BELLVILLE — Maverick Shaw didn’t know the real reason his parents dragged him into the board meeting on Saturday night.
As members of the Richland Astronomical Society exchanged jokes, discussed leadership nominations and set dates for future events, the 9-year-old fidgeted in a folding chair in the back row.
At 5:30 p.m. sharp, the man sitting next to him leaned over.
“We’re done with the boring stuff now,” he said.
Maverick sat up straight. Board member Jason Wallace placed a brand new telescope in the center of the room, the grand prize from the group’s annual astronomy conference in September.
“The person who won it was not there, so we’d like to present this tonight,” President Deloris Mlay said. “He’s one of our youngest astronomers.”
“Maverick, you won the grand prize. This telescope is yours.”
Maverick was stunned. His mother Dawn grinned and cried a just a little as she gently urged her son to go check out his new telescope.
The new telescope was donated by Explore Scientific and valued at about $600, board president Deloris Mlay said.
“That was probably the coolest thing on our raffle,” she said. “Everybody wanted that little telescope.”
Mlay said other members of the group were thrilled when Maverick’s raffle ticket was chosen.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” she recalled.
As soon as Saturday’s meeting adjourned, one member approached Maverick and instructed him to never, ever point the telescope at the sun. Then Wallace taught the boy how to disassemble and pack up the telescope.
The young astronomer watched dutifully, then helped tuck bubble wrap around the sides of the tripod.
The Richland County Astronomical Society is a passionate group of amateur astronomers. The nonprofit stewards the Warren Rupp Observatory and offers educational programming and events throughout the year.
Dawn and her fiancé Tennyson joined the group a few months ago so Maverick could further explore one of his budding interests — the final frontier.
“He loves history and space. He loves math,” Dawn said. “We’ve been looking at the stars and talking to him about different things.”
Mlay said the group of amateur astronomers have relished the chance to share their knowledge with Maverick.
“He’s bright and he’s interested and he’s very willing to learn,” Mlay said. “His interest is way above what most kids display, so we want to encourage that.”
Mlay said the telescope isn’t necessarily designed for beginners, but she has no doubt he will figure it out.
“We have lots of members that are willing to help him get acclimated on it,” she said.
“He’s willing to stand there and listen to these guys that talk, probably way over his head, and he can work with them. Sometimes that kind of scares other kids off, but it’s so far it hasn’t scared Maverick off and that’s a big deal.”
Wallace said Maverick’s prize will take his stargazing abilities to a whole new level.
“When he looks at Jupiter, he’ll be able to see the red spot. He’ll be able to see two little gray strap stripes going across, possibly some of the main cloud barriers,” Wallace said.
“He’ll be able to see a ring around Saturn. With a cheaper telescope you might see a blob of Saturn, but that’s all you’re gonna see.”
The Warren Rupp Observatory is home to “Big Blue,” a 36-inch diameter mirror Newtonian telescope that members claim is one of the largest amateur-operated models in the world.
Members of the public can use Big Blue to see the Milky Way during public nights, held the first Saturday of the month March thru November.
If there is too much cloud cover, visitors can participate in an educational program and tour the observatory. The society also owns multiple smaller telescopes that can be used on public nights. Guests can also bring their own equipment.
The group has also brought educational programming to local schools and libraries.
Wallace said sharing the wonder of space with young children has been the most rewarding part of being a member.
“When a little kid looks through a telescope for the first time, they go, ‘Ooh, wow!’ That’s what makes you feel good,” he said.
“It don’t matter how many times you’ve seen something, it matters what that little child sees.”
