2024 North Carolina Statewide Star Party

Sun and Moon

Thanks to generous grant support from the North Carolina Space Grant, the 2024 North Carolina Science Festival will again feature the Statewide Star Party as a signature initiative.

During this 12th annual Statewide Star Party, 37 hosts will offer public skywatching events across North Carolina from Friday, April 5th to Monday, April 8th, 2024. Star Party hosts include state and local parks, colleges and universities, planetariums, science centers, nature centers, and libraries. About 3,500 visitors are expected to participate.

This year’s theme is “Sun & Moon” in honor of the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. For North Carolina, this will be a partial solar eclipse lasting about 2½ hours, from roughly 2 to 4:30 p.m. At the maximum eclipse in NC, the Moon will cover about 70-85% of the Sun at roughly 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time. To find exact times and % maximum eclipse for YOUR location, check this map (Important: you must subtract 4 hours to convert UT to Eastern Daylight Time). Hosts are provided with a Star Party kit of hands-on activities and a limited number of eclipse glasses.

2024 Statewide Star Party Locations

Click here to find a Statewide Star Party event near you.

Map of North Carolina with Statewide Star Party locations

County City Organization
Alamance Greensboro Science Everywhere at UNC Greensboro
Bertie Windsor Bertie County Public Library
Cabarrus Harrisburg Cabarrus County Public Libraries
Camden South Mills Dismal Swamp State Park
Cumberland Fayetteville Fayetteville State University Planetarium
Cumberland Hope Mills Cumberland County Public Library
Dare Nags Head Jockey's Ridge State Park
Durham Durham City of Durham - Parks and Recreation
Forsyth Winston-Salem Forsyth County Public Library
Forsyth Winston-Salem Kaleideum
Gaston Gastonia Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium
Guilford Greensboro Greensboro Science Center
Guilford Jamestown Cline Observatory and Guilford Technical Community College
Iredell Troutman Lake Norman State Park
Lee Sanford Lee County Libraries
Macon Highlands Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust
Mecklenburg Charlotte UNC Charlotte Observatory
Moore Southern Pines Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
Nash Nashville Town of Nashville - Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources
New Hanover Wilmington Cape Fear Museum
Onslow Swansboro Hammocks Beach State Park
Orange Chapel Hill Morehead Planetarium and Science Center
Pasquotank Elizabeth City College of the Albemarle
Pender Rocky Point Science Alliance of Eastern NC
Pitt Grifton NC Museum of Natural Sciences at Contentnea Creek
Randolph Asheboro Asheboro Public Library
Rowan China Grove Rowan Public Library System
Surry Dobson Surry Community College
Vance Henderson Perry Memorial Library
Wake Durham Triangle Land Conservancy
Wake Garner Town of Garner - Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources
Wake Apex The American Tobacco Trail
Wake Raleigh NC Museum of Natural Science
Warren Henderson Kerr Lake State Recreation Area
Wilson Wilson Imagination Station Science and History Museum
Yancey Burnsville Yancey County Public Library
Yancey Spruce Pine Mayland Earth to Sky Park

 

For more information, please contact:
Amy Sayle
Coordinator, NC Statewide Star Party
Email: starparty@unc.edu 

The Statewide Star Party is made possible with the support of NC Space Grant and the NC Science Festival.

Click here for Star Party kit materials (including previous years)