Green Bank Observatory – 6/5/2022 – Nic of Time

The Green Bank Observatory is located in none other than Green Bank, WV. The location of the Telescope and surrounding area is within the National Radio Quiet Zone. Meaning no cell service for MILES………..Oh the horror for the wolfpack!

This would be our second trip to the Observatory. The first trip we were short on time and did not get to participate in the bus tour around the grounds to see all of the telescopes. Our first trip was also prior to COVID and now COVID protocols are in place at facility. Each guest has to wear a mask to enter the facility and also be vaccinated (however, we were not asked our vaccination status). Mask were also available on site in both adult and children sizes, very helpful for us because I no longer keep mask in my car.

When we arrived, we did not know prior to going that you had to buy tickets in advance. I got on my phone and tried to purchase tickets but I was not having any luck at all….hmmmm…no cell service DUH! Blake got all the kids out of the car and they all had a snack and I walked up to the front of the building to see if I could purchase a ticket and they have a computer located outside the building to purchase tickets. Less than 5 minutes later, we were all inside the facility getting ready for our bus tour.

Ticket Prices:

Science Center Exhibit Hall – $5/person (5 and under free)
Bus Tour – $10/person (5 and under free and includes the Exhibit Hall)

Right inside is Coin funnel. Austin has never seen one before, so I gave him a few pennies to use.

We had everyone go to the bathroom prior to the tour because there is nowhere to go when we are on the bus.

We all met in an auditorium prior to boarding the bus for a short documentary on the facility and to learn information from the tour guide about the area and what they do. We were also told a few different funny stories about locals in the area. Being that it is a radio quiet zone, one of the local residents let their grass get too tall around their electric fence and it set off a tone to the facility of radio interference. The facility has a truck that goes out to investigate and came across the residence and cut their grass for them. (Personally I would do this all the time haha). Another resident had the battery malfunction in their toothbrush and the truck brought them a new toothbrush.

During the bus tour, we had to put anything we had with us with that contained a battery in a box (Key fob, cell phone, fitbit, etc.). Batteries from anything can interfere with the radio signals and mess up the function of the telescopes. We were not able to take pictures during the tour because, well no cell phones.

Once back from the tour, we go back into the facility and play in the Science Center. The Science Center is an interactive discovery area with many exhibits. The kids and us adults have a great time with all of the exhibits learning all about space and the telescopes. I took pictures of almost all of the exhibits. If you are not able to take a visit to the Observatory, hopefully you can learn a thing or two from the pictues.

Once we were finished with the exhibits, I took the kids to the gift shop and they got to get a couple of things. The gift shop was fairly inexpensive and the kids chose science experiments for their items. I got everyone Lapel Pins to add to their pin boards.

Outside of the facility, is one of the first radio telescopes that was built by Grote Reber next to his mothers house in Wheaton, IL.