Buffalo, N.Y. — After nearly two decades, the Buffalo Museum of Science has reopened its Kellogg Observatory and Lundin telescope.
This is the final phase of a physical transformation for the museum.
The Kellogg Observatory has been part of the Museum's history for almost 90 years. It closed in 1999 for some needed repairs and updates to equipment and accessibility.
Now, the telescope has been restored — a new durable, aluminized steel dome with state-of-the-art mapping technology is protecting it — and they have incorporated full-access so everyone can get to it.
Every Wednesday night, by reservation, you can come up to the observatory and look into the night's sky. The museum's astronomer will help you point in the direction of anything from the rings of Saturn to the moons of Jupiter.
Marisa Wigglesworth, president and CEO of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, said this is not something every science museum can say they offer.
"Many, many great science museums have wonderful offerings," Wigglesworth said. "This venue, the Kellogg Observatory, really makes us almost unique. So few museums are able to offer an observatory venue like this. So for us to add one more level of in-depth content area to our programming, it's a great point of pride for us and it really allows us to elevate the way we're serving our community."
With the renovation of the observatory, the museum also renovated the roof. The rooftop of the observatory will now be a part of the museum's programming.
While the Lundin telescope is for night viewing, the rooftop will be a space for solar viewing.
Every Sunday, free with admission or membership, you can look through telescopes on the roof at the sun.
They will also have an "Eye Spy" game to see what you can find in the neighborhoods around the museum.
"We will be making it available for private rentals," Wigglesworth said of the rooftop. "So if you'd like to have a party, if you'd like to have an event, if you'd like to, in addition to renting the roof, rent the observatory and engage our astronomer, you might bring a group up and enjoy viewing something special in the night's sky."
In addition to all the physical transformations, they are doing a brand transformation, too.
The Buffalo Museum of Science has launched a new logo and tagline, "Find Why," because they said science is really about asking questions and they want to be a place to do just that.
The museum is offering extended hours for the observatory and telescope Saturday and Sunday to commemorate the renovations.