The Observatory

The Observatory, which sits atop a hill on the Promega campus, was recently renovated and features a newly installed telescope for Promega employee use. The observatory was originally built on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus along the shores of Lake Mendota in 1882 and used by the University until 1959. When the University planned to tear it down, the observatory was instead donated to the Madison Astronomical Society, a group of amateur astronomers, and transported to what was then Bjorksten Labs in Fitchburg, WI. Oscar Mayer Sr., an avid amateur astronomer, provided a large share of the moving costs, plus donated a telescope to equip the relocated observatory. The Madison Astronomical Society used the building until the mid-1980's.