Seeing Stars... our trip to Powell Observatory
I love the city and I love city lights, but there is one major downside... city lights make it very difficult to see the stars at night. Louisburg is just far enough from all the bright lights of the city to facilitate a fantastic stargazing opportunity and we recently enjoyed a family outing to look through the LARGEST publicly available telescope in the five state area. The Powell Observatory (in Lewis-Young Park in Louisburg, KS, 913.438.3825. Open Sunset-Midnight Saturdays May-Oct. $5/adults, $3/child. Public Programs on Saturday evenings when the sky is clear. Note: you have to climb a ladder - see image - to peer through the telescope, so the trip is not accessible if you are unable to climb stairs. http://www.askconline.org/powell.htm) is home to a 30-inch telescope, one of the largest available for public viewing in the United States. The Observatory's volunteers present programs every Saturday evening through the end of October and visitors get a glimpse of the night sky.
Every Saturday, they present a different program (reminiscent of a brief High School science lecture) and we heard a presentation on "Our Sun"... a favorite on a HOT summer's day. The programs are suited best for Jr & Sr High Students and adults, but even our young children learned new things. After the presentation, visitors take turns peering through the telescope to see the night sky. We saw Saturn, and my five year old squealed with joy upon seeing the rings around the planet so clearly. As she's learning about the solar system this summer, the nighttime view through the telescope presented a great learning opportunity for her.
On our visit we learned that they offer the programs every 30 minutes until no one comes... sometimes that runs until midnight. If we'd known this in advance, we may have opted for a later viewing when it was even darker outside. If you own a telescope, you may bring it and use it for stargazing at the park.
If you're looking for an "off the beaten path" local educational outing, I recommend a trip to Powell Observatory for the best view of the night sky in the area!
What are your favorite educational outings in Kansas City?
Written by Kristina Light