List of Past Events! 

These free events were open to the community and were filled with educational fun while celebrating STEM with our students, faculty and community members!

Friday, November 7, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
What a fantastic Fall 2025 Garden Walk!  

Thank you for joining us at our Fall Garden Walk on Friday, November 7th! Professor Jeannie Chari took us on a guided tour of the unique plant and bird life at our beautiful Canyon Country Campus. Participants were able to identify a variety of bird species and learn about plant life around campus, using provided binoculars. It was a morning of learning, fresh air, and a healthy walk around our beautiful campus!

Thank you again Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event! 
Garden Walk FA25 Flyer

Friday, October 24, 2025, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Fall Star Party & Science Showcase:  A Stellar Success!

On Friday, October 24th, students, faculty, staff and community members were treated to our 31st Star Party event, which included a Science Showcase! The event was held at our beautiful Canyon Country Campus, in the outdoor Lower Plaza, adjacent to the Takeda Science Center, and attracted more than 400 people. The event started at 6:00pm and ran until close to 9:30pm.

The evening kicked off with a variety of science-themed presentations by our own COC students and faculty, followed by our special guest speaker, Dr. Athina Peidou, GRACE-FO Project Staff Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Dr. Peidou presented "Monitoring the Global Water Cycle with GRACE-FO Missions" and her intriguing topic raised some fun Q&A’s and audience engagement.

Throughout the evening, our guests enjoyed our exciting indoor portable planetarium, explored the skies through high-powered telescopes hosted by local community astronomy clubs, and explored our interactive science-based demonstration tables, presented by a number of clubs and groups including the Alpha Delta Nu Nursing Honor Society, Astronomy & Physics Club, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Civic Engagement Club, the Early Childhood Education Children’s Center, Helping US Become (HUB) Club, Library, MESA/MESA LAB-Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement, Pre-Health Club, Society of Physics and Engineering Students, Teachers of Tomorrow, the Technology, Engineering, Coding, and Hardware (TECH) Club, the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway, and Logix, our Star Party Sponsor!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy, and the Go Fish House food truck had a lot of business! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all! 
Star Party FA25 Flyer

Friday, May 2, 2025, 9:00am - 11:00am
Spring Garden Walk!

On Friday, May 2nd, Professor Jeannie Chari took us on a guided tour around our beautiful Canyon Country Campus.  Participants were able to identify and learn about the unique plants, bird life, insects and trees around campus, and used binoculars provided to spot various birds. Participants also planted several plants around our campus.  Thank you Professor Chari for a healthy and educational walk.  It was fun-filled!
Garden Walk SP25Flyer

Friday, April 25, 2025, 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Spring Star Party!

On Friday, April 25th, students, faculty, staff and community members were treated to our 30th Star Party event, which included a Science Showcase! The event was held at our beautiful Canyon Country Campus, in our outdoor Lower Plaza, adjacent to the Takeda Science Center, and attracted more than 400 people. The event ran from 6:30pm until 10pm, starting with multiple student showcase presentations, followed by our guest speaker, Michaela Blain, Astronomy Professor at College of the Canyons, in the Takeda Science Center Lobby. 

Professor Blain presented “The Unfolding Story of Exoplanets” and her intriguing topic raised some fun Q&A’s and audience engagement. In addition to the presentations, attendees explored our exciting indoor portable planetarium, gazed through telescopes hosted by local community astronomy clubs, and were able to enjoy a bite from our visiting food truck, “Go Fusion N Grill”.

Throughout the evening, attendees also enjoyed our interactive science-based demonstration tables, presented by a number of clubs and groups including the Astronomy & Physics Club, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Civic Engagement Club, the Early Childhood Education Children’s Center, Earth and Space Sciences, Helping US Become (HUB) Club, Library, Math Club, Society of Physics and Engineering Students, the Technology, Engineering, Coding, and Hardware (TECH) Club,  the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway, and Logix, our Star Party Sponsor!!  The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!

Star Party SP25 Flyer
Star Party Program

Friday, November 1, 2024, 6pm - 9:30pm
Fall Star Party!

On Friday, November 1st, students, faculty, staff and community members were treated to our 29th Star Party & Science Showcase event! The event was held at our beautiful Canyon Country Campus, in our outdoor Upper Plaza, adjacent to the Don Takeda Science Center, and attracted more than 400 people.

Our guest speaker, Dr. Jason Wright, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State University, presented "Intelligent Ways to Search for Extraterrestrials" and his intriguing topic raised some Q&A's and audience engagement.  The event kicked off the evening with a variety of science-themed presentations by our own COC students and faculty. The event included tours of the Takeda Science Center, visits to our exciting indoor portable planetarium, and food truck services with "Go Fusion N Grill".

