Wednesday, July 31, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Sisters grad operates ‘Hopservatory’
By Ceili Cornelius
Correspondent
Grant Tandy, a Sisters High
School graduate, is the man-
ager at the Worthy Brewing
Company <Hopservatory= in
Bend.
The observatory contains
a 16-inch reflecting telescope,
a Ritchey-Chrétien reflector
made by RC Optical systems.
The scope is a research-grade
telescope capable of viewing
planets and galaxies that are
far away.
Tandy graduated from
Sisters High School in 2011
and attended COCC for two
years and obtained general
education requirements while
trying to figure out what he
wanted to do. He always had
a fascination for the night sky
and viewing the stars.
<Growing up in Sisters with
dark starry skies triggered my
interest in astronomy. I was
always a curious kid wonder-
ing how things worked, and
astronomy was an interest for
me,= said Tandy.
He took Rima Givot9s
astronomy class in high school
as well as IEE (Interdisciplin-
ary Environmental Expedi-
tion) and was grateful for the
opportunities brought forth by
IEE, being a hands-on learn-
ing program focused on the
outdoors.
Tandy got his astronomy
and telescope training from
Oregon Observatory manager
Bob Grossfield. Tandy worked
for the observatory in Sunriver
while living in Bend after
going to COCC.
<I learned everything
from working at the observa-
tory under Grossfield, who
has multiple PHDs. I was
more working on the side of
speaking to the public about
astronomy versus the research
aspect of astronomy, which
was Grossfield9s area as a
physicist,= said Tandy.
Ever since his high school
days, it was in the back of
Tandy9s mind that he wanted
to work in an observatory.
<I loved the idea of looking
at the stars and getting paid
for it,= he said. <I never cared
about a degree, I just care
about being able to inspire and
educate people about the sky.=
The Oregon Observatory
hosted many school events
and Tandy loved seeing the
inspiration on kids9 faces.
<I get cute letters back
from kids saying they want to
be scientists when they grow
up; it is great to plant that
seed,= he said.
Tandy explained that
astronomy is a sort of gateway
science and it is fun to be the
one explaining the sky to the
public, and locally affecting
people.
<I like to talk to the public
about the sky, and it is fun to
talk about something I am pas-
sionate about and learn from
the people around me all the
time,= he said.
The idea for the
Hopservatory came about
when Rodger Worthington,
owner of Worthy Brewing
Company, was inspired
by events at the Oregon
Observatory. The Garden
Club, the sustainability cen-
ter and 501 nonprofit founda-
tion at Worthy Brewing oper-
ates the Hopservatory, which
Tandy now manages.
The Garden Club is sepa-
rate from the brewery itself,
and rents out space and runs
off donations as a nonprofit
while working in conjunction
with the Oregon Observatory.
Tandy heard the idea for
the <Hopservatory= coming
about and started emailing the
managers at Worthy and the
Garden Club to try and get
the job running the observa-
tory, based off his knowledge
and experience at the Oregon
Observatory.
<The event at Stars over
Newberry Crater is where
I met Rodger and got him
inspired, and we started talking
CUSTOM FENCES AND DECKS
and our ideas for an observa-
tory aligned and we got the
donations for the equipment
and came up with the idea
for the observatory as part of
the garden club,= said Tandy.
A few months later, the
Hopservatory, three sto-
ries above Worthy Brewery,
became a reality, opening in
May 2017.
Tandy runs the events and
viewings five days a week at
the observatory. He works
split shifts where he comes
into the brewery in the late
day and begins figuring out
what is visible on a given day
and what he may show for
the evening. Tandy also plans
events for the garden club
and works on promotional
materials and event planning
for the club as well as the
Hopservatory. Then, in the
evening, announces to guests
that the observatory is open
for viewing.
<I guide guests who come
up as to what we are look-
ing at on the given night and
explain the details of the tele-
scope, and that it can look into
deep space and what is visible
to us,= he said.
As stated on their web-
site and reiterated by Tandy:
<The Worthy Garden Club
Hopservatory opened in May
of 2017 with the goal of rais-
ing scientific literacy and edu-
cating our visitors about big
and unwieldy concepts like
scale, size, time, distance, and
speed in our solar system and
beyond. We want people to
be amazed and humbled by
the beauty and diversity of
PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS
Grant Tandy helped develop and now operates the “Hopservatory” at
Worthy Brewing Co. in Bend.
our galactic garden as well
as inspired to take care of our
own planet.=
The Hopservatory is open
Wednesday through Sunday
from 8 to 11 p.m., with a
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