In the spirit of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City's mission statement, a new facility was envisioned to allow anyone easy access to the night sky. With the current computerized 30" telescope housed in the main dome, a person had to be trained to use this excellent instrument. The 16 " telescope, is a simple "point and look" telescope, requiring only the desire to observe, and requiring no special training. The 16" Meade Starfinder telescope is now housed in the Louisburg Community Telescope Observatory.
The construction of the observatory was undertaken by many dedicated ASKC club members, over the course of a year. Headed up by assistant observatory director David Young, many man hours were entailed to make the operation and use of this observatory, truly effortless. Members who helped in the contruction were Joe and Rita Wright, Nick Reuss and Family, Richard and Laura Fredrick, Dave Hudgins, Scott Kranz, Kyle Smalley, Dick Trentman, Gil Machin, Roger Gruenke, D J Kindberg, and Joe Alburty to just name a few. The ASKC would also like to thank Western Metal of Louisburg for supplying the siding and roof materials for the observatory.
	The dedication of the observatory took place on May 4, 2002 at 4:00 PM on the observatory grounds, with many club members and residents of Louisburg present. Master of Ceremonies for the event was David Hudgins, club president. Also present was the Mayor of Louisburg, Warren McCandless and his wife. Mr. Hudgins, in his dedication speech, emphasized the availability of the observatory to the community of Louisburg, especially to the science teachers of the school district who may use the telescope to further enrich their students knowledge of the heavens. It was also noted, that Larry Robinson, discovered a new asteroid from his Olathe Sunflower Observatory in November of 2000, and the name (25890) Louisburg was given in honor of the city and residents of Louisburg Kansas.
After the dedication, cake and refreshments were served by the ASKC social director, Amy Hahn. Many people enjoyed an afternoon of solar observing, seeing the sun in both white light and in H-Alpha. Since this was also the first public night for the ASKC public observing season, many people began arriving for the evening program. Carroll Iorg gave 4 presentations to the some 200+ people that arrived. Both the 30" and the 16" were attended by long lines of eager viewers. Channel 41 News appeared on the scene, and did a broadcast dedicated to the 5 planets that were visible, shortly after dusk. With clear skies and mild temperatures, everyone had a great time!
	The Louisburg Community Telescope is available for public viewing on any Saturday night from May through October. ASKC members are free to use the scope whenever they wish. Teachers and educators in the school district of the City of Louisburg are encouraged to bring their students. For more information concerning the facility, you can contact our observatory scheduling assistant, David Young at (913) 438-3825. The Astronomical Society of Kansas City wishes to thank the City of Louisburg for it's support in helping us accomplish our mission in educating the public in the wonders of the night sky. We hope to see you there!