World-Wide Mirror Class List
This page lists mirror making making classes that we are aware of. Just like our Stellafane mirror class, these groups will help you learn how to make a telescope mirror, and provide guidance, instruction, and mentoring to help you with your project, and connect you with knowledgeable ATM's to answer your questions.
Please let us know of other mirror making classes, changes to existing listings, of problems with links.
Another great resouse is Sky & Telescope's Listing of Astronomy Clubs & Organizations in their Community Section.
North America
U.S. New England
VT: Stellafane Mirror Class
The Springfield Telescope Makers hold an annual mirror class in workshop at Stellafane in Springfield, Vermont.CT: ASGH Mirror Workshop
The Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford holds an annual mirror workshop in Connecticut.
See their Web Page or contact Dick Parker.MA: Aldrich Astronomical Society Mirror Workshop
Held at Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA. See Aldrich Web Site or e-mail Fran EdwardsMA: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston
hold mirror making workshops at their clubhouse in Westford, MA on Thursday evenings.
U.S. Mid-Atlantic
DC: NCA Telescope Making and Mirror Grinding Classes
Twice Weekly on Tuesday & Friday 6:30-9:30 PM in Washington, DC at the Chevy Chase Community Center.
Contact: (202) 262-4274NJ: United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey (UACNJ)
Jenny Jump Observatory in Oxford. UACNJ is offering its first telescope making seminar. Meetings will be 7:30 PM on Fridays beginning May 18th, 2007. Each participant can determine his/her own project but an 8" Dobsonian will be the central focus. Anyone who has begun but abandoned their project is also encouraged to renew their efforts with us. The 12 week program includes, project selection, mirror, and mounts. Email: norton@optonline.netNJ: Society of Telescopy, Astronomy, and Radio
Waite Research, 3068 Shafto Road, Tinton Falls. Weekly workshops.
Contact Gordon Waite Email: gwaite5@comcast.netPA: Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
Contact Ted. A. Nichols II. See web site for more info.PA: Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society
Near Allentown. Monthly at the club's South Mountain observatory.
Contact Robert Mohr. Email: rmohr@tiwcorp.com
U.S. Southeast
FL: Alachua Astronomy Club: ATM Section
Monthly Meetings at University of Florida, Gainesville.FL: Brevard Astronomical Society
Cocoa, Brevard Community College Observatory.
Contact John Norczyk (321) 652-5678 Email: info@brevardastro.org or jnorczyk@cfl.rr.comFL: St. Petersburg Astronomy Club: Mirror Lab
Meets most every Saturday afternoon.
U.S. Mid-West
MN: Minnesota Astronomical Society
Twin Cities: Contact ATM Group Coordinator Benjamin Mullin. Email: benjamin.t.mullin@gmail.comWI: Carthage College
Kenosha, Wisconsin. A January course. Professor Douglas Arion
E-mail darion@carthage.edu for details.
U.S. West
CO: Denver Astronomical Society Telescope Workshop
Chamberlin Observatory, Observatory Park, 2930 East Warren Avenue, Denver, CO 80210. 7-9 PM Tuesday or Thursday. Contact Stuart Hutchins Email: stuart-atm@earthlink.net 6" and 8" mirror kits also sold.NM: Albuquerque Astronomical Society
Albuquerque. Workshop on 1st Wednesday of the month, 7:00-9:00 PM. At Mesa del sol, on southern between Juan Tabo and Eubank -- just south and east of Costco.
Contact Stephen Pendley. Email kd5tbx@yahoo.com.
U.S. West Coast
CA: Chabot Telescope Makers Workshop
Located at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, CA and meets on Friday nights.CA: El Camino College
Astronomical Optics course/lab. Telephone (310) 660-3245
Contact Perry Hacking Email: phacking@elcamino.eduCA: Los Angles Astronomical Society
Garvey Ranch Park Observatory, Los Angles.
Telescope & Mirror Making every Wednesday Night 7:45-10:00
CA: Telescope Making with John Dobson
Held every fall at the Randall Museum in San Francisco.
See the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers Telescope Building page. Wednesday 7:00 - 9:30pm, October 11 - December 13, 10 meetings, ages 12 & up. Course and material fees.CA: San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers
Randall Museum, San Francisco, CA. 7:00-9:30 PM Thursdays March 18 thru May 20. $175 + materials.
"Build a Telescope the Dobson way" Dave Frey, instructor, President of the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.CA: Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit
Santa Barbara, California, most Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00 PM,
at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Broder Building
Email: vicepresident@sbau.org for more details. See http://sbautw.blogspot.com/CA: San Diego Astronomy Association: TM Meetings
Escondido, California. Workshops Sat 9 AM-12 PM at members homes.
Email: stargazer@theastropages.com or roger@herzler.com or pdebaan@hotmail.comCA: San Jose Astronomical Association
Bi-monthly at Houge Park.
Contact Mike Koop. Email: koopm@best.comCA: Stockton Astronomical Society
Monthly in Lathrop, CA on 'full moon' Saturdays 10 AM to 3 PM
Contact: Jeff Baldwin Phone: (209) 594-1894OR: Rose City Astronomers
At Technical Marine Services, Swan Island, Oregon. Monthly workshop, 10 AM-3 PM, on the Saturday nearest the Full Moon. Contact John DeLacy or Don Peckham.
