The new academic year is in full swing, so we're taking a look back at some of the highlights of the WCA's community outreach programming from the 2025-26 year!
In 2025-26 almost 5,000 people participated in the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics community outreach program. Many of these explored the Universe through our portable, inflatable planetarium, the Astro-Bubble, learning about planets, galaxies, black holes, and supernovae. Some learned about the mysteries of the Universe through one of our public talks, while others joined us in marvelling at the sky during a night of stargazing.
29th September - 3rd October 2025: Astro-Bubble on Tour
For one week last fall, WCA astronomers Liza Sazonova, Cameron Morgan, and Roan Haggar spent a week travelling with the WCA's portable planetarium, the Astro-Bubble, sharing astronomy and astrophysics with communities across Northern Ontario.
They travelled to four high schools and an elementary school, running live planetarium shows for over 800 students. They also spoke to students about how to use telescopes, and whether there could be life beyond our own planet.
As well as these schools, the Astro-Bubble popped up in Blind River Community Centre, where some 150 members of the local community came out to hear what we can learn from the night sky.
25th March 2026: Probing Alien Skies at KPL
In March, WCA faculty member Dr. Lisa Dang spoke about "Probing Alien Skies", as part of our monthly public lecture series in partnership with Kitchener Public Library.
Dr. Dang shared some of her amazing research, and described what it can tell us about the climate and atmospheres of extreme exoplanets. Could you see a rainbow on a lava world??
9th April 2026: 500th planetarium show
The WCA's inflatable planetarium visited N A MacEachern Public School in Waterloo, and graduate students Lucy Pothier-Bogoslowski and Lina D'Aoust ran the WCA's 500th planetarium show. A huge milestone!
Across the last four years, over 13,000 young people and members of the public have participated in free shows inside the Astro-Bubble.
30th April 2026: WCA visits Luther Village on the Park
In December 2025, a group of residents from the Luther Village on the Park retirement community visited the Astro-Bubble planetarium, including Violet Sykes, who was celebrating her 105th birthday.
The following April, WCA members visited Luther Village on the Park, to catch up with Violet and to speak to other residents about the mysteries of the Universe! Dr. Avery Broderick spoke to the 200 attendees about the Event Horizon Telescope, and how it can be used to take photographs of supermassive black holes.
The audience then spent the afternoon in the Astro-Bubble planetarium, learning more about the Universe, and witnessing some of the incredible science Dr. Broderick had shared.
8th July 2026: Catching up with James Webb at Astronomy on Tap
At July's edition of Astronomy on Tap, WCA astronomers Owen Lammert and Liza Sazonova spent some time speaking about the amazing contributions the James Webb Space Telescope has made to our understanding of planets and galaxies, since its launch five years ago.
Astronomy on Tap takes place every two months in Kitchener; in this series of events, WCA members share their research from the comfort of a pub, while having some fun and a couple of drinks!
12th August 2026: Perseids meteor shower
The year was rounded off with our annual celebration of the Perseids meteor shower! WCA Director Dr. Will Percival gave this year's guest lecture, speaking about the tools cosmologists use to measure the speed at which our Universe is expanding.
Hundreds of stargazers then headed out to watch for meteors. Members of the KW Astronomical Society also joined us, using their impressive telescope-operating skills to share some of the other astronomical objects visible above!
What's coming up next?
We have plenty more public astronomy outreach coming up in 2026-27, including more public lectures, stargazing nights, Astro-Bubble shows and other events. You can stay up to date with our outreach through the WCA website, as well as through our Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
Since launching in 2022, the WCA's community outreach program has reached over 17,000 people, through more than 500 planetarium shows, over 50 public talks, and numerous other hands-on astronomy events. A huge thank you to everyone who has participated! This fall, we are welcoming our new outreach coordinator, Dr. Skylar Grayson, who will continue building on this success, and sharing astrophysics with the public in Waterloo and beyond.
You can support the WCA's community outreach efforts by donating to the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics.