I rated this a 5 star because if the weather is cooperative then this spot would be a treat. We were not so lucky. We did the tour and history of the location, which was very interesting, but the weather was not ideal for viewing the sky. The presentation on the sun was my fav. The history is rich and the facility is non-profit so we felt our money was well invested in the trip. There is also a gift shop and everything seemed very reasonable. Not a much see, but if you're in Flagstaff why not. read more

Great tours from Jonathan. He was very knowledgeable and thorough in answering questions.

We went up a few weeks ago to get out of the Phoenix heat and pollution. I had purchased a Google offer for the observatory last fall and needed to redeem it. When we showed up and I presented them with the print-out they said they didn't have any information about google offers or any way to process the coupon. I understand that Google is a tiny, unknown company (said sarcastically), but you think they would have some info somewhere if they agreed with Google to do an offer in the first place. After some confusion the guy figured out a way to ring us up and we were on our way. I had been here a few years back and remembered that they had a bunch of hands-on exhibits in the visitor's center, with most of them being good for kids. Not this time! They had an exhibit on space suits, that was mostly pictures. My kids were bored after about 30 seconds. My oldest daughter actually ran across the nearly empty room to stand next to me and was scolded by a museum employee. Why get mad at my kid when there's nothing to knock over because you removed all of the kid-friendly things. It was strange. If they let kids in free and had no kid-friendly exhibits, I could understand. But they charged us for the kids, and then treated them poorly. Oh, well. The kids still enjoyed looking through telescopes, as did my wife and I. We were lucky to be there on a perfectly clear night, so not only did they have the Clark telescope up and running, they had two other smaller telescopes and some high-powered binoculars pointed at different things in the sky. One of the telescopes was too high for our littlest, so I tried to pick her up and let her look through the eyepiece. The employee told me that she wouldn't know where to look, so I needed to put her down and he would adjust the eyepiece. He tweaked it around so much that she didn't know what was going on and didn't see anything anyway. I'm not sure why he just didn't let me hold her up. Weird #2. After the telescope viewing we went on the planet walk and tried to explain to the kids that they discovered Pluto at the observatory at the end. They weren't impressed. We went into the exhibit room by the telescopes where they had some older astronomy equipment. Again, not really kid-friendly, but interesting enough for my wife and I. They were doing a presentation using a little planetarium projector. The kids did enjoy that, so we hung out for a while until they started getting restless. We wrapped up the night by perusing the gift shop. Naturally, the things that my kids wanted were $30+, so we headed out to the car. There is a little overlook right after leaving the observatory grounds that affords a nice view of the city, especially at night. I think most of the cars were full of people enjoying each other, instead of the view, though. That was a little awkward to explain to the kids, but my wife and I got a chuckle out of it. Again, I've been to this observatory when it was great...good exhibits, hands-on stuff for adults and kids, etc. I know they can do better than they did this time. read more

Make sure it isn't cloudy around 6:30 PM when the telescope is open! It's an incredible learning experience and full of fun for a low price. Ever wonder how Pluto was discovered? What's the latest scoop on those scary mysterious black holes? You'll find out when you visit. Fun for space or science geeks. If you're not a big fan of exploration and learning, don't go-but you are definitely missing out. read more

We got there at 6pm and stayed until closing. We were blessed with a clear sky. The portable telescopes brought out by staff were powerful. We saw Saturn and its rings and one of its moons. The staff were friendly and very helpful - all of them. There are also multimedia shows in the evening (free with admission). We did two of them. They were 45 minutes long each. I enjoyed the Sky Tonight show that helped me identify constellations and some of the fun mythology behind the shapes. Walking the scaled down Solar System on the grounds was mind blowing. To get an idea of distance between planets and how different they are is incredible. read more

I've always been curious but never spent much time studying the stars. This place makes it easy with frequent classes with some nice high tech equipment. I learned so much in just a few hours here that my interest is peaked and I'll be exploring the universe further. read more

This was an amazing day. I wasn't expecting much but our guide, John, was so passionate about the observatory he was infectious. My 11 year old son who didn't want to go enjoyed it very much too. We all learned so much. We will be back the next time we are in town!!! (I hope John does a TED TALK sometime)! read more

Great place to go for the night, they also have tours during the day time. As well a special events that happen during the month. I would recommend going at night so you can see the stars and look at the big telescope. Also the staff is super friendly and very knowledgeable. (Students bring your ID's they have discounts) read more

Our son loves this place! Very nice tour and wonderful staff. LOVE the resident Husky too.

Great staff, nice walking tour and video. Most locations were off limits or being worked on.

