SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Amado’s Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is preparing to reopen its Science Center this Friday, October 4th, following a pandemic-related closure.
The revamped center aims to bring cutting-edge astrophysical research closer to the public, with a special focus on rural communities.
Amy Oliver, Science Center Manager at Whipple Observatory, has been the driving force behind the re-imagining of the Science Center since 2018.
"I really wanted to rethink how we were sharing our science and the broader science of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory with the community," Oliver explained.
However, the pandemic put a temporary halt to those plans.
"We started designing a whole new museum experience, and when the pandemic hit, it just put everything on hold," she said.
Now, the wait is over. The new Science Center will offer a hands-on experience for visitors, with more interactive exhibits, science demonstrations and opportunities for people to conduct their own experiments.
The Whipple Observatory is home to some of the world’s most advanced astronomical instruments, including the VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) gamma ray observatory, one of only three such telescopes in the world.
"Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light," said Wystan Benbow, assistant director of Facilities and Technology at the Center for Astrophysics for Harvard and the Smithsonian.
“These rays cause radiation that is all around us, every day," he said. "By studying gamma ray sources, we can understand the origin of these cosmic and we can learn about the origins of dark matter, which makes up much of the universe.”
The telescope allow scientists to study some of the universe’s most enigmatic phenomena, such as supermassive black holes and supernova remnants, which are the remnants of exploded stars.
In addition to VERITAS, the Whipple Observatory houses the MMT Observatory, which contains the 14th largest telescope in the world and the third-largest in the continental United States.
“It’s used for a broad array of science,” said Grant Williams, director of the MMT Observatory. “From solar system objects to objects in our own galaxy to nearby galaxies and even the most distant objects in the universe.”
Williams talked about one project that looks at stars in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy over a period of time, with the goal of finding the origin of the stars.
But the center’s focus isn’t just on high-level research. It has a strong mission to serve the surrounding rural community by making astronomy and science more accessible.
"Because we’re located in a rural community, that really helps us think about how we want to reach out to people who don’t necessarily have access to big museums and big resources," Oliver said. “We’re bridging gaps that help rural students see themselves as future astronomers.”
Oliver recently launched a program called Smithsonian Scientists Taking Astronomy to Rural Schools (STARS) to bring astronomy to rural areas. The goal is to provide a telescope and astronomy curriculum to the over 32,000 rural and tribal schools across the nation.
The Science Center will be open to the public every Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center will be open on select Fridays only, with the possibility of extended hours next year.
Public tours of the MMT Observatory are expected to begin in 2025, offering a rare opportunity for visitors to witness one of the largest telescopes in the world up close.
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