Stellarium is free planetarium software for your computer. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Stellarium shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is used by amateur astronomers to plan a night of observation, and it is also used in planetariums, including the one at SUNY New Paltz.
This month's presentation will be an introduction to Stellarium for beginners, starting with installing it on your computer, going through the basic controls for view, time, and location, as well as turning on and off labels on objects like constellations and planets and grids and other guiding markers.
If you attend in person you can participate in real time using Stellarium if you bring a charged laptop, though this is not required. (There are no power plugs in the auditorium.) If you attend via Zoom you may want to consider using two devices -- one for the Zoom call and another for Stellarium. It is not difficult to run both on the same computer, but your Stellarium experience is nicer when you view it full-screen.
Preparation: you may find it easier to learn Stellarium if you install it on your computer before the presentation, though that will be demonstrated first for those who have difficulties. You can download Stellarium for free from https://stellarium.org/ It may also help to download and print ahead of time (double sided, if possible) the Stellarium Vade Mecum, which is a single page "cheat sheet" for Stellarium that you can fold up and keep in your pocket. This will also be the "syllabus" for the evening.
If time permits there will be a demonstration of how to download and install a custom horizon landscape, along with the debut of a brand-new landscape.