Perkins Observatory

This is one of the finest Friday nights you can spend in central Ohio. Guests are welcome to tour the historic facilities that at one time housed the 3^rd largest telescope in the world, now in Lowell, and is infamous for capturing the WOW! signal with the Big Ear radio telescope. If it’s cloudy, which is often the case, you’ll get an eccentric lecture from director Tom Burns and a story on founder Hiram Perkins in the library. If you’re fortunate to have clear skies the Columbus Astronomical Society will be on hand to show you the wonders of the night sky with telescopes on the lawn. A great time for the family, a date night, or fans of astronomy. Perkins is part of OWU located in Delaware and is still active in astronomical research with the big 32″ Schottland reflector.

This is a must do activity for anyone at all interested in the cosmos. Make sure you book your tickets in advance. The first time I went I was turned away and told you have to have reservations.

I stumbled across this place when I was yet again on a quest to find something unique and Columbus-​specific to treat some out-​of-​towners. The drive up was a bit stressful given the darkened Delaware County Roads and not-​so-​wonderfully lit street signs but we arrived in the nick of time to a see a beautifully lit building with parking attendants there to greet us. It was a brisk winter night and while the forecast was favorable all day, as our luck would have it, the conditions worsened as we sat in the lecture and we were unable to view the sky that night. I would definitely recommend thinking long and hard about booking in to see the Observatory during the winter (when I did) as it certainly is a risk though for the history and astronomy lovers out there, the lecture portion of it was nicely peppered with local history, humor and interesting facts about the Observatory itself. The place is also one of the more reportedly haunted places in Ohio as well and the location has many documented sightings of it’s founder, Hiram Perkins. Very interesting stuff!
I am proud to say I have supported a local establishment/​historic site such as the Perkins Observatory. :)

Most major cities have a planetarium somewhere around, but few have a real astronomical observatory open to the public within easy driving distance. Perkins Observatory was once a top-​notch research facility owned by Ohio Wesleyan University. Due to light pollution from Columbus, they stopped upgrading the equipment decades ago, but their enormous telescope is still pretty awesome On a clear night, you can see rings on Saturn among other wonders. They have public programs on Fridays and Saturdays, and it’s a great place for curious people of all ages to go and learn about astronomy. Go to their web site for more info and buy tickets in advance. Perkins Obervatory is definitely one of the most unique and enjoyable ways to spend a clear Central Ohio night.