About Ten Telescopes

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How It Started

Ten Telescopes began in 2020, when I set out to build a telescope for my 11-year-old niece. That first scope turned into a design I could share, and the goal became simple: build ten 3D printed telescopes and lend them to people in Guelph, Ontario, for free.

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We passed ten a long time ago.

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What We Do

Open source designs. The Skyward 150, the Skyward 200 (and the Skyward 200 Astrograph for astrophotography) and our heavy duty 2 inch focuser are all free to download on GitHub, with build videos on YouTube and assembly manuals. If you'd rather not source every part yourself, our shop sells kits.

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A lending library. The Blue Door Astronomy Library, in a converted shed at my home in Guelph, lends telescopes for four weeks at a time, by appointment.

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Telescopes for students. Through the Young Galileos program, volunteers with the Hamilton RASC helped build thirty Skyward 200s for young astronomers.

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Events and talks. We have brought telescopes to Symphony Under the Stars with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra and to Starfest, and given talks for RASC centres in Montreal and Hamilton, the North York Astronomical Association and Earth Hour Caledon.

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The Community

Hundreds of builders share their progress, questions and astrophotos on our Discord. Some of the best images on this site come from members who built their own Skywards.

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Get Involved

If you are in the Guelph area and can volunteer some time, come out to Scope Building Saturdays or Scope Building Sundays, from 1 PM to 5 PM. We are always glad of help. Email admin@tentelescopes.com.