Deep Space Exploration Society to Host 11th Annual Open House Near Haswell

For many people in Kiowa County, the giant radio telescope south of Haswell is a familiar sight. What may be less familiar is just how much happens there, and the kind of science, technology and hands-on learning opportunities the site brings directly to rural southeastern Colorado.

The Deep Space Exploration Society will open the doors of its Plishner Radio Telescope Site to the public Sunday, Oct. 11, for its 11th annual open house.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Plishner Radio Telescope Site, 9301 County Road 20, also identified as Delores Lane, approximately five miles south of Haswell.

The open house offers visitors a chance to see firsthand what the site and its 60-foot radio telescope can do. Along with demonstrations of the telescope’s capabilities, the event will include STEM activities, amateur radio and optical telescopes for viewing the skies. The site’s operations building will also be open to visitors.

It is a rare opportunity to look beyond the large dish visible on the Kiowa County landscape and get a better understanding of the work taking place there.

One of the more unique demonstrations planned during the open house will give visitors a chance to experience radio communication bounced off the moon.

A ham radio station operating under the Deep Space Exploration Society club call sign KØPRT, which stands for Plishner Radio Telescope, will operate on HF and VHF radio bands during the event. Using the large radio telescope, participants will also work Earth-Moon-Earth, or EME, contacts on 1296 MHz.

According to event information, visitors may even be able to “hear your own voice bounced off the moon.”

For a rural county where students and families may have to travel long distances to reach major science museums, observatories or other STEM opportunities, the Plishner site offers something unusual right in Kiowa County’s backyard—a working facility where science and technology are not simply talked about, but demonstrated.

A barbecue lunch will be available from noon to 2:30 p.m. The meal will include pulled pork, sides and dessert. Suggested donations are $16 for adults and $8 for children age 12 and younger, with payment accepted by cash or local check.

Proceeds from the barbecue will benefit the Prairie Paws 4-H Dog Project.

Cold bottled water and sodas will also be available.

Visitors are encouraged to come prepared for High Plains weather. Organizers note that hot daytime temperatures and possible thunderstorms are both possible. Hats, sunscreen, bug repellent, camp chairs and shoes suitable for muddy conditions are recommended. Plenty of parking is available at the site.

For visitors traveling from Colorado Springs, the flyer directs motorists to take Interstate 25 to Pueblo, continue to Highway 96 toward Ordway and Haswell, and then travel to County Road 19 for the DSES site.

Those traveling from Denver are directed to take Interstate 70 to U.S. Highway 287 south, continue through Eads, then travel west on Highway 96 to Haswell before continuing to County Road 19 and the DSES site.

The open house is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For those who have passed the dish for years and wondered exactly what happens there, the open house offers a chance to finally find out—and perhaps gain a new appreciation for one of Kiowa County’s more unusual scientific resources.

For more information, visit dses.science or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..