For one Saturday in October, the Open Space Visitor Center on Albuquerque's west side turns into something between a county fair and an observatory. The Albuquerque Astronomical Society hosts its annual Cosmic Carnival and Star Party on Oct. 17, a free, open-to-anyone day that runs from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and splits neatly in two: a hands-on science carnival in the afternoon, and a telescope night under the desert sky after sundown.
The carnival portion runs from 1 to 5 p.m., with family-friendly games, creative experiences and hands-on activities meant to let visitors explore space and the universe at their own pace. Then, as the sun drops behind the mesas, the Star Party takes over from 6 to 10 p.m., when members of the society set up telescopes and invite the public to look at planets, stars and other celestial sights, with club members on hand to explain what they're seeing.
The event is presented in partnership with the City of Albuquerque, which manages the Open Space Visitor Center at 6500 Coors Blvd. NW. The center is the interpretive hub for the roughly 30,000 acres of land the city manages as public open space, and it sits among agricultural fields and demonstration gardens that draw migrating birds and other wildlife, with views of the Sandia Mountains to the east. It's an apt setting for an astronomy event: the same open fields that feed wintering sandhill cranes also keep the horizon dark enough to observe.
The Cosmic Carnival's roots run deeper than its carnival-booth name suggests. According to Lynne Olson, the society's publicity chair, the gathering began in the 1990s as a local Astronomy Day and simply kept growing. As it expanded, more and more high-level exhibitors joined, turning a modest club open house into a full science festival. Olson described it as "the celebration of science and astronomy," and said the event's appeal lies partly in how many different groups it pulls together to teach about the skies.
Those contributors have included some of New Mexico's most prominent science institutions. Past carnivals have featured frozen bubbles from the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, water-and-air rocket demonstrations from the Albuquerque Rocketry Society, and a planetarium display from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Olson's personal favorite is the InterGalactic Cultural Relations Institute, which she described as "a whimsical take on what would you say to someone visiting our planet about what we are, what we're like."
Much of the programming is aimed at children, and Olson said the event regularly draws kids who arrive with sharp questions for the exhibitors. The society takes that outreach seriously. Founded in 1959, TAAS has been sharing the stars with the public for more than six decades and now counts over 700 members, making it one of the largest and most active astronomy clubs in the country. Its volunteers run school star parties, public observing nights at dark-sky sites, and lectures for groups across the region, working with the city, Bernalillo County, Albuquerque Public Schools, the University of New Mexico and several local museums. In 2011, the club won Astronomy Magazine's Out-Of-This-World Award for its educational outreach. Members also operate the General Nathan Twining Observatory, a dark-sky facility south of Belen, about 45 miles from Albuquerque, open to members and their guests year-round.
The timing of the two halves is deliberate. Olson has noted that the sun sets just as the afternoon exhibits wind down, leaving enough light for volunteers to set up their telescopes and then a long stretch of darkness for observing. For many attendees, the payoff is a first look through an eyepiece — Olson described the awe of watching someone who has never looked through a telescope see the moon up close.
She also frames the night as a chance to think about what's being lost overhead. Events like the Cosmic Carnival, she said, are important because they introduce people to the night sky, to light pollution, and to the idea of Dark Sky places — the protected areas where the Milky Way is still visible.
The event is free and open to the public, with no gate and no ticket required; visitors can drop in for the carnival, stay for the stars, or both. The Open Space Visitor Center can be reached at 505-768-4951.