The 5^th of April is a special time for the federation as the anniversary of First (open) Contact with a sapient species from another planet, our friends the Vulcans. However, what do you call an anniversary for something that hasn’t happened yet? Whatever the answer, that is exactly what the Perth Observatory holds every year.

The Perth Observatory, located in the hills surrounding Perth, WA, Australia, is a historical place in space science. Originally built within Perth in 1896 and opened by Premier John Forrest, the first Premier of WA, it assisted with the local timekeeping required for nautical navigation and to record meteorological data, in addition to studying the sky. Due to light pollution, the observatory was moved to the hills in the 1960s. In 2015, after years of budget cuts and research programs being cut, the Observatory’s operation was transferred to the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group.

As a volunteer at the Observatory, I arrived at 1800 hours on Saturday the 5^th of April in my Lower Decks era science uniform to prepare my second Star Trek Night event at the Observatory. I loaded up onto the large touch display in the entrance room Titan.DS by MeWho Rob, as well as an edit I had made prior depicting the flight of the Zephram Cochrane’s Phoenix. I had printed out and laminated several large-scale STARFLEET International recruitment posters, which were positioned in prominent locations around the main space with permission from the admin staff. Not long after, the Perth Starfleet Academy cosplay group arrived, complete with Federation flag, ready to bring some additional trek charm to the event.

Soon, guests were arriving. As they filtered in, the space became full of life, with guests of all ages, some in uniforms of their own. People explored the museum space and interacted with the LCARS as they waited for the tour to start. During this time, I spoke to many guests bout our favourite franchise, with the conversation naturally moving towards Starfleet International. Guests that I spoke to were more than interested to hear about it, and showed great enthusiasm about it.

Soon, the main host called everyone into the main space where he explained the housekeeping and a brief history of the Perth Observatory. Once he was finished and after awards were given out for the costume competition, the host allowed me (as the Perth Observatory’s resident Trek expert) to add the context of First Contact Day, and to play the video of the flight of the Phoenix and First Contact.

Once complete, the group headed out into the grounds of the observatory towards where the amateur astronomers were ready with the telescopes. The guests were split into 4 groups (or, as I called them, shifts), Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. For the rest of the night, the groups circulated between the 4 telescopes, where they learnt about the observatory and space, as well as do some stargazing. It was my job to assist in guiding the guests between these domes, as well as to talk about Star Trek.

By the time 2100 hours rolled around and it was time for the guests to leave, everyone had had a great time, and, maybe, was going home to join STARFLEET International, and/or with a new heat-changing transporter mug from our gift shop.