Six months after the State Government withdrew funding for the Perth Observatory, a small army of keen astronomers has picked up the task of running the historic centre.

Around 80 volunteers have spent months training on the telescopes at the Bickley centre ahead of its reopening on Saturday.

The observatory in Perth's hills has been WA's main point of contact with space for more than a century, photographing Halley's Comet, co-discovering the ring system around the planet Uranus, and discovering 29 minor planets between 1970 and 1999.

In 2013, the Government scrapped research programs and science workshops and in March 2015 all but one staff member was made redundant.

Engineer and volunteer Gemma Hamilton said it was a disappointing decision for science.

"We felt what we were doing here is really important for the community, and it's especially really important to get kids to do science," she said.

The Government's funding has shifted away from the work that was traditionally done at Perth Observatory toward the more modern methods being delivered through radio astronomy technology, such as the Square Kilometre Array in the State's Mid West.

Volunteers undefeated by challenges

But a group of aspiring astronomers was not going to let the centre fade into the dark, despite the funding challenges.

Diana Rosman led the charge as the chair of the volunteer group.

Diana Rosman, with baby Toby, has led an army of volunteers at the observatory. ( ABC News: Chris Meldrum )

"We had been offered the challenge to save the observatory from extinction, we had a burst of 'we can do this'," she said.

"We spent the three to six months working out if we actually could and what was the budget?"

The word spread, and after months of training on the telescopes, volunteers will now run the centre.

Terry Edmett has been a volunteer at the Perth Observatory for over a decade.

"You have to be a bit of an addict, so it's fairly inevitable we would have done everything we could to keep it going," he said.

Observatory's new focus on education

Without scientists based at the observatory, the focus has changed from research to education.

The observatory will be open for daytime tours and volunteers hope to organise school groups to visit, to encourage children to get excited about the solar system.

The volunteers have also taken on the challenge of archiving the centre's historical records and artefacts.

Saturday marks the official reopening and the team is celebrating by inviting the community to an open day.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife will maintain the grounds and the equipment at the Bickley site.