Staring Lake Outdoor Center
Eden Prairie, MN

Staring Lake Observatory is a truly unique public building. Unassuming by design, this 16’ by 16’ “cabin in the woods” structure is an atypical public observatory and blends beautifully into its wooded lakeshore setting. Most telescope observatories have a track supported sliding roof, or dome with a sliding window through which a telescope is aimed at the sky. But, Staring Lake Observatory has two rustic, wood-sided walls that swing open and a green, metal rotating roof that can be rotated by one person which allows for an unobstructed view of the sky, and showcases one of the largest reflecting telescopes in Minnesota.

Larson Engineering provided structural engineering for the building. The entire roof structure was designed to rotate about a single corner column on a ring bearing.