Fort William Historical Park is adding astronomy to its list of attractions this fall.
The park will add a 15-foot dome and 20-inch telescope during the summer to create the David Thompson Observatory.
“It will be one of the biggest observatories between Alberta and southern Ontario and we’ll be able to look at the night sky and all the stars,” said general manager Sergio Buonocore, adding that there will also be solar viewing activities.
Hoping to launch the facility in early September, the Fort is partnering with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. They have been working hand-in-hand with the Fort, help them design and build the facility and in the future, they will help run the programs.
“(The observatory) fits in with our mandate of diversifying the Fort and making it a tourism attraction where you have more than one experience,” said Buonocore. “We have our amphitheatre where we have concerts. We have a visitor’s centre that has business conferences…We have the historic experience. Now we’ll also have the observatory.”
The observatory will be connected to an adjacent classroom where students of all ages can use during the day or evening to look at the night sky. A computer in the building will control the telescope so that even on cold, winter nights, people will still be able to explore the universe.
“Education is a strong part of what we do,” said Buonocore. “It’s a big part of our programming. We already have science and geography activities and this just expands that.”
Buonocore added they chose to name the observatory after David Thompson because he’s one of the great cartographers from the days of the Northwest Company.
“He’s a real icon and a link to Fort William Historical Park and the Northwest Company, the whole history of the fur trade,” he said.
