Astronomy.
Architecture.
Arboretum.
Art.
Unlike anywhere else...
in the entire cosmos.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Yerkes Observatory’s staff and trustees have dedicated the past four years to conscientiously restoring the landmark institution and fifty acre campus. We are conducting astronomical research and educational outreach in addition to building and hosting a series of programs bridging science with the arts and culture through bold ideas and performances.
In our third year open to the public, we have established a space where astrophysicists are collaborating with musicians, sculptors, landscape designers, writers, and artists across the spectrum to create contemporary, cross-pollinated works and programs. With astronomy at our core, Yerkes Observatory’s reawakening as an incubator of diverse minds makes us wildly enthusiastic during this recrudescence at the confluence of astronomy, architecture, arboretum, and art.
Mapping the unfolding universe for 128 years.
Yerkes Observatory. See for Yourself.
What will the stars reveal to you?
Ancient navigators charted their course by them. Romantics pledge their love underneath them. Scientists unravel new secrets about them. Northwoods campers marvel at the sheer number of them. The stars have forever mystified, fascinated, and inspired us. For 127 years and counting, Yerkes Observatory has helped shape our understanding of the universe. And it is once again open for you to explore.
The story of Yerkes Observatory began on a household rooftop in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago in 1882. George Ellery Hale, a 14-year-old boy with an insatiable curiosity about science, installed his first telescope there. A decade later Hale and his father constructed a proper observatory with a 12-inch telescope next to their home. Hale’s ideas about astronomy, observatories, and architecture would culminate in the creation of Yerkes Observatory housing the world's largest refracting telescope and the 12-inch refractor from Hale’s youth.
Yerkes Observatory Staff, 1898
Yerkes’ latest chapter is as a beacon illuminating a path for current and future generations of scientists and artists to discover and interpret the universe. Plan a visit and prepare to be amazed like the astronomers and visitors of the past 127 years.
Stroll the lush grounds designed by the Olmsted family who created Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, and so much more. Take a tour through the Beaux Arts and Romanesque architectural masterpiece. Follow in the footsteps of astronomical greats like Edwin Hubble, Nancy Grace Roman, Gerard Kuiper, Mary Calvert, E.E. Barnard, Richard Kron, and Carl Sagan. Size up the Great Refractor telescope, all 63 feet and 12,000 pounds of it. It's so delicately balanced that we move it by hand.
Yerkes Observatory Staff, 1898
Take a
Tour
Einstein, Hubble, Sagan, Kuiper, and Nancy Grace Roman were here.
Now it’s your turn.
Space & Spaces
Yerkes tours are not what you expect. A typical observatory tour would involve mostly astronomy, but Yerkes tours aren't typical. Our upbeat and engaging guides discuss astrophysics, Romanesque architecture, Geneva Lake District history, restoration, preservation, electricity, landscape design, photography, engineering, art, and the stories of the humans from around the world who made their mark on science in Yerkes' spaces. Check out our Google reviews to read thousands of raves about our fresh approach to visitor experience.
Hidden Spaces
Our behind-the-scenes Director's Hidden Spaces tour takes you where the public has never been allowed to visit. The peculiar corners and rooms in the attic and basement of the 65,000 sq. ft. facility are just waiting to be explored! See the back-of-house infrastructure of Henry Ives Cobb's masterpiece of Beaux Arts and Romanesque design. This tour highlights the elaborate confection of ornament and order mixed with the ugly, dusty, and unchanged workspaces of 125 years of astronomers. From the tops of the three domes to the elevator floor to the subterranean dungeon, every detail tells a story.
Tours for All
We work hard every day to have each visitor leave our spaces filled with joy, humor, knowledge, and a sense of wonder. Yerkes was saved from almost certain demise and we wildly celebrate its survival on each tour. Our mantra of "Nine to Ninety" means that we strive to have nine year olds, ninety year olds, and everyone in between have experiences here that are uplifting and entertaining. We're looking for guests of all ages, backgrounds, and brains to be profoundly inspired by our tours.
Join Us
Events
A place in a space by itself makes every visit special.
Celebrate the Olmsted Legacy
2022 marked the 200th anniversary of Frederick Law Olmsted's birth. He was a social reformer and the first pillar of American landscape architecture. Our fifty-acre arboretum was designed by his firm with his nephew (who was also his adopted son) John Charles Olmsted at the helm of the Yerkes design. John Charles was the first president of the American Society of Landscape Architecture. Yerkes Observatory and the National Association for Olmsted Parks is excited to celebrate the Olmsted family's living legacy for the next hundred years.
Personalize Your celebration
Have your wedding on the Olmsted South Lawn rising from the shore of Geneva Lake. Hold your rehearsal dinner in our historic library. Family reunions, birthday parties, baby and wedding showers are also welcome in our stately spaces.
Host An Event
Whether you are planning a corporate retreat or organizing a private party, Yerkes Observatory's botanical splendor, historic architectural spaces, and thoughtful staff provide a special atmosphere for any occasion.
Keep up with what we’re up to.
News
2025 Summer Internship at Yerkes Observatory
Join us for a Community Day in the Bay!
Lunar Eclipse Open House
Exploring the Night Sky Tour Dates for Fall 2024
Exploring the Solar System Open House
B > C > L > Twenty-Four
Exploring the Night Sky Tour Dates for Summer 2024
