BLUNT — Agar-Blunt-Onida graduate and astrophysicist Shelbi Hostler returned home last month with a gift to help students reach for the stars — and to see them up close.

Hostler gave five telescopes to the ABO school district in honor of the International Year of Astronomy during Family Fun Night in the school gymnasium.

“The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture,” Hostler said. “The year 2009 was chosen because it marks the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei.”

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Hostler was in Blunt to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, so she brought the Galileoscopes to the school to help honor the teachers who made a difference in her life.

“In all my years of school, I was blessed to have good, committed teachers who truly encouraged me to be my best,” she said.

“I took all the science and math classes that were offered in high school. It gave me a good educational basis and strong work ethic for college and grad school. I have always liked math and science, and have always been fascinated by the stars.”

Hostler hopes the telescopes will encourage ABO students to study the night skies.

“It is amazing the dark skies we have in central South Dakota,” she said. “It is a perfect place for star gazing, and while one doesn’t need a telescope to appreciate astronomy, it can act as an added bonus.”

Blunt Teacher Sondra Russell, said the telescopes will be housed at the Blunt School but will be available for families to check out and use.

After graduating from the school in 1995, Hostler attended SDSU and graduated in 2000 with a degree in Engineering Physics. She attended graduate school at Iowa State University, earning a master’s degree in astronomy in 2004.

Hostler moved to Hilo, Hawaii, where she lives and works as an astrophysicist and head telescope operator.

“My major job duty is to go to the telescope site and run the telescope during scientific observations, to make sure things run properly and fix problems as they occur,” she said.

The sky is Hostler’s passion.

“Astronomy is an amazing science,” she said. “We can find constellations, track satellites, look at meteor showers, (see) all these incredible things happening right above us.

“There is a certain romanticism in going and gazing at the stars, but it also provides us with answers to practical everyday questions (such as) why the sun rises in the east, why the sky is blue, what causes the northern lights.”

Russell said Hostler’s gift was a perfect way to start out the evening’s activities which were sponsored by Pierre’s Discover Center and Bankwest and Sunrise Banks on Onida.

“We had a wonderful show of families,” Russell said. “The best part was watching the smiles and interactions between families doing the activities together.”

The theme of the evening was a build-it festival. Russell said there were stations families could stop at where they built objects such as, kites and dowels. They also created patterns.

“We had a very large crowd and each child K-8 attending received a prize,” Russell said.