![]() ![]() At the end of the tour, we were given a truck ride back to the Science Center, then drove to the Observation Deck in the parking lot behind the Jansky Lab so we could take photos of the Green Bank Telescope from a distance. Doreen was an excellent tour guide- very nice, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, interesting, safety-conscious and organized. We took the Guided Walking tour, which took about 90 minutes to walk about 1 mile with several informative stops. The sun was hot the day we went, so you may wish to wear a hat. There were some bees and bugs, so it might be helpful to wear bug spray. There is one restroom about 1/3 of the way on the tour. There was a table outside of the Science Center with copies of maps, so it might be helpful to take a map with you on the tour. No cameras or electronics were allowed past the gate on the tour. ![]() The driving directions on the website were good, but the brown directional signs on the roadways were the most helpful. Apparently, their schedule is changing frequently, as they are just resuming some tours after the pandemic shut down. The website information and online booking process was helpful. Overall, it is an absolutely great place to visit and I highly recommend it to fellow travelers for the site, the staff, and the price. Afterward, you can go outside and get closer to the large telescopes or, if you pay and schedule it, you can get on the guided tour but with no active electronics. We ordered a boxed lunch and the lady that made it brought it out to us when we had moved to another portion of the building. This site also has a small cafeteria that has an excellent boxed lunch deal. All the staff was very friendly and helpful. There is a wonderful science center with several hands-on displays to include a thermal camera, pulsar simulator, 3-d star map, and more. The timeline and history are displayed on the walls near the film auditorium. They show you a film about the observatory history and the quiet zone. The visitor’s center was at the front of the site. The entire site is in the middle of a “Quiet Zone” that covers a large portion of the area meaning that your radio and cell phone coverage is probably severely limited so bring a map or download the map for the area to your phone. This location has several things to see to include a visitors center, a self-guided tour, and a guided tour. We were driving and saw it on the side of the road. We did not even know that this site was there when we planned our vacation. It is hard to miss the absolutely massive satellite dish as you are driving down the road. ![]()
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