My wife and I went to see the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. This is definitely a place to see in Flagstaff. A much see.

We took our three kids, 10, 8, and 5. Our 10 year old was mildly interested in the talks, our 8 year old a little less, and our 5 year old not at all. I enjoyed the talks pretty well. All of us were pretty bored by looking at distant stars through the telescopes, which don't look any more impressive than looking at closer stars with the naked eye. The big telescope wasn't functioning, which was a huge disappointment. If we had been able to look at planets it may have been more interesting. This definitely wasn't worth the $42 we paid for our family of 5. As a side note, in case you don't know, most of the activities take place outside or in a non-heated rotunda. So if it is a cold night, go prepared. read more

Workers were extremely entertaining and very insightful. The view of the city was amazing, the atmosphere incredible, and the stars were out of this world (bad pun). Would recommend to anybody visiting flagstaff or any fans of astronomy. Just be aware of the weather conditions that might not let you view the stars and the visit is not refundable. read more

We had an amazing first trip to the observatory. What might have been an ordinary visit was made extraordinary by Jim, the best tour guide we could have possibly asked for. The first tour during which we learned about how the astronomers at the observatory discovered Pluto was fascinating and Jim's charismatic way of delivering the information made it even more entertaining. The second tour, which gave us information about the history of the observatory itself, was informative but more dry, thankfully Jim did his best to spice it up a bit. I would definitely recommend visiting the observatory and be sure you go on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, in the morning when Jim is there to conduct the tour. read more

Knowledgable staff give great tours of the observatory where Pluto was discovered. They have tours of the working telescope, too. Exhibits are fun both inside and outside. Views over Flagstaff are gorgeous, too. A great place to visit if you're at all interested in the universe. read more

Pluto will always be a planet to me, and Lowell will always be my favorite observatory.

Was really looking forward to coming here. I was a little disappointed. Most of the buildings were locked (maybe due to time we went) but you could go in with the tours. For me, the best part was the gift shop. Maybe would be better at night. I'm not making the drive to find out. read more

Great staff! Awesome location to see stars, the moon and BEYOND! A lot of cool things to look at and new things to learn about the stars. Sat in on an amazing class in the dome and was amazed about how little I know about Greek Mythology, the stars and distance of planets etc. read more

Such great local history and historical astronomy. Thank you Hogan for the great tour! Can't wait to come back at night.

We had a half day to kill. We thought ok we will check out the observatory. Didn't expect much. Maybe walk around read some boring plaques. Oh what a surprise. The tours by the staff were so well spoken. They were intelligent and funny and I left feeling more informed and enlightened. The place was a surprising high of our trip to Flagstaff. The information was thoughtful and not over the head. The grounds were beautiful. We left wondering why not more observatories are not built and supported by philanthropists. A must do here. read more

Call ahead to see what is actually available before you go! Suggested they have a twitter feed with such information. I'm pretty sure this is the real world Big Bang Theory cast working here. Brilliant I'm sure but need some efficiency training. Planned ahead to see two specific programs based on what our kids were learning in school science. No dice. The posted times online did not match up to the actual. The explanation did not make sense. We left disappointed. read more

This was the most amazing experience!! I have just always wanted to go to the Lowell Observatory. So we picked a day and said that's it - we're going and it happened to be this day when Charles Simonyi was there giving a talk and WHAT A TOTAL THRILL!! Look this guy up - not just an astronaut - twice - but also a software genius! I still can't believe our luck! He was so gracious -I mean I had no idea this guy would be there - it was just luck! I highly recommend you checking out the observatory - on top of these fabulous talks - they have cool stuff going on all the time -the gift shop is actually super reasonable and they have really fun stuff to do there. There's something every hour and lots to just go look at - as you can imagine a ton of telescopes to view out of and the one they discovered Pluto with and the big Clark telescope - it's just amazing and everyone is super nice there! Highly recommend it - you won't be sorry! read more

I really looked forward to going here as we have been to Flag many times and not dropped in. Saw a flyer for the place so nipped over there to see what it was about last night. Was not impressed! I think because we were arriving just in time to see starts etc, that's what we thought we would see, but the big telescope had a one hour queue for 20 seconds of viewing M5, whatever that is. We had an extremely brief explanation and was told that this telescope was just for tourists, so you think they would show you something the average layman would understand. While we were in line the guy walking down the queue giving some info decided I was asking too many questions (there is a lot I a interested in and am a complete novice) but he had other more pressing things to do. We looked through two smaller scopes and were equally un-amazed. I really would like to learn more about our universe so will go to the recommended NASA site to find out more. This place was not interesting at all. And no, we did not do the tour, so maybe we should've. read more

