Heavenly Bequest
An Astronomer's Dying Wish Lets Children See Stars

Listen to Mitch Teich's report on Morning Edition.

View a photo gallery of the observatory's move.

Oct. 26, 2001 -- The dying wish of an amateur astronomer was to find a new home for an observatory he built in his Arizona backyard 30 years ago.

The observatory's hand-built dome is loaded onto a flatbed truck for the 100-mile trip from Holbrook to Flagstaff. Photo: Mary Lara View a photo gallery of the move.

Kenneth Walker didn't live long enough to see his wish come true, but it did. And now students of a Flagstaff elementary school 100 miles away from his home in Holbrook have the benefit of his lifelong love of the stars. Mitch Teich with member station KNAU reports for Morning Edition.

When Walker was diagnosed with a terminal illness more than three years ago, he began to look for a new place for his telescope. His granddaughter, who lives in Flagstaff, called DeMiguel Elementary School teacher Mary Lara, whose after-school astronomy club includes 175 students, including kindergarteners.

Phil Massey, of the world-renowned Lowell Observatory, says he decided to become an astronomer when he was in the fifth grade. "I was looking through a little 2-1/2 inch telescope at the planet Saturn. And it just seemed so incredibly cool."

But Massey's childhood telescope is dwarfed by the new 16-inch telescope at DeMiguel Elementary. He said a telescope this size is almost unheard of for an elementary school. "You can see a lot through a 16-inch telescope. You can see the rings of Saturn, the bands of Jupiter ... you can see the moon really well."

Moving the observatory, which has a dome nearly 20 feet across, was no easy task. With no money in the school budget for such a project, Lara approached business owners, parents of her students, and local astronomy experts to donate their time and materials. The community responded, donating labor and materials.

The enormous dome was carefully lowered onto a flatbed truck for the slow drive down Interstate 40. Then, the telescope itself, which weighs about a ton, had to be carefully disassembled.

Massey, who attended the recent opening ceremony for the Kenneth Walker Observatory, loves the idea that young people will be its principal users. "I don't think the goal should be for the elementary students to become astronomers," he says. "There's not enough money for that. But if it gives them a love for science, then I think that's terrific."


Other Resources

• DeMiguel Elementary School Astronomy Club

• Lowell Observatory