Don't miss the Southern California Astronomy Expo (SCAE) on Saturday, July 11th and Saturday, July 18th, 2009 at Oceanside Photo & Telescope! The store will be open from 10:00AM until 6:00PM on both Saturdays, and we'll have special sale prices going on all day long! Check out the line-up of events we have planned for SCAE...you gotta come!
Saturday, July 11th - SCAE Swap Meet, 3D Movie Presentation, & Star Party
Yes, I said swap meet! This year we are mixing things up a little bit for our first SCAE Saturday! On Saturday, July 11th, we will host an astronomy swap meet in the OPT parking lot! OPT will be selling discontinued, one-of-a-kind, refurbished, and scratch-and-dent items at this special sale, and we've invited a handful of local astronomy clubs and organizations to sell donated goods and earn some cash as well. All the proceeds the clubs earn, they keep...OPT won't take a dime. So come out to OPT from 10AM through 4:30PM, where you can support your local astronomy organizations and walk away with a sweet deal at the same time!
The party is far from over after the swap meet ends at OPT, by the way! Palomar College, located about ten miles east of the store, will co-host the SCAE 3D movie presentation and public star party from 5PM until 11PM that evening, and do we have a fun night planned for you!
Join us in the P-32 lecture hall, located on the San Marcos campus at Palomar College, for a real treat...a three-dimensional treat! SimShu Productions is flying in from Canada to show us their new film, Journeys on Mars 3-D! Follow the adventures of twin rovers, Spirit & Opportunity, as they explore the Red Planet in panoramic HD-3D, and take home your very own pair of 3D glasses to commemorate the event! Afterwards, special guest speaker Scott G. Lever will give you an inside scoop on the Mars rovers. Scott is a Mission Manager for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) project at JPL, so we are really excited that he agreed to come and speak with us! We will offer TWO show times for your convenience: 5pm & 7pm. There are no reservations required for these special presentations, but we suggest you arrive early for your chosen show time as seats are limited.
After your trip to Mars has concluded, we will have a variety of telescopes set up on campus to gaze at the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and some brighter deep sky objects. Representatives from companies like Celestron, Vixen, Tele Vue, Explore Scientific and more will be on hand to show you the wonders of the universe through their newest telescopes! While bad weather is unlikely in July, please remember that if it is cloudy or rainy, views of the sky through our telescopes will not be possible. The 3D Mars movie and talk, however, will go on come rain or shine (or clouds)! This free event will be fun and educational for the whole family, so mark your calendars!
READ MORE ABOUT THE MOVIE AND TALK
DIRECTIONS TO PALOMAR COLLEGE
Saturday, July 18th - Telescope & Astronomy Demonstration
On Saturday, July 18th, almost forty telescope, CCD, and other astronomy product manufacturers & organizations will be on hand at OPT to show off their latest and greatest gear, and you're invited! The SCAE 2009 Telescope & Astronomy Demonstration kicks off at 10AM and runs through 7PM. There will be free mini-seminars by your favorite manufacturers all days long, an awesome BBQ lunch will be available on-site for a nominal fee, and, of course, the OPT Giant SCAE Giveaway will commence at 6:00PM! Actually, there are THRE giveaways for SCAE this year:
- The SCAE Online Giveaway, where everyone, even those folks who can't attend SCAE, can sign up for a chance to win one of four prizes worth a combined total of $12,000,
- The SCAE Onsite Giveaway for attendees of the July 18th event at OPT aged 14 & up, and
- The SCAE Kid's Giveaway, for kids up to 14 who attend SCAE on July 18th in the company of a parent or guardian.
Attendees can get a free ticket for the giveaway at the OPT ticket booth between 10am and 5pm on July 18th, but they must be present if their number is called in order to win. You can read more about the giveaways, the seminars, and see a list of vendors who plan to be at SCAE by following the links below:
DOWNLOAD THE MINI-SEMINAR SCHEDULE
CHECK OUT THE PRIZES FOR THE ONLINE & ONSITE GIVEAWAY
REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE GIVEAWAY
LIST OF SCAE 2009 VENDORS & ORGANIZATIONS
General Event Information
The Southern California Astronomy Exposition will be located at OPT's beautiful showroom location. The address is 918 Mission Avenue in Oceanside, California. We are located 250 yards west of Interstate 5 on the corner of Mission Avenue and Horne Street. The only off-site venue for this year's SCAE is Palomar College, where the 3D Mars movie, Mars presentation, and public star party will be held on Saturday evening, July 11th. If you need directions, you can download a PDF with directions to the college as well as a map of the campus.
There is no charge for admission to any of the SCAE events. Please arrive early for either showing of the movie on July 11th as seating will be limited. We will do our best to accommodate as many people as possible, but we expect a large attendance at this event so please plan ahead.
Directions to OPT…
For those of you who have not visited OPT before, you will need to find your way to Interstate 5. If you are coming north on the 5 freeway, you will exit Mission Avenue and take the left hand branch for Downtown. This will swing you around heading west towards the beach. Go west approximately 250 yards and you will come to the intersection of Mission and Horne. OPT is the big building on the northwest corner.
If you are coming south, exit Mission Avenue and stay in the right hand lane. Turn right on Mission Avenue and head west. Go west approximately 100 yards and you will come to the intersection of Mission and Horne. OPT is the big building on the northwest corner.
There is plenty of free parking in the vicinity. The most popular lot is located directly west of OPT in the Mission Square Shopping Center, however there is plenty of street parking nearby as well.
For those of you planning on staying the night in the local area, there are a number of quality accommodations in Oceanside, Vista, and Carlsbad…all within a few miles of OPT. Search the internet for more information.
The closest major airport is the San Diego International Airport. It is approximately one hour from the airport to OPT and it is an easy drive north on the I-5.
In conclusion…
We are expecting this to be an amazing, must-attend event. Every SCAE since it's inception five years ago has been a huge success, so we expect bigger and better things for SCAE 2009! If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call or send us an e-mail to opt@optcorp.com. If you have a specific question about the event or wish to participate in the event as a demonstrator, please e-mail me direct at penny@optcorp.com and I will get back to you. Thank you for visiting!
Penny Distasio
OPT Event Coordinator - SCAE
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