Griffith Park Observatory

Fun stuff. took the bus up at night with pals, ran around like madmen, saw the show (i can’t remember if i was captivated or bored out of my mind, but i think it leads towards the former)
Best salad I’ve ever had in my life. Ever.
The line for the telescope could circle three times around LA county- we didn’t go since it was only an hour till closing and the wait was longer.
The exhibitions are dun and interesting- just go with pals, then it’s super fun.
Oh- it gets nippy up there. bring a thick sweater. layer.

The first time I went to the Griffith Observatory was this past Tuesday and I saw the amazing astronomy show they feature! It was really cool and I would recommend it to anyone interested in astronomy! I was there earlier in the day so I wasn’t able to use any of their telescopes but I did get to hold a piece of a fallen meteor (after being offered by one of the staff). Also, while looking over the moon/ocean tides exhibit, one of the staff walked up to me, my sister, and mom and gave us a brief but informational talk about the moon and its effect on ocean tides which was pretty amazing! Their staff is definitely knowledgeable and were able to answer every question we had!

I’ve been to the Griffith Park Observatory several times before it was renovated and once after the renovation. It still looked the same to me from the outside, but it did look bigger and newer inside. I liked the Planets exhibit downstairs…each of the planets’ sections had a scale where people can weigh themselves to find out their weight at each planet. The views from the observatory are still amazing and I still like looking at the Hollywood sign from there, even though I’ve seen it a million times already.

Before renovation, people were allowed to park in the lot right next to the observatory. Now visitors have to park at the lot next to the LA zoo and take a bus up there (make reservations) or just park somewhere else and walk or bike up there.

Since the renovations, they now require reservations for entry. Check their website for details.

I’m not a museum person, but I did like the planetarium show because it was like an imax show. It was awesome.

Go watch the show at the Leonard Nemoy Event horizon before you go check out the place. The show there gives you an overview and a background on everything at the observatory.

Eat before you get up there. There is a cafe at the place, but it doesn’t really have a big variety of stuff (most of the stuff is snacks) and it is kind of pricey for what it sells.

It gives you a great view of the city and the show is great too. The renovations are beautiful!

I haven’t been there since they renovated it, so I’m looking forward to going back!

Things I learned:
Ptolemy was the original astronomer dude who thought the universe revolved around the earth.
Galileo invented the telescope in 1610.
Copernicus was from Poland

Also watched the cool planetarium show.

there’s a great hike that starts from the parking lot of the observatory – up to the top of the mountain – you get a great view on a clear day.
i can’t wait till the observatory re-opens… it’s been closed for sooooo long.

I went as a little girl obsessed with space and saw the laser show and the star show or whatever it was. I heard they re-did it now though…so I don’t know how it is now. I also remember getting on these scales and getting to see how much I’d weigh on other planets.