Reach for the Stars hosted its Coffee, Hot Cocoa and Cosmos event on April 19, 2025, for people of all ages in Tucson. With telescopes, clear skies and interactive space games, the event brought together children and families to learn about space.

Reach for the Stars is a nonprofit organization located in Tucson that uses astronomy to improve mental health, wellbeing and teach people of all ages the importance of STEM and what is beyond our planet. 

Carlos Aragon started the organization in 2019. A United States military veteran with zero prior experience with astronomy before starting the organization, Aragon said he has his own battles with mental health. That struggle led him to a journey sightseeing through the galaxies. 

“My stepson and I went to Walmart and found a little telescope and we set it up in the backyard. I had never used a telescope before, so I was trying to learn how to use it. When I looked through the eyepiece at the brightest star in the sky, I had no direction and was really down, and that little telescope changed everything for me,” he said. 

After he and his stepson bought their first telescope, they began to spread their newfound joy to others. 

In 2020, Aragon set up a telescope at a shopping plaza in Vail, showing shoppers how to stargaze. From there, he saw how astronomy could benefit other people, too, spurring the idea for Reach for the Stars.

For about five years now, the nonprofit has hosted one to two free monthly stargazing events at Aragon’s property in Vail, open to people of all ages. The idea is to bring people together to learn about astronomy and in the process improve their wellbeing and mental health.

Aragon believes connecting with the cosmos spurs wonder and aw that can encourage mindfulness, help people get away from their screens and even become a new, positive coping mechanism.

The Reach for the Stars team is made up entirely of volunteers, who assist with assembling events, helping guests and explain objects in the sky.

Sarah Johnson, 23, is often one of those volunteers. She said she works on a variety of projects for the nonprofit.

“I got to work with families, youth, take pictures of events, galaxies and learn how to operate a telescope. It was so much fun,” she said.

The recent Coffee, Hot Cocoa and Cosmos event brought together about 100 people to see celestial phenomena from the Sun to Jupiter to the Andromeda Galaxy. 

The group, mostly consisting of kids and their parents, was treated to a clear sky and warm drinks to go along with the stargazing activities. 

“Our whole goal is to ignite that awe in someone’s brain and just have them enchanted for that one night,” Aragon said.

In addition to stargazing events, Reach for the Stars has a mobile telescope the team takes to birthdays, weddings and schools. 

The mission of Reach for the Stars remains the same: to promote mental health and well-being for everyone through their telescopes.

Ian Patterson, a Tucsonan with two young children, has attended a few of the organization’s stargazing events and thinks astronomy can be powerful for children. 

“I think it’s a brilliant idea. Kids today are under a lot of pressure with school, social media, and everything. Something like looking up at the stars could really help them just slow down,” he said. 

Going forward, the organization’s goals will stay the same, Aragon said, but Reach for the Stars will hopefully move its stargazing events from his property to a state-of-the-art astronomy facility dedicated to promoting mental health for children. 

The project has been outlined, but more donations and funding will be necessary for the facility to be built.

Called Stargate, the potential facility will be able to host more people, keep all of the nonprofit’s gear in one area and be a base for the entire organization. 

Visit https://www.rftstars.com/ for more information on future events.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.