One of the greatest points of my southwest vacation this year was my visit to the Lowell Observatory. We called about three times that day because we were not sure if there was going to be a clear night sky. We got some trepidation from one of the less experienced guides who thought it might be cloudy, but fortunately we kept calling and found out from someone at the desk that they were definitely going to be running their usual Venus and Jupiter showings at various outdoor telescopes, as well as a wonderful computerized rendering of one of the "whirlpool" galaxies. The available information from the tour guides was overwhelmingly useful. I enjoyed how I got to learn very much on this visit and would recommend you visit there in the evening hours like I did. Though they do look at sunspots during daytime, I can't imagine it being as titillating as seeking out planets and other galaxies in the clear dark night. The Pluto exhibits were fascinating, as well as a glimpse through time at some of their original telescopic equipment from the 1930 era. read more

Amazing place if you like science. Very informative staff. Rainy, cold day but we still were taken on the outdoor tour. They loan you umbrellas. read more

Meh. This observatory has the potential to be very cool, but as it is now, it is lacking pizazz in a big way. We went to the night sky presentation and were underwhelmed. They have a domed auditorium that would serve as a great backdrop for a ceiling projection of the constellations, but they used a small screen without microphones instead. It felt like more of a lecture than entertainment. In addition, the exhibit hall had some good info but felt fairly sparse. Overall, we didn't feel it was worth the admission price. read more

They love Pluto here, for good reason as it was discovered here. Nice Pluto exhibit and tour, which makes it different than other observatories. Definiitely hit that. They also give a AAA discount. read more

The observatory had no exhibits, the person in the gift shop didn't know which telescopes were open when we were there, and the one presentation we attended was very poorly presented. So disappointing, as 10 years ago when I was here there were lots of activities and things to see and do. read more

Wonderful observatory and great customer service! The ladies demonstrating the science experiments were funny and smart and the guy giving the tour was fantastic. Can't remember his name, but he's a middle school science teacher. He had a great personality. Highly recommend this observatory. read more

It was great to see the sky through the various available telescopes. It was also excited that the night we went they had multiple talks occurring educating visitors on various aspects of our solar system. Definitely a great place to visit! read more

Great place! Everyone was friendly and eager to share their knowledge. Even my two teenagers were fully impressed. We are definitely going to go back tonight ...hopefully the weather clears and we can see Jupiter. read more

I really don't want to write a bad review because I'm a big supporter of the sciences being accessible to the public. But....as a warning to parents with small kids. We really thought this would be more kid friendly. We went on a Saturday night and it was really packed. We had to wait awhile to get parking. They had two telescopes open and a couple portable ones. We looked through the macallister and a portable and they were both pointed at the moon. The line for the Clark was insane. Probably about 40 minutes and Barely moves. And it was cold. We didn't wait. There was a ramp (we had a stroller) but went around the back and bypassed the line so we couldn't use it. The Rotunda museum didn't have a ramp so we couldn't go in there. It was very dark, which it should be, but it was hard to find your way around. We tried to listen to the constellation tour but it was less about stars and more the stories behind the naming. We weren't even in there 10 minutes and it cost 2 of us 30 bucks to get in. I feel like it was a big waste of time and money. We came all the way from Phoenix to see it. read more

Great observatory and staff that are very friendly and answer any and all of your questions.. This is where pluto was discovered by the way... Check it out.. read more

First time visiting an actual, functioning observatory. Very cool to have the opportunity to look through real, professional telescopes and see Saturn, Jupiter and Mars as well as be on the spot where Pluto was discovered. Price is a little steep, but the staff is pretty attentive and willing to answer questions. Note to the staff... The "staff only" parking lot should be gated off or better secured. We saw at least 4 or 5 people walk on to the grounds for free. read more

Great time here. The student giving the lecture about Pluto and planet X was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Gift shop is superb. Try to go on a clear night, the view through the 120 year old telescope is completely worth the trip! Museum staff were all amazing. read more

Observatory must only be good at night, right? Not so! Go for the whole day for $12 per adult. We went twice and paid the fee anyway because there was so much to see and we probably missed a couple things because we kept going at dusk. I thought this was a historical observatory, but they have telescopes up and running and have extremely knowledgeable staff that tailor the presentations to science geeks like us and small kids. Venus, Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn were in ecliptic and it was easy to find someone to show them to you through the various setups. Check the night sky to see if there are events happening as they are sure to be pointing at major events. Pluto is really popular this year, so they will have more visitors starting around August. It's a short drive up a forested hill. Mind the wildlife if your walking in the dark. read more