Comments and anecdotes about the event:
After placing a Library Telescope at our local library, the first patron, who is a neighbor, was the first person to check out the telescope on its maiden voyage. She contacted me to ask if I could help her find the registered star that was named on behalf of her late son through the "Make A Wish" foundation. She came over with other family members to use the library telescope and locate the registered star in the constellation Orion. They were excited to see the star named after their son. I was glad to help them with this. We had a nice 3 day crescent moon to practice finding first. Then we practiced on M42, M45, and Hyades before going after the registered star. I pointed the location with my star pointer. I did have my CPC800 set up to locate the registered star so it would track it. They all did get a look. We later pointed out several constellations, Polaris, and explained how the stars rotate. We talked about how the moon rotates on its axis at the same rate it orbits the Earth as to why we only see one side of the Moon. I pointed out the Earth shine on the surface of the Moon, and clarified their misconception the shadow side of the Moon is not the shadow of the Earth on the Moon. We went over the life cycle of stars and how we only see about 5% of the stars in our galaxy, and they are the big hot giant stars. It was a fun and enjoyable night.