Locating & Joining In At Our Activities

Many of our public activities are held in locations around the Naperville, Illinois area, about 30 miles west of Chicago. After you get yourself to Naperville, the map below will help you find specific spots.

The N.A.A.'s normal Monthly meeting location is in the Naperville Municipal Center, at Aurora Ave. and Eagle St. in downtown Naperville. Meeting parking is available on the upper and lower levels of the parking garage, and the meeting is held in all or part of meeting rooms A-B-C on the lower level. The Municipal Center meeting location is wheelchair accessible. This same location is used for our Astronomy Fundamentals programs; please see the Club News & Events page for detailed information on upcoming meetings and programs.

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Our public sky viewing events are often held either at our observatories (see the Observatories page) or in downtown Naperville along the Riverwalk Park. The map indicates both the observatory (Astronomy Education Center) location (lower inset), and the spots along the Riverwalk where we commonly set up for daytime (solar) observing and nighttime viewing (upper inset). The parking garage at the Municipal Center may also be used for evening or weekend visits to the Riverwalk Park.

Public Event Notes:

-- Sky viewing events are generally weather dependent; telescopes cannot see through clouds any better than the unaided eye can, so if it is too cloudy out, the event will be cancelled.

-- Children are more than welcome to our public evenings, but please keep an eye on them (we don't want any lost in the dark!)

-- Mosquitos love groups that gather outside after dark; so in the spring, summer or fall, please be prepared to cover your skin with either clothing or mosquito repellent!

-- Even in the summer, it can get cool out after dark; it is wise to bring extra layers at any time of year, and to only wear shorts & t-shirts on the hottest of nights (see previous note about mosquitos, too!)

-- MILAGES: The entrance to the observatory grounds is located off the east side of Plainfield-Naperville Rd., 3.5 miles south of 75th St. and about three-quarters of a mile north of Boughton Rd. Do not turn in at the water tower (to the north) or the stoplight at 104th St. (to the south).

-- The grounds our Astronomy Education Center are on belong to the City of Naperville, and are home to some of the City's utility services; an increase in the Terrorist Threat Index from the Department of Homeland Security can cause the grounds to go into lockdown and the cancellation of any events we have scheduled there without any prior notice. We try to keep our "Current Access Status for the N.A.A. Observatories" posting on our Club News & Events page up to date at all times; if it indicates "Closed", any events at the A.E.C. are cancelled until further notice.

-- When entering the City grounds, visitors will note signs indicating that they are required to stop at the office and sign in. For astronomy events, you will actually sign in at the observatory grounds, and should not stop at the office. Please note that due to security concerns the City grounds are not open to the public at any time other than during our public events, and that visitors to those events should remain in the area between where they are instructed to park and the Observatories.

-- During green/open times, EVERYONE visiting the observatories must follow these two points of procedure:
      1. There must be an observatory keyholding member present anytime anyone enters the City grounds to visit our Astronomy Education Center site for any reason. At any scheduled observing or work sessions, there will be a keyholder pre-scheduled to be on hand. Keyholders will be kept updated on any changes in access procedures. If you are a keyholder, and have any questions about the current procedures, contact observatory director at observatory@naperastro.org for more information.
      2. City rules require keeping a listing of each person who enters the grounds for any reason and for any length of time. For scheduled NAA observing or work events which take place in the evening or on the weekend, a sign-in sheet will be on hand at the event; each person (member or non-member) must sign in. For any events which take place during weekday business hours (7AM - 5PM), each person entering must sign in in the Guest Log book, located at the receptionist's window in the lobby of the Administration Building (the main office at the entrance to the Springbrook grounds). You must also sign out as you leave.
      Following these rules is not difficult, and it is essential to our being able to keep our facility on the City property. Please remember that they apply to everyone, all the time, even to those "just stopping by to see the place for a minute" visits you may think of making.