With an eye to the sky, Drew Deskur is right at home.

He prepares a high-powered telescope for a close-up view of the sun. It’s a view not many are able to share.

“It allows us to safely look at the sun. It takes about 96 percent of light out of this. You would never look at the sun, even with binoculars," said Drew Deskur, science center director at Kopernik Observatory.

Deskur has been running the Kopernik Observatory and Science Center for over 10 years now. As he prepares this model rocket for a launch, he reflects back on a difficult 2020.

A center that typically houses hundreds of children for an educational summer camp was forced to go virtual. But that wasn’t all bad news, as it opened the observatory up to children across the country.

“That has been nice. In some cases, it’s relatives who may have lived in the area and moved away and they get to come back and be with Kopernik again,” said Deskur.

Of course, what fun is building a model rocket without launching it?

Kopernik typically hosts a Rocket Fest, and after a difficult summer, it looks like they may have the green light to host it this year. And as the center prepares to open for an in person summer camp, the children will be welcomed by some brand new equipment. That includes an educational science park right outside the building, and as Deskur demonstrates, it definitely looks like some fun.

“It’s been an excellent place for people to come and visit and also learn. Every one of these structures has some information about it. They can go to our website using a QR code on the signs,” said Deskur.

The observatory is also looking to be more inclusive. The new telescope can be viewed from any position, giving more people the chance to use it.

“A person in a wheelchair can be looking at a particular object and we can move it to another object straight up, and their access never changes,” said Deskur.

The Kopernik observatory will host a Race to the Stars 5K, Saturday, April 24 and Rocket Fest on May 2. You can register for the 5K here.