News

What’s doing at The Dome?

Imagine how exciting it must have been at Yerkes during its scientific heyday—casually passing respected astronomers in the hallway or watching them at work late into the night searching the cosmos. You can still walk where they walked, think your own big ideas where they thought, and create where they created. Yerkes Observatory is quite a vital place these days, filled with enthusiasm and imagination. Discover what’s happening now and how you can tap into the energy.

Top Things to Do in Wisconsin

Big news from Travel Wisconsin! Yerkes Observatory was selected as a film site for an upcoming multi-state commercial. After several scouting visits, Travel Wisconsin’s film crew of thirty people spent July 25th filming a wonderful family walking into Observatory, up the grand staircase, and into the Great Refractor Dome. Then they filmed the family in…

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Lake Geneva Garden Club and Olmsted 200

We were honored to have our great friends at Lake Geneva Garden Club host A Garden Club of America Flower Show at Yerkes Observatory. What a week! LGGC put on spectacular events and exhibited the pleasantries of their hospitality in our Ann M. Drake Family Library, Hagenah Rotunda, and our new Yerkes Programs Room. Our…

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Staff Stories: How Teaching and Tour Guiding Combine

I started my professional career in the midst of the pandemic; the ultimate turning point for young people fresh out of college. I did not know that I was in for the most difficult time to begin a career as a teacher. I gave my career my all for two years, but found myself quickly…

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Welcome Dr. Amanda Bauer

We’re so excited to welcome our newest staff member, Dr. Amanda Bauer, to Yerkes! Amanda packed up her car and moved from Arizona to Wisconsin… not such a shocker, we hope, since she grew up in Ohio. And this is just one of many moves she’s made… she was an astronomer in Australia earlier in…

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We Are Open

I’m going to start our first blog post by highlighting one word: Gratitude. Our staff has profound gratitude to our visitors, donors, and volunteers because (goodness gracious) we’re open! After two years of restoration during almost four years of dormancy, we opened for tours on May 27th, 2022. Visitors have been buying tickets and showing…

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