467-9278, deerflat@fws.gov, TTY 800-877-8339) by close of business 10 days before the event.