Roper Mountain Science Center is located in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

. It encompasses a campus containing facilities for studying life and natural sciences, space and physical sciences. Among its facilities are the Living History Farm, the Darrell W. Harrison Hall of Natural Sciences, the Simms Hall of Science, the T.C. Hooper Planetarium, and the Daniel Observatory. The center is a part of the

Greenville County School District Greenville County School District (GCSD) is a public school district in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. It is the largest school district in the state of South Carolina and the 44th largest in the US. As of the 2019–2020 ...

History

Roper Mountain Science Center was started as a unique partnership between public and private resources. Initial planning for the center began in 1982 and the center opened in 1985.

Charles E. Daniel Observatory

The principal telescope at the observatory is a

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

. the objective lens was made by

Alvan Clark Alvan Clark (March 8, 1804 – August 19, 1887) was an American astronomer and telescope maker. Biography Born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, Clark started as a portrait painter and engraver (c.1830s–1850s), and at the age of 40 became involved ...

and Sons. The telescope, which was finished in 1882, was installed at the Halsted Observatory of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. The telescope was rebuilt in 1933 by J. W. Fecker Company. The telescope was transferred to the

US Naval Observatory The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the D ...

in 1964. In 1968, it was offered to the Greenville County School District. The telescope was renovated and an observatory was built through a donation from the Charles E. Daniel Family Foundation. It is the eighth largest refractor telescope in the United States.

References

External links

* {{Greenville, South Carolina Buildings and structures in Greenville, South Carolina Education in Greenville, South Carolina Protected areas of Greenville County, South Carolina Planetaria in the United States Tourist attractions in Greenville, South Carolina Museums in Greenville County, South Carolina Farm museums in the United States Science museums in South Carolina 1985 establishments in South Carolina Museums established in 1985