Lowell Observatory.

Architect's rendering of the planned Astronomy Discovery Center at Lowell Observatory.

Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff has received it largest grant ever. The $14.5 million grant will support a new Astronomy Discovery Center set to open in 2023.

The grant was provided by the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation, which also gifted $1.4 million in 2017 to support research at Lowell’s flagship Discovery Channel Telescope southeast of Flagstaff.

The $29 million center is designed to expand educational capacity to 250,000 guests per year.

It is one of several facilities in the institute's Mars Hill master plan, which includes an open-roofed planetarium, an auditorium with a wraparound screen and an open-deck observatory to be completed this October.