Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory - Amado, AZ - an observatory offering guided tours

The visitor's center for the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory located in the Santa Rita Mountains at Mt. Hopkins Base is thirty-five miles from Tucson. It is in the Coronado National Forest featuring exhibits and displays of astrophysics, astronomy, cultural history and national science. It is the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory's largest field installation outside of Cambridge, MA. It has been the site of experiments that require a dry climate, optical seeing and dark skies since October of 1968. A funding grant to the Smithsonian Mt. Hopkins Observatory started the facility during 1966 and in 1968 the Whipple 10-meter gamma-ray telescope was developed. In 1981 the center was renamed from The Mount Hopkins Observatory to Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory.

The Visitors Center at Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The center will be closed for Federal Holidays. Telescopic viewing and lectures are featured at special Star Parties that are held quarterly on Saturday at the Center. They start in the late afternoon. From the beginning of spring to late fall there are bus tours that start at the Visitors Center three times a week.

A little ways outside of the main gate at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory are restrooms, a trailhead and picnic area that the Forest Service developed. These facilities are open twenty four hours a day. A path takes visitors to areas overlooking a drainage area that runs next to the site known as Montosa Wash. Information about hiking, camping and additional public programs is provided on a kiosk at the start of the trail.

The Astronomy Vista provides amateur astronomers with the opportunity bring their own telescopes. The area has benches and concrete pads for visitors to utilize during the visit. From the middle of March through November the general public can take bus tours on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. The Visitors Center opens at 8:30 a.m. and is where the tours start. There is a video presentation that starts at 9 a.m. followed by the bus leaving at 9:30. The bus is back at the Visitor's Center by 3 p.m. Reservations must be made for the tour and can be gotten by calling the center in advance of your intended visit.

Admission to the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is $7 for adults although the cost for admission is only $6 for associates of the Smithsonian with their membership card. The cost of admission for those age six to twelve is $2.50. Scouting groups, schools and youth educational programs get in free of charge. Contact the Visitors Center for information and to make arrangements.

Those with an interest in astronomy should visit the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and take a tour of the facilities from the Visitors Center. Additional information can be gotten by contacting the facilities directly; special arrangements can be made for groups by contacting the facilities as well. The fact that the center is closed on Federal Holidays should be taken into consideration when planning a trip to the observatory.