Mittelman Observatory at Middlebury College: Engaging and Inspiring Liberal Arts Students to Investigate the Universe from Vermont

Observational astronomy has a history at Middlebury going back to the 19th century. From the College’s earliest days, astronomy was a core part of the third-year curriculum. In fact, the College’s Old Chapel, completed in 1836, was “crowned with an octagonal Greek Revival cupola that functioned as the college’s first observatory” and there is reference to “the observatory for the new chapel”. Over the last two centuries, astronomical observatories have observed the skies from various locations across campus in support of the College’s academic mission.