The Australian National University (ANU) has opened a new visitor’s centre at Mount Stromlo with interactive astronomy exhibits, including one that replicates flying into a wormhole in space, and a new café with stunning views across Canberra.

The opening completes the renewal of the Mount Stromlo site following the 2003 Canberra bushfires that destroyed many of the Observatory’s telescopes and historic buildings.

The refurbished centre will also give visitors a chance to observe sunspots and help astronomers to find exploding stars.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt AC officially opened the new visitor’s centre with Senator Zed Seselja and President of the Canberra Southern Cross Club (CSCC), John Lewis, on Monday 12 September.

“The re-opening of the visitor’s centre at Mount Stromlo, along with the other projects already launched and underway, is the missing piece of the puzzle for the site following the 2003 bushfires,” said Professor Schmidt, who won a Nobel Prize for his research conducted from Mount Stromlo.

“The visitor’s centre also invites citizen scientists to take part in ANU research being done at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring,” Professor Schmidt said.

“People can use real SkyMapper telescope data called Snapshot Supernova to look for exploding stars which we will use to understand the expansion of the Universe and dark energy.”

Dr Brad Tucker from ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) said the centre’s exhibits were informative and would inspire people to learn more about astronomy.

“Our heliostat, which is a sun mirror rebuilt from one of Mount Stromlo’s first telescopes, will allow people to see sunspots, solar flares and other elements on the Sun,” Dr Tucker said.

“Video animations will recreate black holes and a wormhole near Saturn. The animations were done by Double Negative, known for their work on the film Interstellar. Custom-made animations and video games at the centre show how we are trying to solve the human-made space debris problem.

“We also show how we detect gravitational waves with a small-scale interferometer.”

A new ANU Space App, which people can use at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring, features animations of some of the exhibits, virtual tours of telescopes at Siding Spring and laboratories at Mount Stromlo, and holograms of some RSAA scientists.  

Other exhibits at the Mount Stromlo centre include satellites, meteorites and a seismometer where people can create their own small-scale earthquakes. The centre also shows a history of the Mount Stromlo site, detailing its national heritage and how it has changed over the past 100 years.

CSCC Chief Executive Officer Ian Mackay said that the Southern Cross Club would manage the café and eatery at Mount Stromlo.

“The Club’s relationship with Stromlo goes back a long way,” Mr Mackay said. “In 1996, the Club joined forces with ANU to help fund the creation of the original visitor’s centre at Mount Stromlo.

“Now, 20 years later, we are proud to be launching Southern Cross Stromlo – a new eatery plus functions and event space on top of Mount Stromlo, with arguably the best views in Canberra.”

The redevelopment of the Mount Stromlo site is the result of extensive generosity from donors and sponsors such as the Duffield family, Epson, Inspiring Australia, Academy of Interactive Entertainment and Double Negative, in addition to donations from the community.

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