MOUNT LOOKOUT, Ohio — The Cincinnati Observatory is celebrating 150 years in Mount Lookout this weekend.
That's a century and a half of fun, education and some out-of-this-world discoveries.
“It's always exciting to have a first-timer come see us. You're driving along in a neighborhood and there we are. So it's definitely kind of a fun, little discovery,” said Executive Director Anna Hehman.
The national historic landmark opened in 1843. Then, a few decades later, it moved from Mount Adams to its current spot.
“150 years in Mount Lookout, 150 years of this gorgeous building, which was built by Samuel Hannaford,” she said.
The observatory was built with an open-door policy.
“We're open for tours. We’re open for neighbors to stop by or people to just come and have a picnic on the lawn or whatever it might be, it's really important to us and is definitely something that we try to cultivate within the community,” she said.
The observatory serves tens of thousands of people every year. In fact, it was the first public observatory in the United States and still houses two working telescopes.
Currently, they are on the lookout for a full-time astronomer.
“So we're doing a very wide search to try to find the right person — searching the galaxy,” she said.
They hope to find someone who can educate the next generation of visitors — and maybe even inspire some of them to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and — shoot for the stars.
“Inspiring future generations to look up at the stars and whatever that means,” she said.
For more information on this weekend's upcoming celebration click here.
In addition to the celebration, there are several October events planned, including the Partial Solar Eclipse on October 14 at 11 a.m. Registration is required.
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