Reporting on your club's outreach events is key to maintaining membership in the NASA Night Sky Network. Regular event reports keep your club qualified to receive toolkits, free handouts (when available), and NSN award pins, and also gives your own club members a record of how past club events went. Having these online records can prove handy for outreach in locations with unique requirements, understanding how many visitors attended events, and in recording which club members volunteered their time and telescopes during outreach or other club activities.

The NSN website's tools give clubs the ability to report on these events to NASA via the event reporting system. Andee Sherwood, NSN trainer and coordinator for the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, has some tips below on how to add reports to your club's events after they have been held:

Using the Event Report Systemscreenshot of NSN open items form

When you first schedule an event on your club calendar, you will view an option asking you to be reminded to report your event or not. If you click Yes, you will receive a message to report an event on the right hand side of your home page under Open Items, after the event happens. Here is what to do next:
  

1. Click directly on the reminder and a page will open, listing the event you may wish to report on. Then click on the "Add Event Report" link to open the event report form.
    listing of open items to log 

Alternately, you can list past events for your club, or click on the event from the club calendar. Open the event and click on the gray Report This Event button to open the form. 
                     log this event button screenshot

2. Next, you will need to fill in a few mandatory items:
  • Name of Primary Presenter,
  • Length of Event
  • Number of Club Members
  • Total number of Visitors/Audience
You can also enter in a few optional data points, including demographic information, topics covered, photos, comments, and toolkits used.

3. Scroll down, then select whether or not you wish to display the log information publicly.

4. Then select "Approved" under "Report Status" if you are satisfied with the report. Scroll up if you want to review it and add any further data. You can also edit the report afterwards if needed.

5. Click "Submit All Changes" and your event report will be saved and submitted. 

submit changes buton for nsn

How Are Reports Used?

The event log system is the best way to let NASA know you are using their resources for your outreach events. The records of your club's outreach events show NASA how many people were exposed to NASA science as a result of your club's outreach and what materials, activities, and other resources are used the most. That is why it's important to report on how many people were at your event and what resources were used, including NSN toolkits and other NASA-related items. 

We of course love your additional demographic details, anecdotes,and photos in these reports, but we totally understand that not everyone has the time to exhaustively record every last detail of every event. As long as you record a rough estimate of the numbers of people served by your club and the resources used in your outreach, our goal of better understanding your club's outreach, your audiences, and the NASA science they are exposed to is met.

Final Note: Active vs Associate Club Status
NSN member clubs that regularly report on their events using the NSN's event system, are listed as "Active" on the NSN website and qualify for additional NSN resources like Outreach Toolkits and other occasional free goodies. Currently, a club must report on five (5) events within the past year or two (2) events within the past quarter to register as "active.' Once events are reported, it may take up to an hour for the club's staus to change. You can find more details on keeping your club "active" here.

Additional Resources
Find more guides and resources in our Club Coordinator Tips and Tools page!

Last Updated: Feb 6, 2024
 
 Logo for Night Sky Network featuring child and astronomer observing the skyNight Sky Network members are committed to bringing astronomy to the public!  NASA/JPL, the ASP, and additional partners proudly support member clubs' outreach events with a variety of free materials and tools in exchange for posting and reporting their events to the NSN calendar system, including: outreach toolkits, quarterly prizes, handouts, webinars with NASA scientists, along with increased visibility for upcoming events posted to the public calendar.

logo for Facebooklogo for TwitterLogo for YouTubeLogo for Instagram
Follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram for the latest NSN news and outreach photos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for recordings of our monthly astronomy webinars, as well as archives of our Outreach Toolkit demonstration videos.  #NightSkyNetwork #AstronomyOutreach

Logo for the Astronomical Society of the PacificThe NASA Night Sky Network is managed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The ASP is a 501c3 non-profit organization advancing science literacy through astronomy.