NPS/Tiana Reading Bryce Canyon Astronomy FestivalThere’s no place quite like Bryce Canyon by day, and no time like a new moon in June to enjoy it by night. Astronomy festivals feature family-friendly daytime activities and special evening programs, telescope viewing, and constellation tours.
2026Schedule of EventsThe following days will be updated for 2026 content soon! Free Astrophotography Workshop9:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Daytime Activities11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Evening ProgramsA Night in the ParksStan Honda will give a visual tour of what you can see in selected national parks after dark. Starry skies, the moon, our galaxy and other astronomical phenomena photographed with the parks’ terrestrial features will be shown. We’ll see a big reason why people visit national parks and why we should preserve our night sky. 8:30 p.m. 45 minutes NOTE: Location given at sign-up. This program requires reservations, which can be made same-day at the Visitor Center beginning at 8 a.m. until capacity is reached. Tickets limited to 6 per group. Star StoriesAmy Sayle, PhD, is a science communicator and award-winning storyteller. As a longtime educator at Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she communicates astronomy to the public under the planetarium sky, at skywatching events, and on night paddles. She is a founder of North Carolina's annual Statewide Star Party—partnering with parks, museums, libraries, and historic sites to host a weekend of more than 40 public skywatching events taking place from the NC mountains to the coast. In late 2026 Amy will be an astronomer in residence at Grand Canyon National Park. Stargazing10:00 p.m. - Midnight Volunteers point their telescopes at some of the night sky's most spectacular sights. White-light flashlights are prohibited due to their negative impact on night vision. Free Astrophotography Workshop9:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Daytime Activities10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Evening ProgramTitle coming soon
9:00 p.m. 45 minutes NOTE: If there is inclement weather this program will be moved to the Visitor Center Theater, where tickets will be required. These can be picked up same-day at the Visitor Center beginning at 8 a.m. until capacity is reached. Tickets limited to 6 per group.About the speaker: Dr. Macarena Garcia Marin is the Webb Project Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and an Operations Scientist for the European Space Agency. She is from the Canary Islands, Spain, where beautiful dark skies and the presence of an astronomical observatory inspired her to become an astronomer. She pursued her undergraduate studies in the Canary Islands, and earned her PhD in Madrid, Spain. She then moved to Cologne, Germany, with a post-doctoral position to conduct extragalactic studies, and joined the JWST MIRI Instrument Team, in charge of integrating, testing, and calibrating the instrument. In 2015 she joined the European Space Agency and moved to Baltimore to work on Webb, where she led the MIRI team through the launch and commissioning periods. She is an expert in mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy and is part of international collaborations that use space and ground-based observatories to understand the origin and evolutions of our galaxies, from the dawn of the Universe to our own galactic center.
Stargazing10:00 p.m. - Midnight Volunteers point their telescopes at some of the night sky's most spectacular sights. White-light flashlights are prohibited due to their negative impact on night vision. Free Astrophotography Workshop9:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Daytime Activities10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Keynote ProgramsStar Stories
Through storytelling and audience participation, discover how tonight’s sky provides you with a compass, clock, calendar, and time machine. Help act out one of the greatest star stories ever told. Planetarium educator Dr. Amy Sayle takes you on a trip through the constellations and the eternal legends they tell. Help act out one of the greatest star stories ever told.
|
Last updated: April 6, 2026