FUTURE EXPANSION!
Observatory
The new 2,500 square-foot Observatory at the State Museum will ouse an exceptional 1926 Alvan Clark 12 3/8-inch refracting telescope, considered the Stradivarius of refracting lens telescopes. This telescope will be the first telescope in the United States dedicated to the students of an entire state. An outdoor viewing platform will house a number of secured telescopes available for the general public to view solar changes during the day or celestial bodies at night.
The Museum’s Observatory also will be accessible to every school in the state via the Internet. “GO TO” technology will allow remote and onsite users to designate coordinates that “point & shoot” the telescope to a specific place in the heavens. Through the State Museum’s distance learning program, teachers will be able to “book” use of the telescope remotely. Classes will capture, with the Observatory’s telescope, celestial phenomena and receive images via the Internet into classrooms all over the state. Overnight observations will be available.
In addition, The Museum will house approximately 50 telescopes, endorsed by the Antique Telescope Society, with the majority being manufactured by Alvan Clark and donated by local amateur astronomer Bob Ariail.
The oldest dates from 1730: a 3-inch Martin Gregorian reflector. Others include a 2 3/4-inch Henry Fitz refractor (1852), a Carl Zeiss 4 1/4-inch Double Telescope (1905)—one of six in the U.S., along with four 6-inch Alvan Clark refractors. The State Museum will store, display, and in controlled situations, allow observation through the telescopes. They will serve as an invaluable research collection, making the Museum a unique choice for major conferences, a boon for the Museum and for local tourism efforts.