Come view the summer milky way and enjoy a "star party' on

Bear Creek, just south of the Buffalo River in Arkansas!

We provide a box lunch, water and adult beverages. Be sure to bring your own folding chair, mosquito repellent, hiking boots, and other out-door supplies you might need.

Event activities include programs about nature at night, children’s games, constellation tours, a telescopic star party, and more. Try special sky-themed drinks on the bus. NASA Solar System Ambassador Darrell Heath will be speaking and answering questions.

It may be the most fun you've ever had on a bus!

Note: Bus trip participants will be registered for the Dark Sky Festival

This is a bus to the final day of a three day event.

The featured speaker for the 2023 Dark-Sky Festival will be

Dr. Amber Straughn, an Astrophysicist at

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. 

Growing up in Bee Branch, AR. Dr. Straughn will be speaking on “Unfolding the Universe with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.” A member of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope science team, Amber has appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, PBS NOVA, The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, NatGeo, and in a segment on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Amber credits growing up under the dark skies of rural Arkansas to her early interest in astronomy. At the Festival, Amber will share her work with the James Webb Telescope and review the remarkable engineering behind JWST, its journey to space, and some exciting early discoveries!

Bus trippers will meet at the Old Ray Winder Field/UAMS Parking Lot

at the corner of South Monroe and Jonesboro Drive, Little Rock

no later than 11:30 am for check-in.

Bus departs from Little Rock at 12 NOON.

The bus back to Little Rock departs at 10:30pm when the event is over.

See the Festival Event Guide