News & Resources

Club Coordinator Tips and Tools

Club Coordinator Tips and Tools

  • Target Audience
  • Adult
  • 01/30/2017

Credit: Jim Hendrickson from the event: Starry, Starry Nite at Chase Farm  (Skyscrapers, Inc)

We have collected some of our handiest references and tools here to aid NSN Coordinators in their outreach and organization efforts. Thank you for everything you do! We hope these resources make your work a little bit easier. If you have suggestions for any additions to this page, please let use know at  nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org

This Coordinator Manual is currently being updated but will get you 90% of the way:
Click Here to access the Full Coordinator Manual pdf (currently being updated as of September 2024) or read on for specific issues. 


Membership Benefits

Night Sky Network Membership Benefits
What benefits does Night Sky Network membership bring to your club members? We have a brief overview here.

The 2023 Night Sky Network Star Pin; a moving pin with the sun in the background, bordered by a black band with gold writing, and the move in front of the sun, to represent a solar eclipse
Annual NSN Outreach Award Pins (2023 Edition)
Member clubs whose members performed and reported on just five (5) or more club events in 2023 using the NSN event management system were qualified to receive these pins. Those events could be in-person or online. 

Managing Your Club's NSN Homepage
You can find the latest copy of our club coordinator manual, along with links to other useful resources for club management, such as award certificates, photo releases, logos and banners, and (off-site) links to suggestions for club by-laws and insurance from the Astronomical League for star parties and other club events.

Woman with headset sitting next to a Earth globe with a mouse wrapped around it


How to Maintain Your Club's NSN Homepage
Your club's homepage on the Night Sky Network introduces the public to your club. Keeping your contact information up to date is important for receiving requests for outreach events and allows you to receive inquiries about your club from those who may wish to join your group.

Your Club's Roster: Adding, Deleting, and Converting Member Accounts
The Night Sky Network website provides a simple roster management system to assist in keeping track  of the members of your club. It also provides your members with logins so they can access certain members-only Night Sky Network resources, as well as private club information and private events

Update Your NSN Account Profile, Privacy, Email Preferences
At some point you may want to update your account profile on the Night Sky Network website, be it for email messaging updates, privacy, address changes, or otherwise. Thankfully, it's pretty easy!

NSN Calendar Tip:  Embedded Calendar Tips and How to Control The Events Displayed on Your Club's Calendar
You can control what events show up on your club's NSN calendar. You can elect to display only your clubs events or allow other events to show up alongside your own, like nearby events from other clubs, virtual events, larger regional and national events, and even federal holidays and cancelled events.

If you want to embed the calendar into your club's website, there are options to allow traffic to flow to your club's domain/website from the NSN server, along with http and https options.

NSN Calendar Tip: Schedule Upcoming and Recurring Events 
Add events your club's NSN calendar in advance to stay organized, promote your club's activities, and make event reporting a snap

Managing Pending Events
Have you noticed a lot of "pending" events in your club's queue? We have tips on how to manage them here!

Using photos and attachments with the NSN Message System
You can't directly send attachments with the NSN message system, but you can link to the files you need. We show you how in this guide.

generic illustration of a clipboard. It has a pie chart and the title is REPORT

Report Your Club's Events using the NSN Event System
Reporting on your club's outreach events is key to maintaining membership in the NASA Night Sky Network. The NSN website's tools give clubs the ability to report on these events to NASA via the event system.

Keep Your Club Active and Qualified for NSN Toolkits & Resources
Wondering how your club can keep their "Active" status to qualify for quarterly outreach toolkits, award pins, prizes, and  handouts from NASA and the NSN? These short tips will help remind you to report on your clubs events after they happen.

Differences Between Scheduling, Reporting, and Logging?
What is the difference between scheduling an event, reporting an event, and logging your volunteer hours?

Who Are Your Club's Night Sky Network Coordinators?
Over time, all clubs make changes in leadership. Your club's NSN coordinators also change as some retire, relocate, or sadly pass away. Do you know who your club's current NSN coordinators are?  Do you need to update your coordinator list, or change account types for some individuals? Find out how to do so here

Sharing NSN with Your Club members
Are you sharing the NSN newsletter and links to our webinars with your club members? If not, why not?

screenshot of the Night Sky Network webpage with a red arrow pointing tot he right where the open items and Night Sky Network Services items are located
Alerts & Services 
You may not have noticed the alerts and services available to you- they're hiding in plain sight, right in the upper right corner of the NSN after logging in!


simple vector illustration of a web page. a simple magnifying glass illustration is inside the web page.
The NSN's Site Search Feature
Did you know that the Night Sky Network has a built-in search function that can filter results for news articles, resources, events, and even individual clubs? It's been tucked away in the upper right-hand corner of your screen for quite some time! The "Site Search" option is essential if you spend a lot of time on the site!

Event Tips: Virtual and Physical

Online/Virtual Events Resources
Holding virtual events takes a bit of planning. See these handouts and suggestions for making virtual events shine.

Adding Virtual Events to Your NSN Calendar
Find out how to add virtual events to your club's NSN calendar. It's easy, and these events can reach a wide audience!

Virtual Event Calendar
List all upcoming online events posted to the NSN calendar.

Best Practices for In-Person Events
Flyer to post at in-person events during the Covid pandemic with best practices for groups to follow during this time: 

Photo of a crowd gathered around a man in a hat during the daytime. The man is holding a steaming object resembling a snowball- a model comet. Behind him is a sign that says -  Madelyn Helling County Library
Photo courtesy Nevada County Astronomers

Outreach Resources
A few of the top resources available to club coordinators are listed below. You can find much more by searching the NSN's Outreach Resources page.


What Toolkits are Available to NSN Clubs?
This article lists all of the toolkits that are currently available to member clubs that regularly report on their outreach events. These kits are automatically shipped out to every quarter to qualified clubs.

Collected Handouts
Some of our most popular handouts, available for download as PDF files.

Most Popular Presentations
Asked to give a talk at a local school or library? Need some programming for a cloudy night? We have listed some of our most popular presentations, ready-made for just such events!

List of Activities in Each Toolkit
David Humphreys of the Lima Astronomical Society created this handy spreadsheet, which lists activities found in each NSN Outreach Toolkit. 

collage of toolkit material previews, alternating between people looking through telescopes and handouts showing planets

NSN Member Contributions & Outreach Toolkit Hacks
We've collected tips here from NSN members who have shared their favorite tweaks to NSN outreach materials and related public engagement activities. 

Image of a woman standing next to a telescope

Video Series for Astronomy Outreach and Club Management

We recently introduced a new video series: Confidence & Curiosity: 5 Tips for Girl-Friendly Engagement, devoted to helping astronomers work with diverse audiences and help club members make their clubs more welcoming to girls and women. 

We have also recently re-organized two video series that may be of interest to club officers and outreach enthusiasts alike: Sharing the Universe and Growing Your Astronomy Club. The Sharing the Universe series focuses on best practices for public astronomy outreach, and the Growing Your Astronomy Club series features techniques used by clubs nationwide to help grow your membership and encourage participation in club activities.


Offline Event Reporting Form
NSN member Jerelyn Ramirez created a printable reporting form, downloadable here or below. This form can be used by members to report on their events when away from the computer (or who do not have coordinator access to the site), and can then be turned in to their club outreach coordinators to use when entering the formal event reports into the NSN's event system. Please note all event reports must still be entered into the NSN website!

Partnering with Clubs
Community organizations and individuals may wonder how to best partner with your club or other astronomers. We have a PDF you can share to help them in partnering with your club for outreach.

This resource is part of the Club Management series.

Last Update: May 2023