At Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, a weather station 15 miles south of Boston, staff and volunteers have been using many of the same tools to monitor the weather since it opened in 1885. Matthew Douglas, Blue Hill’s chief weather observer, says using the same equipment in the same place allows for a “tried and true database.” It means that if a change in weather patterns is spotted, there is no question it’s real and not a result of new instruments measuring data differently. In addition to being an important reference for the study of climate change, the observatory helps connect visitors to science and tracking weather.