Sam Singer

Meet the founder and executive director of Wyoming Stargazing.

// By Bevin Wallace

Sam Singer, a driving force behind the new Snow King Observatory & Planetarium (see page 162) and the town of Jackson’s bid for dark sky certification, ascribes his interest in astronomy to “twists of fate.” First, when he was 10 years old, his family moved from California to a tiny town in Nevada. “For the first time in my life, I had this amazing night sky above my head,” he says. “It was just desert for 30 miles out our front door, and my dad would take me out to watch meteor showers and lunar eclipses. I remember seeing the Hale-Bopp comet. Sometimes, we just sat outside on summer nights and enjoyed the night sky.” 

Then, in high school, a teacher noticed his interest in astronomy and enlisted Singer to help build a telescope. Singer took that seven-foot-tall telescope with a 14-5-inch mirror to college, where a professor heard about it and asked Singer to bring it for the class to use because the college didn’t have a telescope. He complied, and to this day, considers that professor as well as his high school teacher (and his father) his mentors in astronomy. 

After getting his degree in physics and astronomy, Singer realized he was more interested in education than in being an actual astronomer (i.e., doing astronomical research). “I love being outside with telescopes and teaching people about the night sky. I’m a born educator,” he says. His decision to pursue a master’s degree in outdoor education is what brought him to Jackson Hole. “I did a Google search on outdoor environmental education master’s programs, and the top of the list was the Teton Science School’s graduate program. “I saw a picture of the Tetons in the background of the cabins of the Kelly campus, and wow, that was it.”

I love being outside with telescopes and teaching people about the night sky. I’m a born educator.”

After finishing his master’s and then a PhD in education at the University of Wyoming, Singer moved back to Jackson with the goal of starting an astronomy nonprofit. Wyoming Stargazing began as a monthly free stargazing program in 2013, and it still offers free stargazing (Thursday nights at Rendezvous Park, Spanish-language stargazing tours, and grant-funded programs in public schools) in addition to its private stargazing tours and new wildlife safaris. Singer has also been instrumental in the Town of Jackson’s application for dark sky certification, which has been ongoing for 10 years but should be completed in 2025. “And that’s when the work begins; that’s not an endpoint,” he says. “Like, great, we’ve got a certification—that’s just a tool to help people understand how important doing the work on the ground is to preserve our night skies.”

Singer’s involvement in the Snow King Observatory began with his idea that Jackson needed an observatory back in 2005. Many years later, Max Chapman, Snow King’s owner, approached him about helping design and build public support for the project. “So that’s what Wyoming Stargazing did over the past seven or eight years,” he says. “It just opened last summer, and there’s nothing like it in North America. It’s got the second-largest telescope in the state. There’s a professional-grade planetarium space theater and beautiful exhibits, plus you get to ride the gondola up there.”  

Here sam shares some highlights of his Jackson Hole life

Running/hiking trail: Josie’s Ridge is basically right across the street from my office. I love going up Josie’s and doing the Ridge Line trail over across Snow King and then down through Cache Creek. I’ve done a lot of trail marathons, and that’s one of my favorite training runs. 

Café: My office is on Maple Way right across the street from Picnic. And Picnic makes my favorite drink, which I probably procure from them too often: a Dirty Chai. 

Stargazing: Beyond having a career doing something I love, I get to live right out in the middle of it. I live in a yurt in the Kelly Yurt Park, and all I have to do is step out my front door, and the night sky is just exquisite. This is where we take our guests—out to Antelope Flats on Mormon Row, and it’s the best place to stargaze in the whole valley as far as I’m concerned. 

Power breakfast: I’m not the only person who’s ever said this, but the Down On Glen breakfast burrito is kind of like crack, and man, if I could afford a $12 burrito more often, I’d probably eat them a lot more. They’re steep, but so good. It’s a solid meal, too—they don’t give you a skimpy little burrito. I discovered them when I was a grad student out here in 2005, and I’ve been a patron of theirs for 20 years now. 

Preschool: Our daughter goes to preschool at the Teton Science School, and she absolutely adores it there. Some of her teachers are folks I’ve known for 20 years, and I can’t imagine a more nurturing, wholesome environment for her to be growing up in. I love the organization and think they’ve got a winning educational model, and there isn’t anybody I would trust more with my daughter’s education than them. JH