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!
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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'.... ;-)