Where science, nature, history, and the arts meet and every visit opens a new way of seeing.
Explore Yerkes by candlelight as 2,000 candles transform the Olmsted arboretum. Enjoy an unforgettable night beneath the stars.
Yerkes transforms into a winter galaxy of light and sound inside the architectural masterpiece dome housing the world’s largest lens telescope.
Stand beneath the world’s largest refracting telescope. Explore sweeping architecture and the human stories that shaped modern astronomy.
Wind through staircases, corridors, and tucked-away rooms rarely open to the public. A behind-the-scenes look at the observatory few get to see.
Explore the cosmos through the Great Refractor, guided stargazing, and research that continues to expand what we know about the universe.
Science & Research
Wander Olmsted-designed landscapes and restored prairie where discovery happens under open skies as much as beneath the dome.
Nature & Grounds
Step into more than a century of scientific breakthrough, architectural beauty, and human curiosity, where history is preserved and still in motion.
History & Heritage
Experience where creativity and science intersect through performances, exhibitions, and programs that reimagine what an observatory can be.
Arts & Performance
