ENID, OK - The Enid High School Observatory, known as the Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg Observatory, is now on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma list as of March 2018. The observatory is located on top of the high school at 611 West Wabash Avenue in Enid.
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The observatory illustrates the Enid school district’s unique response to opportunities for improving science education through federal funding as a result of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The observatory was the vision of a young science teacher, Jim Smeltzer.
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Enacted at a time of national insecurity following the Soviet Union’s launch of the earth-orbiting satellite Sputnik, the NDEA was intended to address perceived weaknesses in science, mathematics, and modern foreign language instruction and insufficient technological training in the nation’s schools.
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The Enid High School Observatory, erected in 1963, was the state’s only high school observatory during this period and retains that distinction even today. Incorporating the observatory into the school’s curriculum brought national attention to its physics program and state recognition to students.
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In March of 2017, the venue was re-dedicated as the Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg Observatory at Enid High School. As a NASA astronaut, Currie-Gregg is a direct descendent of the “Space Race.”
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EHS Observatory On National Register of Historic Places
