Rancho Mirage brings observatory to the valley

A new addition to the Rancho Mirage public library is soon to built for those who have their heads in the clouds.

Funding for the valley’s very first observatory has been approved.

“We can’t think of anything that will be more appreciated by children of all ages. Children my age and children who are in grammar school. This will be an asset to all of them,” Mayor Dana Hobart said.

Funding for the project is coming from the city’s Redevelopment Agency bond proceeds.

Library Director David Bryant said this is an opportunity to engage children of all ages with the sciences.

“We think we can build programming around this. We can build a whole summer reading program around astronomy. And get the kids looking to the sky at night and some excitement,” Bryant said.

The work has not yet begun but the observatory will be built on land directly next to the library. The city hopes to have construction done by March.

With more than 42,000 library card holders, Bryant thinks this will be a great opportunity to connect students and adults with the physical world around them.

“What the observatory will do is give us a hands-on look at the sky and one can go up to the eyepiece and look directly or we can broadcast from that eyepiece into our community room and on our website. So, I mean, this digital age just gets better every day,” Bryant said.

The council voted unanimously to approve the funds for the observatory and members of the community seem to love the idea, too.

“I think that there’s room for everything but I think for education it’s important,” Arv Adelman from Cathedral City, said.

Hobart said the city plans to bring in experts in astronomy to work with those interested in learning more about the solar system.

“We will have people who are in the astronomy field and we will have lecture, after lecture, after lecture, in our community room on the subject of astronomy,” Hobart said.