Outreach

Astronomy Workshops and Outreach for Schools, Colleges and Communities

Chennai Astronomy Club volunteers run free astronomy workshops and outreach sessions at schools, colleges, parks and community groups in Chennai and across Tamil Nadu. What we bring depends on the date, sky and venue — typically telescope viewing, safe solar observing, short talks, simple activities and time for Q&A.

The club has done outreach since 2013. Most people at these sessions are students or families seeing the Moon, planets or sunspots through a telescope for the first time.

CAC volunteer clarifying astronomy questions from a student during school outreach, with several students gathered nearby in Tamil Nadu
Member of the public viewing the 2019 annular solar eclipse through solar goggles distributed at Chennai Astronomy Club outreach in Tamil Nadu
School students in uniform queued to observe the Sun through a telescope with safe solar filters during Chennai Astronomy Club outreach
Students taking turns to view Jupiter through a telescope during a night-sky astronomy outreach session in Chennai

Who Can Request an Outreach Session?

Our outreach sessions are suitable for schools, colleges, libraries, science clubs, residential communities, public parks, NGOs and rural outreach programs. We usually work best with groups that can provide a safe observing location, basic crowd coordination and access to an open sky area.

What Happens at an Outreach Session

We shape each visit around the audience, weather, and what’s up in the sky. There’s usually a bit of explanation, something hands-on, and time at the eyepiece — solar viewing with proper filters by day, Moon and planets when they’re visible at night.

  • Short intro to what’s visible that day
  • Telescope time — solar, lunar, or planetary, depending on schedule and sky
  • A hands-on activity when it fits the group
  • Open Q&A with the club volunteers running the session

Where We Conduct Outreach

Most of our outreach happens in Chennai and nearby areas, but CAC volunteers have also supported astronomy workshops and outreach in other parts of Tamil Nadu. Whether we can visit depends on volunteer availability, travel, weather, audience size, safety and sky visibility.

A Few Practical Notes

  • Outreach depends on volunteer availability and weather conditions.
  • Night-time telescope viewing needs a reasonably open sky and safe crowd management.
  • Solar observation is done only with proper safety filters and trained volunteers.
  • Large groups or locations far from Chennai may need more lead time to coordinate.

Request an Outreach Workshop

When you reach out, please include:

  • Institution or community name
  • Location
  • Preferred date and time
  • Audience size
  • Age group
  • Indoor talk, telescope viewing, solar session, or mixed format
  • Available open-sky area
  • Contact person
Send a Request

Outreach FAQs

You can also read common questions about CAC outreach on our main FAQ page.

Do you conduct astronomy outreach workshops or programs for schools in Chennai?

Yes. Chennai Astronomy Club conducts free, volunteer-led astronomy workshops for schools in Chennai and nearby areas, subject to volunteer availability, venue safety, weather and sky visibility.

Can colleges request an astronomy workshop?

Yes. Colleges can request talks, telescope demos, skywatching sessions or beginner astronomy interactions depending on the event format. Past examples include a workshop at Anna University on visual astronomy and astrophotography with live telescope viewing, and a remote overnight session for Horizon, the Physics and Astronomy Club of IIT Madras on the same topics.

Do you bring telescopes for school workshops?

Where feasible, CAC volunteers bring telescopes for safe solar viewing, Moon viewing, planet viewing or telescope demonstrations. The actual objects visible depend on the date, time, weather and location.

Can you conduct daytime astronomy outreach?

Yes. Daytime sessions can include safe solar observation, solar system scale activities, telescope demonstrations and talks. Solar viewing is done only with proper safety equipment.

Do you conduct public telescope viewing in Chennai?

Yes. CAC occasionally conducts sidewalk astronomy and public telescope viewing sessions in parks and public spaces in Chennai.

Is the outreach free?

Yes — we do not charge for outreach. Chennai Astronomy Club is volunteer-run and non-profit; schools, colleges, and community groups are not billed for astronomy sessions. Whether we can take a request still depends on volunteer availability, location, weather, and sky conditions.

How can a school or community request a workshop?

Use the request form and share the venue, date options, audience size, age group, location and expected format.

Request an Outreach Workshop →