The Unistellar Community College Program
As part of our foundational mission of spreading knowledge about, and a passion for, astronomy, Unistellar is providing eVscopes to universities and community colleges around the United States. These telescopes will allow students and teachers to take part in hands-on astronomy, including contributing to real astronomical studies through citizen science, using the eVscope’s powerful and easy-to-use observing capabilities.
To support the program, Unistellar has partnered with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute to provide training programs, workshops, educational opportunities and activities and more to students and teachers. We’re proud to be facilitating inquiry-based learning experiences to communities across the country, and excited to see what the next generation of astronomers uncovers!
“Citizen science and other new ways of doing science that involve the general public not only accelerate discoveries, but also ultimately build literacy and trust in science among us all,” says Unistellar CEO Laurent Marfisi. “This is critical to unite our wills and energies to act together in the most efficient ways, thus unlocking our capability to meet global challenges.”
The program is made possible through a generous financial grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Mission: Improving and Supporting Science Education

As every teacher knows, one of the best ways to impart knowledge is through inspiration. That’s a belief we at Unistellar share, and it motivates our goal of increasing access to astronomy and space by making it easy for everyone to explore the cosmos. By putting simple, yet powerful telescopes in the hands of educators, we’re hoping to foster inspiration and enable richer science education experiences for everyone.
In partnership with SETI, Unistellar is also helping to integrate the eVscope’s capabilities into existing curricula to create richer and more meaningful learning experiences based on real-world scientific observations that can contribute to the professional astronomy community.
“I’m running my first in-person night labs tonight and tomorrow in, well, years. The first one is usually learning to identify some constellations and stars with the naked eye. It was a beautiful night. Students and lab manager were duly impressed with the eVscope. They enjoyed watching the Horsehead Nebula and the Triangulum Galaxy slowly appear seemingly out of the darkness.”
Eric Hickok, physics instructor at Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA
“Watching galaxies and stars through the Unistellar telescope is awesome. I can’t see this stuff from my house because it’s so bright. Plus it’s cool to be able to take pictures of space that I can show my family and friends and be able to say that I actually took it.”
Jose Guerrero, student at San Antonio College, San Antonio, TX
List of Involved Community Colleges

- NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville, Arkansas)
- Modesto Junior College West Campus (Modesto, California)
- Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, California)
- Gavilan College (Gilroy, California)
- Los Angeles City College (Los Angeles, California)
- Los Angeles Mission College (Sylmar, California)
- College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita, California)
- Santa Monica College (Santa Monica, California)
- Miami Dade College (Miami, Florida)
- University of Hawaiʻi Maui College (Kahului, Hawai’i)
- Des Moines Area Community College (Boone, Iowa)
- Dodge City Community College (Dodge City, Kansas)
- Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
- Montgomery College (Rockville, Maryland)
- Oakland Community College – Auburn Hills Campus (Auburn Hills, Michigan)
- Wake Technical Community College – Scott Northern Wake Campus (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Metropolitan Community College (Omaha, Nebraska)
- Western Nevada College (Carson City, Nevada)
- Hudson Valley Community College (Troy, New York)
- Niagara County Community College (Sanborn, New York)
- San Antonio College / Alamo Colleges (San Antonio, Texas)