They probably gave him older equipment that was due to be sold as surplus. It's easy to find that sort of thing on eBay or at university auctions for surprisingly low prices.
As long as someone doesn't mind using a device that's a lot bigger and clunkier than the brand-new equivalent (and is off-warranty, and probably past due for calibration), it's a great way to get ahold of things that would normally be out of reach for non-professionals.
The University of Washington has so much unwanted equipment like this that not only do they have regular auctions, but they actually have a large store that's open to the public on certain days of the month. The store is incredibly overpriced, especially since most of the equipment is incomplete and/or untested, but a lot of highly specialized (older) equipment is sold at very reasonable prices at the auctions.
Anyway, given the low interest in fields like physics among the general population, I'm not at all surprised that staff there thought it was worthwhile to encourage someone who obviously has a talent for it.