6/18/2023 0 Comments George observatory![]() You are told when buying access to the telescopes, "no one is allowed in the telescope are without a stamp." We were there for the telescopes, we purchased the stamp. Lack of Official staff presence and rule enforcement ruins the experience. I'm not going to talk about the heat and mosquitoes in June, just count on both of them being there and bring the Deep Woods OFF. “That’s all the reward I need.We used to live in Houston and would frequent the George Observatory from time to time in the 90s. ![]() “If, in 30 years, one of these kids goes on into a career in science and someone asks them, ‘What motivated you to pursue this career?’ Maybe they’ll say, ‘When I was in fourth grade, I visited this observatory in Schriever, and that first look through a telescope changed my life,’ ” Stage said. Stage said that he’ll continue to pursue astronomy in his spare time, but as more of a hobby.Ĭlosing the observatory is made easier with the knowledge that he nourished the love of science in local children. ![]() He researched those questions and others, stoking a lifelong interest in science and astronomy. While gazing at the sky at night to help determine his position on the water, Stage said, he wondered why certain stars appeared to be different colors and why some appeared brighter than others. He’s a licensed merchant marine and retired boat captain who was trained in celestial navigation in the days before boats were steered mostly by electronics and satellites. Stage holds no formal degrees in astronomy. astronaut to fly missions on all five Space Shuttles, Charlie Duke, one of the first men to walk on the moon, and Joe Kittenger, a space and aviation pioneer. He’s hosted lectures by the likes of Story Musgrave, the only U.S. He invited local schools and clubs to his home for lectures and hands-on science experiments and, on clear nights, an opportunity to peer through expensive telescopes for a peek at far-off galaxies. Stage devoted the past decade to making science accessible, interesting and interactive for students. “Hopefully we’ve inspired and opened the eyes of children to the wonders of the universe over the years,” he said. The decision to close was a difficult one and wasn’t made in haste, Stage said. He recommended that the state’s library system own and control the observatories, which would be surrounded by dark-sky zones mandated by parish or city governments.Įducation officials, who are facing a massive state budget shortfall and employee layoffs, didn’t endorse the plan. In July, he pitched a plan that would use state education money to build 10 stationary observatories across the state - one each year - and eventually deploy 32 mobile science labs. He said then that his days in Terrebonne and Lafourche were numbered. Landry Parish, though no plans materialized. In May, he met with Opelousas officials about moving the observatory to Bayou Jack in rural St. The manmade lights make star-gazing difficult because the powerful telescopes used by astronomers contain refracting mirrors that pull in stray light “like a vacuum cleaner.” Scientists call the effect light pollution. Several years ago, however, Stage began battling the addition of streetlights, subdivisions, strip malls and illuminated parking lots. The Schriever site once boasted night skies dark enough to admire the galaxies. “It’s too bad because it was a resource that our teachers had that they could take kids on field trips,” Johnson said. He said visits were dependent on money available to pay the admission fees. “That kind of equipment isn’t available just anywhere.” “That was definitely the best thing about it,” Johnson said. Paul Johnson, Terrebonne public schools’ science-curriculum specialist, said the closure is a “loss for the community.” On average, one public-school classroom visits the observatory each year to see the exceptional variety of telescopes, he said. "I think its going to be a great loss for the community and the young minds who want to learn about the universe," Price said. It includes a lecture hall, mobile science unit and a variety of telescopes.Įugina Price, a Morgan City resident who visited the observatory with her nine-year-old son, Scott, on a Boy Scouts retreat just three weeks ago, said the closure was a "shock." George Observatory is situated in Stage’s two-and-a-half acre backyard. The state’s only other observatories are in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. Owner Ken Stage, 66, an astronomy buff who built the facility himself, said the observatory is closing May 30. 311, the observatory is the place where local school children, scouts and others could learn about astronomy.
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