News Release

Annual Summer Night Sky Festival to be held at Paramount Ranch Saturday, August 3

People at a star party use red lights to preserve night vision.

National Park Service

News Release Date: July 25, 2019

Contact: Ana Beatriz Cholo, 805-370-2385

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The public is invited to check out the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn during the annual Summer Night Sky Festival at Paramount Ranch on Saturday, August 3. This free event will take place from 7 to 10 p.m.

A number of telescopes will be set up and directed at the planets and other distant objects in our galaxy. There will be a special presentation from Dr. Travis Longcore, an Associate Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and a leading expert in the environmental and ecological effects of night lighting. His program is entitled “Light Pollution, Wildlife and You” starting at 7:30 p.m. 

The event will also feature two fun nighttime hikes with a National Park Service ranger (at 7:30 and 8:30) to look for bats and learn how they send out sound waves, called echolocation, through their mouths and noses to navigate and find food in the dark. Hupa native Kat High will share Native American night sky stories starting at 7 p.m. There will also be other educational childrens’ activities, including an opportunity for youngsters to become Night Sky Junior Rangers. 

Schedule of events:

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Kids’ activities
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm: Native American night sky stories by Hupa native Kat High
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Light Pollution, Wildlife, and You, a presentation by Dr. Travis Longcore
7:30 pm & 8:30 pm: Search for bats with a National Park Service ranger
8:15 pm – 10:00 pm: Telescope viewing

Parking is free. Food vendors will have dinner and snacks available for purchase.

Paramount Ranch is located at 2903 Cornell Rd, Agoura Hills, CA 91301. Red lens flashlights are recommended to help preserve visitors’ night vision throughout the event (red cellophane and rubber bands will also be provided). 

For more information please call the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center at 805-370-2301.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.

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