Historical Marker Program

Enid High School Observatory

Garfield County
Location: 846 South Monroe Street in Enid
Coordinates: 36.388302,-97.8862934
Material: Aluminum
Topics: Education; Government; Social/Cultural

The observatory at Enid High School has been an inspiration to generations of local students. Now called the Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg Observatory, the roof-top facility was the brainchild of Jim Smeltzer, a young physics teacher. Through his efforts, funding for the observatory was obtained in 1962 through the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), a Cold War-era federal program established in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik I satellite in 1957. The NDEA sought to strengthen science and technological training in America's schools and ignited what came to be known as the Space Race. With the dome's construction in 1963 and the installation of an eight-inch telescope in 1965, Enid became the only high school observatory in Oklahoma. Astronomy curriculum created by Smeltzer brought both state and national attention to the district. Through the years, students viewing the night sky from this place have become astronomers, physicists, educators, engineers, researchers, and doctors, among many pursuits. Dr. Currie-Gregg was a NASA Astronaut who flew four times on the Space Shuttle. In 2017 she and her husband, Tim, an EHS alumnus, led the community-wide effort to preserve and modernize this important educational resource.