Yerkes Observatory
| Address: | 373 W Geneva St, Williams Bay, WI 53191, USA |
| Phone: | +1 262-245-5555 |
| Site: | astro.uchicago.edu |
| Rating: | 4.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 9:45AM–1:30PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 38
KE
Kerry Laker
A must miss! Rude tour guide! Erroneous details... My family and I showed up for the noon tour at the observatory. We walked up to the front door and found it was locked. We saw through the building that the back door was open so we walked around to the back to inquire about the tour. We realized that the tour guide was finishing up the tour before ours. We just decided to wait by the tour since there was no where else to wait. Then the tour group went inside and we followed since it was noon and we wanted to pay for our tour. However, the tour guide shut the door on us. I thought it must be an accident. No, it was intentional. We knocked and another tour member had to let us in. When we walked through the door, we were greeted by the tour guide scolding us that we should have come in through the front door. We responded that it was locked. He continued to be rude to us. We tried to explain that we have never been here before and didnt know. He just blatantly ignored us and continued with the tour even though it was after the noon time at this point. We just walked out. Why would we take a tour with someone who was incredibly rude and sarcastic.
JE
Jeff S
Went there on 8/8/15 and had a great time. This is about the 4th time I have been there over the years and it is always interesting. It is free, but suggested donation is $8 per person and I think well worth it. Every time I have been there, it has been a little different as each tour guide has their own little routine and style. The building architecture and history there is fascinating and almost as interesting as the telescope part of the tour. For maximum benefit, bone up on the history of the observatory a little before you go and it will probably be a little more interesting. Tour takes about an hour total.
WJ
WJ Miiss
One of the best observatories Ive been to. They have tours and the will move the big telescope, the dome and the floor so you can see how it works. So much fun! The speakers are awesome and have so much knowledge. They have a gift store and you can buy some astronaut ice cream as well. They have a book that talks about the best locations and details for the 21st August eclipse that has 2 eclipse shades gift inside!
KE
Kevin Christ
Outstanding!!! As a kid I remember riding by all the time. Well last year I found this hidden gem again. I highly recommend doing the guided tour during the day, so much history in this building. Ask if they have any spaces left for the night viewing through one of the scopes as well, there are stairs you will have to climb for that. It is well worth the money.
YU
Yuanhong Liu
I did a field trip here with my fellow UChicago students. It was just an amazing experience. The scale of the 40-inch refracting telescope was just shocking. I heard of it when I was in middle school but not until I actually saw it I did not know how the grandeur of a human engineering project can be comparable to the human wisdom.
TO
Tom Liston
Took a group for a viewing/tour and although the weather didnt cooperate for using the telescope, the tour itself was wonderful. Dan Koehler was a fantastic tour guide, telling the story of this amazing and beautiful building and the awesome instruments it houses. I cannot recommend the experience highly enough.
NA
Nanite Nanitian
Hieno paikka. Mielenkiintoinen arkkitehtuuri. Opas kertoi paljon yksityiskohtia terrakottaveistoksista. Maailman suurin linssikaukoputki.
BI
Bill Rastello
Very awesome tour. Richard did a great job covering the history of the people behind the observatory, as well as the observatory itself. Even though it was extremely windy outside and the weather was crappy and there was only two of us, we still got the full tour. Definitely worth the $8 each.
TE
Terry Farrell
Excellent-what an experience-difficult to grasp the enormity and complexity of our universe. Standing where Hubble, Einstein and Sagan studied is truly humbling. There simply must be other life forms out there!
KE
Kevin Krause
This is truly an icon of the Lake Geneva area. A beautiful built facility with so much history. I love the fact that this was one of the first places Einstein wanted to visit when coming to the united states.
DO
Dominic Leodoro
Nothing special. The guy who works there wouldnt let us in until 5 minutes before the tour. Told us to use our quiet voices. Turned around and left
DA
David Grunt
Desperately want to actually take the tour. But insanely difficult, for average humans, to actually get there while they are open on a Saturday.
JE
Jeff Randall
We loved the tour. Its a cool place with a lot of history. Fascinating to hear how they managed to build the largest telescope in the world.
CA
Carmelo Alfano
A must see for tourists who appreciate architecture and history. Great tour guide whose been there for decades. Truely a historical gem!
CH
Charles Wright
Amazing historical location! I highly suggest taking the tour, or simply take a stroll around the grounds. Absolutely beautiful.
CA
Catherine Olson
Really fascinating tour of the observatory! Learned a lot about architecture, engineering, and astronomy!
TO
Tom A
A historic facility operated by the University of Chicago. Dont miss walking on its beautiful grounds.
BE
Bethany Beehler
This was a beautiful place and very interesting point of history. I recommend a visit and the tour!
JA
Jack Dennis
Great observatory! Cool demos and things kids may know about and are easy to understand.
PE
Peg Wilkerson
Personally too much time spent on architecture of building. Found it a little boring.
MO
Moborox Jones
Beautiful building! Warm courteous staff that love what theyre doing... it shows!
SG
Sgt. Turtle
Its okay being a teen it was kinda boring but the telescope looks cool
CH
Christopher Moran
Wonderful tour. I personally wish there was more time in the dome.
KA
Kazys Motekaitis
A Midwest Astronomy must visit. Sign up for the night viewing.
KA
Kasia Makowiecki
Absolutely beautiful and educational at the same time.
WI
William Sullivan
Cryptic, rude tour guide. Not worth the time or money.
CA
Carissa DiPietro
Very informative tour. Loved the architecture.
BR
Brian Schroeder
Beautiful architecture and informative tour!
JO
John Franzen
Historical spot where Einstein stopped.
EL
Eli Cvetic
Was here as a kid. Cool place.
AR
Arnold Mukisa
This was a really lovely tour
BE
Ben Brenizer
Such amazing architecture
LI
Liam Jones
som e pics of 2day
DO
Doug Johnson
Very cool place!
OM
om prakash srivastava
Nothing special
MI
Mike Shannon
Amazing place
JA
Jason Hayes
Amazing!
ST
Steven Johnson
Einstein
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