The Little Thompson Science Foundation has received a grant from the Community Foundation and the Berthoud Fund of $4,500.
The Mission Statement of the Little Thompson Science Foundation is:
To instill a sense of enthusiasm and wonderment primarily in K-12 students for science- and math-related subjects through an easily accessible, world-class astronomical observatory located in Berthoud. Our goals are to bring science down to earth and make it less imposing and scary for students K-12. We hope that because of our efforts fewer kids will drop out of school and graduation rates will rise.
The funds will be used to complete the restoration and automation of the historic 24” telescope (a ~$150,000 donation by Telescopes in Education (TIE) and Mount Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, CA) to make the Little Thompson Observatory into an even more valuable community educational resource. Digital servo control systems for the dome and telescope need to be procured at greatly reduced prices (~90% discount) from local companies (Berthoud, Golden).
The historical 24″ telescope from Mt Wilson was used in the early 1960′s to identify the surface hardness of the moon, before the Apollo astronauts could land on the moon. All Apollo landing sites were also chosen through observations with this telescope from Mt Wilson. Subsequently this telescope was used in the early 1980′s as the first to image our Milky way galaxy’s center region in search of the large black hole that scientists had predicted to exist there.
Since opening in June 1999, over 43,000 visitors have attended events at Little Thompson Observatory. Over 65 % of these attendees are K-12 students primarily from a 50 mile radius around Berthoud, including Loveland, Fort Collins, Masonville, Estes Park, Drake, Glen Haven, Greeley, Platteville, Johnstown, Fort Morgan, Erie, Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette, Boulder, and Niwot. Attendance has steadily risen over the past 11 years, and on many nights capacity crowds of over 60 people made the addition of a second telescope a necessity.
The addition of these superb telescopes will more than double viewing opportunities for our visitors, and directly impact the ability of the Little Thompson Science Foundation to fulfill its mission in the Northern Colorado area. The estimated funding required for completion of the second dome, 24″ telescope restoration, camera acquisition and addition of outside telescope piers for the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years is estimated at ~$23,000.
For more information contact Executive Director Meinte Veldhuis.