Throughout the evening, our guests enjoyed our interactive demonstration tables, presented by a number of groups including Alpha Delta Nu Nursing Honor Society, the Astronomy Physics Club, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Civic Engagement Club, Cougar E-Sports, Earth and Space Sciences, Helping US Become (HUB) Club, Library, MESA - Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement, Psychology Club and Psi Beta Honors Society, and Society of Physics and Engineering Students!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!

Star Party FA24Flyer

Friday, October 18, 2024, 9am - 11am
Fall Garden Walk! Thank you for joining us on Friday, October 18th, at our Fall Garden Walk as we enjoyed a guided tour around our beautiful Canyon Country Campus, identifying various plants, trees, insect, etc., while getting questions answered by our knowledgeable professor, Jeannie Chari.  Participants were able to identify and learn about unique plants around campus, using provided binoculars to spot birds.  Thank you Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event! 

Garden Walk FA24 Flyer

Friday, April 26, 2024, 9am - 11am
Spring Garden Walk! On Friday, April 26th, professor Jeannie Chari took us on a guided tour of the unique plant and birdlife at Canyon Country Campus! Participants were able to identify and learn about plants and trees around campus, and used binoculars provided for bird spotting. Our guest got some fresh air, and enjoyed a walk through our beautiful campus! Thank you Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event!

Garden Walk SP24 Flyer

Friday, April 12, 2024, 6pm - 9:30pm
Spring Star Party!

On Friday, April 12th, students, faculty, staff and community members were treated to our 28th Star Party event, which included a Science Showcase and attracted more than 400 people! The event started at 6:30pm and ran until close to 10pm, with multiple student showcase presentations at the upper plaza followed by our guest speaker, Dr. Bob Balaram, in the amphitheater. The event continued in our Takeda Science Center were visitors explored our portable planetarium exhibit and lab tours.

Throughout the evening, our guests enjoyed our interactive demonstration tables, presented by a number of groups including Active Minds, the Astronomy Physics Club, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Civic Engagement Club, Connections Club, Earth and Space Sciences, Helping US Become (HUB) Club, Library, Math Club, MESA - Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement, Outdoor Adventure Club, the Technology, Engineering, coding and Hardware (TECH) Club and the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!
Star Party SP24 Flyer

Our Science Talks Series brought TWO family-friendly events at the Canyon Country Campus. These free events were open to the community and were filled with educational fun while celebrating STEM with our students, faculty and community members!

Friday, November 3, 2023, 6pm - 9:30pm
Fall Star Party!

Our guest speaker, Dr. Varoujan Gorjian, JPL Research Astronomer, presented "A Brief History of JPL" and his intriguing topic raised some fun Q&A's and audience engagement. The event's new "science showcase" kicked off the evening with a variety of science-themed presentations by our own COC students and faculty. The event included tours of the Takeda Science Center, visits to our exciting indoor portable planetarium, and food truck services with "Go Fusion N Grill". Always a crowd favorite, attendees were able to explore the night sky through high-powered telescopes with the assistance of volunteers from the Local Group Astronomy Club of Santa Clarita Valley, as well as from the Antelope Valley Astronomy Club.
Throughout the evening, our guests also enjoyed our interactive demonstration tables, presented by a number of groups including the Astronomy Physics Club, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Civic Engagement Club, Earth and Space Sciences, Future Business Leaders of America, Helping US Become (HUB) Club, Library, MESA - Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement, Parallax Photo Club, Psychology Club & PSI Beta, and the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!
Star Party FA23 Flyer


Friday, October 20, 2023, 8:30am - 10am
Fall Garden Walk! We enjoyed a guided tour of the unique plant and birdlife at our beautiful Canyon Country campus. Professor, Jeannie Chari, helped us identify and learn about plant like around our campus, using binoculars provided for bird spotting. Thank you Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event!

Garden Walk FA23 Flyer

Friday, May 5, 2023, 9am - 11am
Spring Garden Walk! On Friday, May 5th, our professor, Jeannie Chari, took us on a guided tour of the unique plant and bird life at our beautiful Canyon Country campus. Participants were able to identify and learn about plants and trees around campus, use binoculars provided to spot various birds and microscopes to examine collected seeds, leaves and pond water samples. Thank you Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event!

Garden Walk SP23 Flyer

Friday, April 28, 2023, 7:30pm - 10pm
Spring Star Party!

