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Kitt Peak National Observatory

Highway 86 to 386 for 12 miles, Sells, AZ 85634
520 318 8726
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Ranked #1 of 1 attractions in Sells
Type: Observatories/ Planetariums, National Parks, Reservations
Activities: Group tours/walking tour
Owner description: Located 56 miles southwest of Tucson on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, the observatory is a working research station situated high above on... more » Owner description: Located 56 miles southwest of Tucson on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, the observatory is a working research station situated high above on Kitt Peak. « less
Useful Information: Activities for older children
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120 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    93
    16
    8
    3
    0
Date Rating
Houston, TX
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
8 attraction reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 May 2013 NEW

Joining the Nightly Observer Program during April was a fun chance to have professional astronomers help show the interested folks assembled a little glimpse of their world. Sure, it would have been nice to have access to a larger telescope, but no one is easily going to have access to something larger, in such a fantastic viewing location. It would... More

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Ann Arbor
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
7 attraction reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 May 2013 NEW

This was a great visit for someone who is not an amateur astronomer. It is very beautiful to be there as the day ended. We spent some time getting oriented and watching films while we had dinner (a pretty forgettable sandwich, but that's okay). We watched the sunset and spent time learning how to use a star chart and pick... More

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Mahwah
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 24 April 2013

Disappointing amateur presentations. Groups are large, so there is a lot of sitting around time in the cold till you see something. 16 inch telscopes is about what I would expect to use at my local community college. Not worth the 3 hour drive from Phoenix. The Titan missile site south of Tuscon is worth the drive.

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Copenhagen, Denmark
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 April 2013

My wife and I booked the NOP in advance from home (Denmark). The observatory is located 'on top of Arizona' a good 1,5 hour drive from Tucson. Watch out for rush hour traffic out of town though, you don't want to be late for the program! Seeing the sunset from the top was spectacular, and who would have known that... More

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Sudbury, Massachusetts
Senior Contributor
36 reviews 36 reviews
19 attraction reviews
Reviews in 23 cities Reviews in 23 cities
29 helpful votes 29 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 April 2013

We think that the evening program at Kitt Peak National Observatory is one of the best opportunities to understand the night sky and have been twice - once with children and once with only adults. Works well either way. It is located in an area of natural beauty - on top of a mountain, amid multiple mountain ranges in the... More

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Phoenix, Arizona
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 April 2013

We were traveling with our daughter's young family from the East Coast, so we stopped for a short daytime visit. We enjoyed walking around the area, but also were able to look at the sun through the giant telescope with the help of a patient docent. Very educational. Next time the adults will take the night tour.

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Bloomington, Minnesota
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 April 2013

I was expecting more for the money. What you get is an OK box dinner to eat while watching a strange TV show not related to astronomy. Group divides into 3 subgroups which get different experiences, and it is hard to know ahead of time which is the better one to volunteer for. Some people clearly had positioned themselves to... More

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Kotzebue, Alaska
Senior Contributor
48 reviews 48 reviews
14 attraction reviews
Reviews in 17 cities Reviews in 17 cities
25 helpful votes 25 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 31 March 2013

We were unable to visit for the evening tour because we waited until the week of our visit to call. Call a month ahead of time to schedule the night tour. This place is amazing and we wished we were astronomers so we could go back and spend the night! The tour guide for our group used to be a... More

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Glasgow, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
7 attraction reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 24 March 2013

This was our second visit to the Observatory. We had checked out others but this seemed the best even though we had been there before. It did not disappoint. The drive from Tuscon takes about an hour and passes through interesting desert scenery before it then winds up the mountain to Kitt Peak. The views are breathtaking. On arrival you... More

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Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 March 2013

Single dad took daughter for a star-gazing event. Daughter was very impressed.....me a bit less. Dinner was turkey-croissant with apple, granola bar, water. Quality wasn't bad for a boxed dinner. Drive up was nice but scary at times; no guard rail in many places...people seriously afraid of heights won't like this road at all. It's quite the drive. When we... More

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