Just three days before this decades complete solar eclipse, Friends of the Rancocas Nature Center in Westampton will co-host with the West Jersey Astronomical Society, a Third Annual Star Watch/Astronomy Night, on Aug. 18.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. with an indoor demonstration, before heading outdoors, to the meadow. The Astronomical Society will bring its big array of telescopes and other optics to guide beginners and experienced star gazers through the summer night sky.

Guests are encouraged to bring flashlights, lawn chairs and binoculars.

Registration is required for this program, and can be completed by calling 609-261-2495. The cost for RNC members is $10 per person or $25 per family of five or less, and nonmembers are $15 or $40 for a family.

The Rancocas Nature Center is situated at 794 Rancocas Road, on a 210-acre piece of the Rancocas State Park. It features three miles of hiking trails through varied habitats including meadows, forest, and wetlands, plus access to Rancocas Creek. It has been operating for 38 years, providing environmental education for the surrounding community with programs both on- and off-site for groups including schools, scouts, libraries, senior citizens, as well as the general public.

The Nature Center building includes a nature gift shop, high quality bird seed for sale, live animals, natural history displays, and restrooms. Grounds include a picnic area, dragonfly pond, frog pond, beehives, and childrens, pollinator and display gardens. The land has important environmental, historical and cultural significance dating back to the American Revolution. Go to RancocasNatureCenter.org for more information.

As part of its mission to promote stewardship and provide environmental education for the Rancocas State Park and surrounding communities through the operation of the Rancocas Nature Center, the Friends of the RNC continues its quarterly events to expand public participation and enrichment.

The RNC is supported through the partnership of the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the NJ State Park Service Division of Parks & Forestry, Westampton Township, Friends of Rancocas Nature Center, and the Rancocas Conservancy.

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A star watch and astronomy night at the Rancocas Nature Center - Burlington County Times