Work continues on the many of Perth Observatory’s Lotterywest programs
The first project relates to Perth Observatory’s outdoor interpretative signage. This project is provisionally divided into two phases, where phase one is the creation of a self-guided walk of the observatory, linked to an updated version of our “EveryThere” tour.
Phase two of the project involves the creation and of necessary safety and hazard signs for the site. Key points for this self-guided walk include that it starts and finishes at the Perth Observatory admin building and AstroShop. This keeps it in line with the current direction and composition of our existing guided day tours.
We’re appealing for help from volunteers for both content and final digital layouts of the signs, so if anyone is interested in jumping in and getting involved, please contact me. The next big project we’re working on is Astrograph Signage.
With the help of Dr Craig Bowers, the observatory’s research director, we’ve started making mock-ups of the nine wall panels that we will be putting up in the restored Astrograph dome. The first four panels will be about the Astrograph telescope in its original home at Kings Park, the middle panel about the historic clocks, and the last four will be about the Astrograph in its current home in Bickley.
This is another project that we need some volunteer help with, including creating the final digital layouts and setting up each panel prior to printing, so any of you talented people out there that would like to help – you know what to do!
The Museum Redevelopment project continues, with the next stages prior to construction including preparing the museum floor for the refurbishment of the museum. We have the final positions for all of our restored clocks, and when they’re returned to the museum, they will need underfloor plinths built to support them. The next stage is the relocation of all our items from the museum. It makes sense: to refurbish the museum it first needs to be empty, so we’ve obtained two sea containers to house the various items from the museum that don’t need to be climate controlled.
Our Photographic Glass Plates Preservation project is now very near to completion, and the project team are currently scanning the last of the plate register books. It’s an exciting time to be this close to finishing the project!
Our kitchen upgrade project is yet another project that is now almost finished, with just some minor painting work needed. A big thank you goes out to Helen Armstrong and Rob Kennedy for their help getting this project completed, and to all the teams working on the observatory’s various Lottery West Projects.
