Meta, Utah Valley University partnering to expand Walden Park Observatory

EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Tech giant Meta continues to expand its ties in the Beehive State, with its latest move coming through a $450,000 gift to Utah Valley University for the expansion of the Walden Park Observatory in Eagle Mountain.

The donation brings Meta's total investment in the observatory, located at Walden Park, 4322 N. Frontier Street, to $700,000.

"We look forward to the construction of a public astronomy observatory at Walden Park in Eagle Mountain," Joe Jensen, professor of physics at UVU, said in a statement. "This significant new funding from Meta, along with the support of our partners at UVU, the Utah Valley Astronomy Club, Utah County, and the city of Eagle Mountain, means that soon we will have a place where families, school classes, UVU students, and amateur and professional astronomers can come together in unique educational experiences viewing the wonders of the night sky and better understanding our place in the cosmos."

Just last week, Meta announced a significant expansion of its Eagle Mountain data center, with the city fully supporting the plan. The company first came to Utah in 2018 with a data center comprising 2.4 million square feet of space to house data storage and processing equipment for the world's biggest social media platform.

"The data centers have come into Eagle Mountain, and we have had them fit into our community instead of the other way around," Kyle Irelan, a spokesman for Eagle Mountain, said. "Meta has come into our community, and they have become part of our community."

The new $450,000 will go toward expanding the overall scope of the observatory project, and a release from UVU said the observatory will feature a roll-off roof design — bolstering the investment UVU and its partners launched in 2021.

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