It's been years since my last visit to Perkins Observatory back in my childhood. During our recent…read moretour, we were enlightened with a fascinating lecture on Jupiter and Saturn. Despite the disappointing overcast weather which hindered telescope viewing, we enjoyed the numerous educational displays and space facts scattered across the ground floor and basement. The historical charm of the building dating back to the 1920s adds an extra layer of allure to the visit - a worthwhile trip just 20 miles to the north of Columbus!

Lots of great museum exhibits…read more Telescope viewing was underwhelming, both outdoors (thank you to the generous volunteers who let us see through their telescopes) and upstairs through the 32" lens. We viewed Saturn both outdoors on the lawn and upstairs through the big telescope. I was surprised how small Saturn looked through even the big telescope. Oh well. Makes you appreciate the Hubble telescope photos as well as close-ups taken be fly-by missions. I enjoyed seeing the 4 Galilean moons for the first time, but was surprised how tiny Jupiter looked through the telescope on the lawn with the Dobsonian mount. Wasn't much bigger than what I see with my naked eye. But, of course, I can't see those moons without the telescope. My favorite part of the visit was viewing the many artifacts, posters, atlases and astronomy books while waiting for the telescope viewing to begin