Email: lacy@comcast.net or don@dbpeckham.comWA: Seattle Astronomical Society
Lake Forest Park. Workshops on Saturday nearest Full Moon, 6:30 PM (206) 363-0897
Contact Pete Hirtle. Email: notpete@scn.orgWA: Gold Mountain Observing Center
Bremerton. Provides support for mirror making, has equipment for large mirrors.
Canada
BC: Fraser Valley Astronomers Society
Abbotsford, British Columbia. Workshop on 1st, 3rd, and 4th Thursday of each month.
Email: srwaddington@shaw.caON: Southern Ontario Telescope Makers
Toronto, Ontario. Just getting organized in January, 2011 - not many details yet. Use e-mail below.
Contact: Lance Clarke; Email: buildascope@hotmail.com
South America
Argentina: Amigos de la Astronomia
in Buenos Aires. A 6 month course/lab for making 15 cm mirrors.
(Telephone 011-4863-3366 Mon-Sat. evenings). R. Caprio, L. Manterola, or M. Jones
Email: info@amigosdelaastronomia.org.Brazil: CEAMIG - Centro de Estudos Astronômicos de Minas Gerais
CEAMIG - Centro de Estudos Astronômicos de Minas Gerais
Rua Aimorés, 2735 - 11º andar - Sto. Agostinho
CEP- 30140-072 - Belo Horizonte - MG
Observatório Astronômico WykrotaBrazil: Grupo Nevoeiro (Nevoeiro Group)
Astronomy group with telescope making workshops upon request.
Contacts: Leandro Trevisan, Reginaldo Nazar, Augusto Adams, Marcelo MartinsColombia: ASAFI: Asociación de Astronomos Aficionados de Cali
Address: Calle 39 No 2C-47, Cali
Phone: 3122041298
Contact: Andres Arboleda (afeam@hotmail.com)2022 Schedule: The Workshop for the Fashioning of Mirrors and Construction of Telescopes will be conducted between the 22nd of October and the 17th of December each Saturday from 2 to 5 PM.
Africa
South Africa: Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
Parktown Boys' High School. Parktown, Johannesburg. Saturdays at 2:30.
Facebook Group: Telescope Making SA / ScopeX@groups.facebook.com
ScopeX Telescope & Astronomy Expo ATM classes
Contact: Chris Stewart (chris.stewart@mweb.co.za)South Africa: Bloemfontein branch of the
Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
Contacts: James Ross (jlgross@mweb.co.za), Phillip Coetzer (phillipc@gpt.co.za) and
Thinus van der Merwe (thinus.vandermerwe@parexel.com)
Asia
India: Bangalore Astronomical Society
Bangalore, India. Summer workshops have been proposed.
Contact Sathya Kumar: Email rocketzindia@yahoo.co.inIndia: Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Physics
Pune, India. 3 week course for making 15 cm mirrors.
Contact Samir Dhrude Email: scipop@iucaa.ernet.in Telephone: (020) 2560 4603India: Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai
Pune, India. on going telescope making activity for 100 to 150mm mirrors.
Contact Arvind Paranjpye Email: paranjpye.arvind@gmail.comIndia: Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Mirror Making workshop, start anytime. Two working Mirror-O-Matic machines which can handle upto 20-inch mirrors.
All consumable supplies available. Foucault Tester, ronchi tests can be done. Participants can also complete their dobs at our workshop.
Contact Ajay Talwar
Australia
Victoria: Astronomical Society of Victoria
Monthly meetings.
Contact Ken Beard, Director - Instrument Making Section. Email: beardkm@optusnet.com.au
Europe
Belgium: Urania at Hove
Started in 1981 we do organise mirror-making classes at public observatory Urania at Hove (Belgium). Building Dobsonian telescopes. The largest ever built was 20" f/5.6. Classes meet every Thursday evening beginning mid- September after our annual open door.
Started in 2017 we added a ( 2 year ) course for advanced telescope makers. We mostly build Schiefs and Gregorian telescopes. Planning to build Shupmann telescopes also. Classes start every Tuesday evening beginning mid-September after our annual open door.
Contact Chris Email: chris@telescopemaking.beCzech Republic: Rokycany Observatory
See website for details.France: Societe Astronomique de France
Sorbonne, Paris. A course/lab twice a week.
Contact: Laurent Bourasseau Email: laurent.bourasseau@saf-astronomie.frFrance: Société d'Astronomie de Rennes
Saturdays once or twice a month from October to June.
Contact: Michel LeGrand Email: Mch1legrand@aol.comGermany: Mirror Making Group
Munich. Contact Von Stathis Kafalis. Email info@stathis-firstlight.deNetherlands: Almere-Haven Annual Class
Almere-Haven. The class meets every saturday afternoon, starting second saturday in October and stops around mid January (13 meetings, 4 hours each)
Contact Jan van Gastel, Email: jhm.vangastel@ziggo.nlSerbia: Lyra Astronomical Society
Novi Sad. Contact Dragan Miladinovic. Email dragmila@EUnet.yuTurkey: Istanbul Kültür Üniveristesi
Istanbul. See Web Page. Contact: aty2009@iku.edu.trUnited Kingdom: Camden Amateur Telescope Society
London. Course has run for 30 years. See web page for info.
How to Get Listed on this Page
If your group holds mirror making classes and wants to be listed here, or an existing listing needs correction, please .
Thanks to Mark Prange for providing many of these listings, especially the non-United States ones.
Also a big thanks to Jay Drew, who also provided quite a few
listings.