Griffith Observatory: Ongoing Exhibits
Griffith Observatory is an icon of Los Angeles, a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic gathering place, and one of southern California’s most popular attractions. The Observatory is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, just above the Los Feliz neighborhood. It is 1,134 feet above sea level and is visible from many parts of the Los Angeles basin. The Observatory is the best vantage point for observing the world-famous Hollywood Sign. Since opening in 1935, the Observatory has welcomed over 85 million visitors. Open late nearly every evening, Griffith Observatory’s audience is “the general public,” and it is one of the rare places where you will see people from every part of the region and from all parts of the world.
Ongoing Exhibits:
Public Telescopes
Wilder Hall of the Eye
Ahmanson Hall of the Sky
Keck Central Rotunda
Cosmic Connection
Edge of Space
Gunther Depths of Space
Exterior Exhibits
Public Telescopes
Putting Eyeball to Eyepiece. Griffith Observatory is one of the premier public observatories in the world. One of the principal reasons is the presence and regular availability of high-quality public telescopes. Griffith J. Griffith wanted the public to have the opportunity to look through a telescope, which he felt might broaden human perspective. Mounted in the copper-clad domes on either end of the building, the Zeiss and solar telescopes are free to the public every day and night the building is open, and the sky is clear. - museum website
Wilder Hall of the Eye
The Evolution of Human Observing. The Wilder Hall of the Eye illustrates the nature and progress of human observation of the sky and the tools used for that exploration. This exhibit gallery focuses on how people have observed the sky, and the often profound impact those observations have had on people and society. Each of the four Wilder Hall of the Eye exhibit areas charts the key developments that have further evolved our ability to help our eyes see farther, fainter, and beyond. - museum website
Ahmanson Hall of the Sky
The Sun, Moon, and the Earth. The Sun and Moon dominate our sky and measure the march of time. Sunrise, sunset, and the passing of years and seasons – as well as the restless tides, monthly Moon phases, and awe-inspiring eclipses – occur because the Earth and Moon move in relation to the Sun and each other. The Sun is the most dynamic object in the sky. It warms our planet and makes life possible. As the closest star to Earth, it also offers us a glimpse into the nature of all stars. - museum website
Keck Central Rotunda
Artistry, Myth, Science, and the Observatory. At the nexus of the original Observatory building, the W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda celebrates the intersection of science and mythology, Earth and sky, and the man whose vision brought the Observatory into being. - museum website
Comsic Connection
The Sparkling Ribbon of Time. Unimaginably vast and continuously changing, the universe has been growing larger for nearly 14 billion years. We are connected to the origin of the universe by the sparkling ribbon of time that reaches from the Big Bang to today, when we observe what the universe is, understand what it is doing, and appreciate how long all of this has been going on. Nearly 2,200 pieces of celestial jewelry form the Observatory timeline, thanks to longtime Friends Of The Observatory board member Kara Knack. The cosmic shapes and designs of the pieces symbolize astronomical objects and our connection with them. - museum website
Edge of Space
Understanding Space from Earth. The mezzanine overlooking the Richard and Lois Gunther Depths of Space exhibit gallery provides visitors with an experience that bridges the more familiar Earth-bound orientation toward the universe with a more cosmic perspective informed by the most sophisticated astronomical instruments ever built. The zone showcases samples of the universe that come to Earth from space or that we acquire through space exploration. - museum website
Gunther Depths of Space
Observing the Modern Universe. Space exploration transformed our understanding of the cosmos and our place in it. As we learned more about the sky, our horizons broadened. What we once could detect only with our eyes, we now explore with technology. Today our telescopes and space probes reveal landscapes on other worlds and detect planets around other stars. Our observing tools have extended our vision out to the stars, to the earliest galaxies, and back to nearly the beginning of time. Now, we can clearly see our place in the universe. We can feel at home in the cosmos. - museum website
Exterior Exhibits
From the Sun and Sky to Sea and Sign! The grounds of the Observatory present compelling opportunities to observe the movement of the Sun and Moon and to walk a scale model of the solar system. Looming over the lawn is a monumental sculpture celebrating astronomers who gradually revealed the nature of the universe. The terraces offer vistas of Los Angeles, Griffith Park, Mt. Wilson, the Pacific Ocean, and, of course, the famous Hollywood Sign. - museum website
