A monetary gift to the Carnegie Science Center will help visitors see the stars from the telescope and the planetarium.

The recent donation of more than $200,000 by Bob and Joan Peirce, of Sewickley, has been used to pay for upgrades in the center's rooftop Henry Buhl Jr. Observatory. New equipment will allow astronomical images from the observatory's 16-inch telescope to be transmitted into the 150-seat planetarium, where visitors can observe in comfort.

Part of the funds also were used to transform fifth-floor storage space near the observatory into a space for private astronomy lessons and for other astronomical-related programming.

The upgrades will be available starting tomorrow for the science center's July 4th VIP Extravaganza.

First Published: July 3, 2008, 2:00 p.m.