We went at 5 pm at night stayed till 10 pm. It was great. Mostly outside things and you walked. But paths were smooth. We saw the moon (no cheese that I saw) we looked at Saturn and the rings you could see the moons too. The lady there had monitors that she explained the stars and other planets. There was a few movies to watch. It was more than I expected. And my husband and son was thrilled with it all.

We love astronomy and history, so this was the perfect place to visit. The observatory is on a mesa above Flagstaff, so you have a beautiful view over the city, day or night. It is open noon to 10 pm, so we were able to go up in late afternoon and walk around, then stay after dark. They have video presentations and live talks about the history of the observatory, the discovery of Pluto in 1930 (you can see the equipment used to discover it!) and other subjects, plus they have telescopes available to view celestial objects once it is dark. We opted to go to the Discovery of Pluto talk, which started in the Rotunda building, then we walked up the hill to see the astrograph telescope which was used in that discovery. Tour guide and astrophysics student Gavin gave a great talk, and was able to answer lots of questions. The Rotunda building has history displays, and hosts other talks, like Moonrise. As we were there the day after a full moon, guide Kate talked about the moon, then led a walk to the overlook to watch the rising moon. We were able to view Saturn and its rings on the historic Clark refractor telescope, then went to the Giovale Open Deck observatory where we viewed Jupiter and its moons, as well as a globular cluster in the constellation of Hercules. They only have water and candy bar type of snacks, but you can come during the day and keep your receipt, then go eat in Flagstaff, and come back to look through the telescopes. Be sure to bring warm clothes, as it gets cool quickly at this altitude once the sun goes down. It was also windy.

My husband and I went in mid-April and if you love astronomy, or science or are just curious about our universe this is a wonderful experience. One of the best parts of your tickets is, after the observatory opens at noon, you get to attend lectures on how the observatory was constructed, how Pluto was discovered ( the observatory is famous for that) and other astronomical topics including a tour of the 24 inch Clark refractor telescope. In the day you can observe the sun through a telescope with a special sun filter and see its sun spots and solar flairs. Then, after we left and went to dinner, your ticket gives you free entry into several evening talks and tours. There are much larger crowds in the evening. We loved the one on "The Colors of The Universe" showing how the spectral light from stars is interpreted. Our tour guide lined up beakers of chemicals and then added other elements to produce different colors with a small blast of very contained, tiny, fires within the beakers ( it is very safe) while the audience watched through special glasses which are handed out. You are then asked to guess which gas or element was produced. Kids and adults loved it. But to me, the very best part was looking through different telescopes at he moon (no planets were visible that night) and then having an eye opening opportunity to view the moon through the 24 inch refractor Clark telescope. The staff also show and discuss the different constellations, answer questions and are wonderful. Be aware, depending on weather, the large Clark telescope might not be open.

This was a such a cool experience for kids and adults alike. The staff is educated and eager to share their knowledge. Going at night and being able to see the constellations was a very educational and fun evening. The view of the city and sunset is worth the trip.