lowell observatory

We spend an evening at this lovely observatory. Very engaging and friendly staff and extremely informative. The nighttime viewing of planets and constellations was very good as was the orientation by Prof Jim.

This is a great place to come if you like astronomy. There's a lot of history here and you can look through the telescope. I would recommend going at night because there is more to see, but if that isn't possible, the daytime tour is worth it too.

Very close to flagstaff A five minute drive uphillNot walkable though12 dollars inHowever if you arrive into town late in the evening and visit ,they will not let you in the next morning for the daytime events and will want you to buy another ticket!!Good shopTalks are basiclevel Telescopes are fairly small If in town go and see but probably not worth coming specially for

This is two reviews: the Observatory Museum and Exhibits rate a 4 star... the evening viewing and educational stuff makes this a must-do.Observatories aren't terribly entertaining at face value because they do their best work at night. Lowell over-achieves with a nicely laid out museum and a themed gift shop. A family with kids could spend a couple hours looking at exhibits and stuff and feel like they had a great day. Lowell is an incredibly historic facility - Pluto was discovered here - but you'd never know. It's a modest, subdued place. This place "lights up" after dark, though, and to truly experience the greatness that is Lowell, you need to get there for the 6p schedule and plan to stay until past 9p.Starting at 6p, the staff (and guest lecturers from the college) give on-the-hour presentations in the Planetarium, but not like you'd expect. Instead of projecting the skies on to the ceiling, they have a spherical screen in front of the audience. Instead of hushed observation only, this is interactive with questions and answers, references to artifacts and displays around the walls of the room. These are teachers, volunteers and astronomers; this is what they love to do. Our 'lecturers' were Jim (a 25y astronomy veteran), and Travis (astronomy teacher) and Kelly (on staff at NAU). The were wonderful - creating a great learning and discussion atmosphere, making the complex understandable. The real treat, however, was after 'class.' Upon leaving the Planetarium, you're greeted with several mobile telescopes trained on different targets in the night sky. In addition, one of the Observatory's smaller permanent instruments is staffed. Flagstaff is a Dark Sky city and we were treated to a cloudless sky full of stars.Under the guidance of the staff, the telescopes are trained on different targets in the sky. When everyone has had a chance to view, telescopes are re-aimed and another wonder appears.I can't overstate how amazing and accommodating the staff was and how unforgettable the experience was. We've all seen pictures, but to see a planet in color - live - is a transformational moment.Getting there is tricky - follow the signs closely. You'll actually drive through a neighborhood or two to get up the hill to the Observatory. If weather allows, set aside the time to visit this gem.

This is a modest and unpretentious Observatory with a great educational presentation and of course a wonderful telescope. On our night the telescope was trained on Jupiter and its four moons. What a sight. Along with my phone's Skytracker App this was a highlight of our vacation.

This place has a really cool history. It is the original place that found our 9th planet Pluto. If you are traveling trough Flagstaff and want something cool to see late night that is not a bunch of drunk college kids downtown, then this is a def must!

However, there were only two smaller telescopes in operation and after waiting 20 minutes to look through them the result was less than inspiring. The staff were all very enthusiastic and helpful, but, our 'viewing' left something to be desired. I also think if they are only going to have a small portion of equipment available for a minimal amount of time they should consider a fee reduction. The grounds were laid out interestingly, we enjoyed the video of the grinding of the glass, etc. But, the 'view' itself was less than 'stellar'.... ;-)

We took the Pluto tour and loved it. The gentleman giving the tour was an elementary school science teacher who was relatable, personable, and very knowledgable. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Adults in our party thoroughly enjoyed the observatory; the presentations were a little long and detailed for the smaller ones, however, so I would consider ages of children before visiting. I think a night time visit would be outstanding.

When I was nine years old - way back in the mid-1960s - I read a small book about the discovery of Pluto by a young man named Clyde Tombaugh, working at the Lowell Observatory, and it sparked a lifelong interest in space and astronomy. My wife and I were on vacation in the Sedona area, and were surprised to realize that Lowell was only a short drive away. I was very excited to actually see the spot where Tombaugh made his discovery, and this visit was everything I hoped for. Our guide for the Pluto tour, Jim, did a remarkable job of telling the story of how Tombaugh came to Lowell, the work he did and how the discovery of Pluto took place. We also viewed the sun through a telescope, and took the "Deep Space" tour that provided a real education about the use of a spectrograph to better understand the universe. We had to be in Phoenix that night and couldn't stay for the night shows, but the three hours we spent there were fascinating, and absolutely lived up to all my expectations.

So worth going to. So very worth it. The entrance fee was $12. I cannot say how worth $12 this experience is. They had three huge telescopes set up and the staff was intensely knowledgable and excited to tell us all about what we were seeing (Orion Nebula, Jupiter, and the Andromeda Galaxy). The Observatory is a literal stone's throw from Flagstaff, but up on the hill the sky just opens up. You can see the whole town lit up below you. It is beautiful even without the awesome experience of the telescopes. And, because this was awesome and hilarous, there is a make-out point halfway up the road to the Observatory that is packed full of cars. It looks like a movie from the 60s.

Let me start by saying that I thought the family was getting into something different. I was thinking more hands on experiments and exciting things, like the AZ Science Center in Phoenix. The Lowell Observatory is much smaller. They had an initial presentation and after about 3 minutes my daughter and I were ready to leave. My wife made us stay, but it really felt like a school presentation. If you are into astronomy then this place would be great, unfortunately 2 out of 3 of us were not into it. We then got a chance to see Venus and again, we were expecting something more exciting, but it was just a bright dot when looking thru the telescope. The workers there are clearly devoted to their jobs and were very nice. Just know what the place is all about so you don't end up being disappointed.

We came for the night time viewing and presentations and it was a very informative evening. We arrived at 5:30pm and we sat in on two of the presentations and viewed three different telescopes. We were able to see Jupiter and it's 4 moons, the Andromeda Galaxy and a Nebula. It was a fantastic evening. For the night, we had an early dinner in Flagstaff and then spent 3 hours at the Observatory. Remember if going at night to wear warm clothing - jacket, beanie and gloves. We will be back again!

The staff was friendly, informative and enthusiastic. We had been to Flagstaff many times but had never visited the observatory. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day but there was still a lot of things to see and do at.

loved the view, the telescope was under repairs but loved the shop and the exhibits were very interesting