national radio astronomy observatory

when I worked at the airport Jay Rockefeller paved the runway at the observatory and they allowed him to land there as he has a home nearby

Amazing technology. Gives you a new respect for the folks that call the area home. A lot of people find it an inconvenience to visit, imagine living without your cell phone or facebook. I loved it.

Come see the reason you don't have cell phone service at Snowbird! The Greenbank radio telescope is an enormous monument to space exploration. The tour takes about an hour, starting from a little museum (complete with gift shop and snack bar). A short film shares some basic info about the site and its history, followed by a presentation with demonstrations that are a big hit with the kids. After your introduction to the site, a short bus ride takes you to a photo op site about a mile from the telescope (as close as you can get without interfering with their measurements), then, after all electronic devices are turned off and properly stowed, the bus takes you right to the foot of the telescope. Educational and entertaining for the whole family.

What are radio waves? Come visit the Observatory! The museum offers interactive activities that help individuals to understand this world of science. Our tour guide gave an excellent overview before the informative video and then took us within close range of the dynamic telescope via a bus. This was a awesome experience!

There are many people even from West Virginia who have never heard of the Green Bank Observatory. There are varieties of telescopes here and this particuliar observatory, I believe boasts the largest Hubble telescope in the world, the telescope is 2.3 acres in size. There are many educational activities for adults as well as children and altough there is no charge to visit the gift shop or to walk the grounds, there is a small charge for the tours, etc. The observatory offers a science center, guided tours of the grounds, star labs, planetarium sessions, a 150-seat auditorium, classrooms, a gift shop, and even a café. There are scientists working there at all times. One of the few places on the North American continent with a "quiet zone", a place where within a 13,000 square-mile area in West Virginia and Virginia, cell phone transmissions and Wi-Fi are restricted by law, so keep that in mind if planning to visit. We are highly blessed to have a cabin near this area and living the high-stress lives that my husband and I do, being in this location from time to time is absolutely near-heavenly. How refreshing it is to be able to talk with someone who is not constantly glued to their phone like it is part of their body. It would do everyone, especially children, good to visit this place, not only for the purpose of education but to see how people once lived; able to communicate with one another and actually enjoy real living as opposed to the lives they now lead through their phones and tablets, etc. We don't miss our phones or Wi-Fi at all, in fact, we dread returning to our lives with those devices. This is an excellent, rare educational destination for children of all ages with many interactive games and activities. The cafe offers fast food ranging from salads to cheeseburgers and there are cookies and ice cream. We have eaten there a few times and have never been disappointed in the food. The dining area offers a beautiful view of the mountains and the telescopes. The staff is always friendly and the bathroom facilities are clean. Nesteled deep within the mountains of West Virginia, the largest of the telescopes can be seen from miles away and looks unearthly amid the beautiful, majestic green mountains surrounding it. What a contrast, to have such technology amidst such natural, serene beauty.

I only can speak to driving through the area and taking some pictures. We didn't have time for a visit to the science museum or tour, but just seeing the dish they have there is impressive.My one caution is I didn't research anything beforehand, so it came as a surprise that there is no cell service. Wasn't a big deal, but something folks should prepare for. Quite a large area of no service.

Green bank telescope 485 ft Tall! 17 MILLION lbs! 2.3 acres surface area! Remember the movie Contact.. This telescope receives signals . We really enjoyed this tour. Boy Scouts were on our tour and they we so interested and fun to see their excitement. Do take the tour to get up close to see this giant. We toured the exhibit hall and saw the interactive program with the scouts. Very cool! Did you know there is a national radio quiet zone13,000sq mile region of minimal radio signal interference ?? Who knew this?! If you have young scientific minds have a go see. If you are older an curious have a go see. It's quite cool.