Our guest speaker, Jennifer Burt, PhD, EPRV Investigation Scientist, JPL, spoke on "the Sky's the Limit: Expanding Our Understanding of ExoPlanetary Systems from the Ground Up" and her intriguing topic raised some fun Q& As and audience engagement. Attendees explored the night sky through high-powered telescopes with the assistance of volunteers from the Local Group Astronomy Club of Santa Clarita, as well as the Antelope Valley Astronomy Club.
The evening included interactive demonstration tables presented by a number of groups including the Astronomy Physics Club, Active Minds, the Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, Chemistry Club, Library, MESA - Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement, STEM Equity Alliance, and the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy! It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!
Star Party SP23 Flyer
  

November 4, 2022, 9:00am - 11:00am
Garden Walk FA22 Flyer! Our presenter and tour guide, Professor, Jeannie Chari, took us on tour of the unique plant and birdlife at the Canyon Country Campus. Participants were able to identify and learn about plant life around campus, using provided binoculars to spot birds, and microscopes to examine collected water samples. It was educational and enjoyable!

October 28, 2022, 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Star Party FA22 Flyer!

Our guest speaker, Albion H. Bowers, Chief Scientist at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (retired), spoke on "Fast Interplanetary Flight (Aero Gravity Assist)" and his intriguing topic raised some fun Q&As and audience engagement. Attendees explored the night sky through high-powered telescopes. The evening included interactive demonstration tables presented by our clubs, departments, and the William S. Hart District CTE Education Pathway!! The Associated Student Government (ASG) was also on hand with free snacks and lots of energy!  It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!

May 6, 2022, 9:00am - 11:00am
Spring Garden Walk! On Friday, May 6th as we toured the Canyon Country Campus! We learned while we burned (calories), explored biodiversity, got some fresh air, and enjoyed a walk through our beautiful campus! Thank you Professor Chari for an educational and enjoyable event!

April 22, 2022, 7:30pm - 10pm
Spring Star Party! - Guest speaker, John L. Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory presented "The Robotic Exploration of the Surface of Mars", at our in-person event outside the new Don Takeda Science Center. Attendees explored skies through high-powered telescopes, heard from our students and the COC Aerospace and Sciences Team. The evening included interaction and demos with our clubs and departments. It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!

November 19, 2021, 12pm - 1:30pm
Biology Talks! - Professor Shane Ramey and his students gave us a virtual tour of the Takeda Science Center's microbiology laboratory at CCC, one of the most advanced instructional laboratories in the region. From wireless microscope cameras, to iPads, to the Cloud, see how our students are learning with 21st century tools for 21st century jobs. Thank you Professor Shane Ramey and your amazing students!
In case you missed it, watch it now: Fall '21, Biology Talks!

October 29, 2021, 7pm - 9:30pm
Fall Star Party! - Guest speaker, Camilo Mejia Prada, Ph.D, Manager of the High Contrast Imaging Facility at NASA JPL, presented "NASA's Search for Planets, Habitability and Life in our Galaxy" at our in-person event outside the new Don Takeda Science Center. Attendees explored skies through high-powered telescopes, heard from our students and the COC Aerospace and Sciences Team. The evening included interaction and demos with our clubs and departments. It was an educational and enjoyable evening for all!!

April 23, 2021, 6pm - 8:30pm
Virtual Spring Star Party! - Join us for a mission update on the Mars Perseverance rover, along with other exciting space activities.
Guest Speaker: Jennifer Trosper
In case you missed it, watch it now: Spring '21, Virtual Star Party

May 7, 2021, 9am - 11am
Spring Garden Walk! - We took a virtual stroll through the Canyon Country Campus, including engaging discussion of local plant-life, insects and birds.
Presenter: Professor, Jeannie Chari
In case you missed it, watch it now: Spring '21, Garden Walk

Chemistry Impacts - Cures and Beyond!
March 19, 2021, 12pm-1:30pm

In case you missed it, watch it now: Chemistry Panel Discussion

Guest panelists: Dr. Alex Lichtsheidl and Dr. Isaac Koh

COVID-19: The Immune System and Herd Immunity December 4, 2020, 12pm - 1:30 pm

In case you missed it, watch it now: Fall '20 COVID-19 Presentation

• Presentation on COVID-19
  Panel: Biology faculty Dr. Kelly Cude, Professor Kelly Burke, and Dr. Shane Ramey

Fall Virtual Star Party
October 23, 2020
6pm - 8:30pm

Watch it now: Fall '20 Virtual Star Party

• Special presentation - "Beyond the Night Sky - The Once-Invisible Universe" Guest speaker: Dr. Padi Boyd, Chief,
  Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center