FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) -- After over a decade of planning, Lowell Observatory's new state-of-the-art discovery center is opening its doors this Saturday.
Workers are buzzing with anticipation and said it will have a global impact on how people learn about astronomy.
Dr. Amanda Bosh is now the Lowell executive director but she became a planetary scientist after switching her degree following a visit to Lowell as a student in 1985.
"That was sort of the beginning of the end for me because at that point I thought this is actually what I needed to do," Bosh said.
Now, she gets to help open the new Marley Foundation Astronomy Discovery Center on Saturday.
"To reach out and share the wonder of astronomy and science with as many people as possible," Bosh said.
The building is three stories tall, 400,000 square feet and costs over $53 million.
According to the Night Sky Tourist, astro-tourism over the next decade is expected to bring in $5.8 billion for the Colorado Plateau and create tens of thousands of jobs over the next 10 years.
Lowell historian Kevin Schindler says the new facility is unique to Arizona and the world.
"This state-of-the-art science center plopped on top of a research facility that's been communicating science for 130 years," he said.
The new center has a two-story, 160-degree theater screen, rooftop dark sky planetarium, and interactive exhibits.
It also has a curiosity zone for children, unlike anything else in northern Arizona.
The goal is not only to increase astrotourism across the High Country but also to inspire people of all ages to shoot for the stars.
"Is not necessarily that everybody who comes in here becomes and astronomer although that would be really cool," Bosh said. "That people come away with a better understanding of the scientific process of how we know what we know."
The official opening and ribbon cutting start at 10:30 on Saturday morning and they'll have events and speakers all day including an astronaut.
For more information about the opening and new center, you can visit Lowell's website here.