I didn't get to go on the tour... heck, I didn't even know there was a tour... but the science center and just seeing the telescope itself was amazing! I was like a little kid. Disclaimer: I am an optometrist, and my favorite subject was physics, so this place was right up my alley. I was in my element. Thank you so much to the workers/volunteers. I will be back for sure... it's just taken me 30 years of living in West Virginia to randomly drive past it on the way back home from the eastern panhandle. ;) Next time I won't wait so long.

learned a ton in a 90 minute visit. All of our three boys (ages 12, 8, and 6) learned a few interesting things. Short movie is a bit dated but still good. Bus trip takes about 30 minutes afterwards. Our tour guide, Sherry, was very good. Amazing to see a bunch of diesel powered cars from 30-40 years ago still in use (no spark plugs)! The National Radio Quiet Zone is an amazing feat to consider. The size of these telescopes is stunning. Very glad we stopped here on way to train trip.

I have been here three times now and find it amazing each time. It's hard to understand everything about the telescopes and how they work but you get a great education on the tour. You can read about them prior to your visit and find that helpful. The largest telescope,the GBT, weighs 17 million lbs. and is the size of two football fields. The tour is inexpensive and you will remember it forever. It's a must see one of a kind place in West Virginia.

There is a slight charge for the bus tour after watching a film, then a brief group discussion. Tour takes about 30 minutes. You will exit the bus once to see the main telescope but don't expect to go inside or watch any research. While on-board the bus, the tour guide will explain past achievements of other telescopes that dot the area and explain how they are being used today. There are nice hotels/motels close to the site, which seemed to conflict with the info Google Maps puts out. I was surprised by the strict adherence to the elimination of transmitter waves in a 13,000 square mile area which includes homes and businesses. There is food on-site. It isn't an especially exciting tour and one that I would not detour to see again.

NRAO has everything... great inside and out. Started with the fantastic site information room which houses hands on activities for children and enough literature to keep you reading for around an hour. Very easy level. Starry night entrance! Well done historical and scientific displays for colours and print size! We took the self guided walking tour... Long walk but much better to see up close! We watched the bus and were happy to have a longer period of time to watch the telescope move. Reading exactly what each telescope currently was involved with was interesting! The large dish was great to see .. movies hardly do justice to the physical size. Great snack bar and souvenir shop!

We went here because it was raining in Canaan Valley. A long drive through the beautiful mountains and lovely country that is West Virginia. We arrived less than an hour before the next tour started (on the hour) so we ordered lunch from the snack bar. Some of the best food we had on our trip, by the way. The cost was only $5.00 for seniors. The tour starts with a film about the telescopes and what they do and also a very knowledgeable demonstration by the tour guide, a student from WVU. After that, we were taken on a bus through the array of dishes all over the grounds. The guide had some interesting info about everything there, including the maintenance buildings. The Green Bank Telescope (GBT, or Great Big Telescope, our guide said) is beyond impressive. Great place for school children. Everyone on our tour were adults, and pretty much all science geeks. Even though it was raining, we were pretty much inside or on the bus the whole time. Also a nice gift shop.

we stopped here at the NRAO on our way to Cass. very interesting. The grandkids had a great time and hopefully learned something. There is a museum along with the bus tour

The Green Bank Telescope is a great side trip to provide some science and brain candy amongst the natural beauty of West Virginia.The building has a great hands-on science display about wavelengths- infrared, radio, visible spectrums; affects of curvatures through circus like mirrors, and other hands-on experiments to explain the science behind the telescopes.The tour starts in a conference room where one learns how the Green Bank Telescope fits into the larger National Radio Astronomy Observatory, its history, its need, and its discoveries. Next, a tour bus takes the participants around the grounds and explains the history and current use of the telescopes currently on the grounds. The guide was very knowledgable and entertaining.Some curious facts- Russia is leasing one of the radio telescopes to receive information from a Russian satellite. Two football fields would fit in the large radio telescope. The area around the telescope is a radio wave free zone to minimize radio interference.The visit will take a couple hours at the most and at a maximum $6 a person. A great value and worth the trip!