My first tour of Yerkes Observatory was in August 1984 during the Astronomical League convention being hosted by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society that year. Each year, the AL hosts a national convention in an American city selected two to three years in advance. In 1984, the MAS held the convention at Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin. The society provided a number of activities for visitors. The one that I was able to attend was a Yerkes tour. The most amusing part of the tour for me is the story of how the building was conceived and constructed. If you visit the Yerkes website, you can read about why a hornet was carved on a pillar caricature, then later removed.

The observatory is open to the public on Saturdays for free tours. It is located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, to the northwest of Lake Geneva, across lake of same name. One of its challenges is maintaining acceptable observing conditions with the rise of development in the area. Observatories are very sensitive to increased outdoor lighting and air pollution levels. Visit IDA for more information about this issue.

For the public, the observatory serves as an educational resource. One example is CARA, a science program for Chicago inner city high school students. Every year in August, a number of Milwaukee Astronomical Society members contribute their time and telescopes help kids learn about astronomy and science.

For larger groups, a private tour of the observatory is recommended. One of the main advantages of the private tour is that visitors are permitted a closer view of the 40" refractor and a ride up and down the platform. I recall on my first tour a view of a library of glass plate photographs, one of which had Halley's Comet, dated 1910.

The next time I visited Yerkes was during the 1991 North Central Region of the Astronomical League convention, this year being hosted by the Milwaukee Astronomical Society. Regional conventions are held annually and are located in a selected city within the north central region (WI, IA, IL, IN, MN, MI). In 1991, the convention was held in Waukesha, Wisconsin at the Country Inn.

The next memorable visit to Yerkes was a private tour I arranged as Events Chairperson of the Milwaukee Time Lords in 1994. A small group of Time Lords attended a two-hour tour of the observatory. The second part of the trip was a visit of the Time Museum in Rockford, Illinois, to cap the "Time and Space Tour". If you like clocks, this is a must-see.

In 1997, Yerkes held its centennial celebration. This year marked a number of both public and private events. The first I attended was a special observing session in May exclusively for members of amateur societies. Next, was the CARA summmer program in August. In September, there was a weekend where the observatory held a public open house. The program for amateur astronomy groups was my most memorable experience. The Milwaukee Astronomical Society was given a time slot Friday morning the last week in May (at around 1 am). I signed up along with my sister to attend. I took off work on Friday as I figured that I would be in no condition to work or drive to work. Thursday evening, the group met at the New Berlin Observatory (New Berlin, Wisconsin) and prepared for our observing session. For our project, we opted to view Jupiter with our newly configured CCD camera system. This is a "cookbook camera" constructed from a kit and is used by astronomers as an alternative to traditional film photography. For about $200, you can construct your own digital camera with the help of a book published by Richard Berry. We arrived at Williams Bay at around 6 or 7 pm. John Briggs, a scientist working at the observatory at the time, led a private tour and oversaw the observatory usage. Mr. Briggs has very interesting stories to tell about his work in Antarctica and his side hobby, antique astronomy-related items including telescopes and books. If you find an old telescope, you can contact the Antique Telescope Society, for more information.

Unfortunately, when our appointed time came, the sky was cloudy (typical for Wisconsin in May). At the very least, we had a rare opportunity to look at the 40" refractor objective lens and a view of an old book of astrophotos hand-assembled by Edward E. Barnard. We left the area at around 4 or 5 and met at a Denny's in Milwaukee for breakfast. Despite the clouds, it was a very memorable and rewarding trip.

In August, I attended a catered picnic on the final day of the CARA summer program in August. At the time, the observatory was undergoing renovation to its exterior, funded from income generated from its use in the movie Chain Reaction (1996, Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman).  It's very nice when filmmakers make use of historic sites. It helps gain exposure of the site to the public and it raises funds to help in often expensive maintenance. Leftover cement tiles stripped from the building were given away to visitors as bits of history to take home.

Next, I attended the site again for a public viewing being held September 4-7. It turned out to be the same weekend as Astrofest, an amateur astronomer's convention/campout held in a Kankakee, Illinois Four-H camp every year. I attended my third Astrofest that year, this time opting to bring along my tent, which I purchased the year I attended Polariscon in 1991. I recall viewing Princess Diana's funeral Saturday morning on a TV in the headquarters building. It poured down rain late Saturday night, but I was comfortably dry in my tent, which held up very well. On Sunday, I travelled from Kankakee to Chicago to visit the the Museum of Science and Industry. There, I toured a German submarine parked in back of the museum. Next, I left Chicago to head for William's Bay, Wisconsin to attend the Yerkes public viewing that evening. I opted to take the "old" route that Barnard and other scientists would have taken to get to the observatory. Once there, I signed up to view through the 40" reflecting telescope located on the southeast wing of the building. I viewed Jupiter and the Ring Nebula.

If you visit Wisconsin, be sure to visit Yerkes. Many people who live here have yet to discover this historical treasure in their own home state. After 100 years, it is still producing valuable scientific data and providing the community with a local educational resource.

Presented by Beyond the Rim