Special Event: Sunday, May 1, 12 noon - 4 pm

Become an astronomer for a day! Enjoy telescope tours, interactive multimedia exhibits, hands-on activities, live demonstrations, and our ever-popular Scientist Cafe, where visitors can chat with local astronomers to find out what's new in the universe. Hosted as part of the annual Cambridge Science Festival, Cambridge Explores the Universe invites space scientists of all ages to explore the wonder of the universe together in an out-of-this-world astronomy extravaganza!

Visitors can tour the Great Refractor, the Observatory's 1.2-meter radio telescope, and MicroObservatory. MicroObservatory is a network of robotic telescopes that you can control over the Internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A fun fact about MicroObservatory is that every telescope in the network is named for a famous figure in Observatory history. Visitors to Cambridge Explores the Universe can use MicroObservatory to request and colorize their very own images of astronomical objects.

Many people from across the Observatory community--scientists, staff, students, and educators--will participate in Cambridge Explores the Universe. It is the fifth year we've held this event and we're thrilled to share the universe with the residents of Cambridge. If the weather is clear, we'll have outdoor observing and activities. Even if it's cloudy, there will be plenty of indoor activities for all ages!

We are also excited to have teens from the Youth Astronomy Apprenticeship program (hosted out of the MIT Kavli Institute) leading planetarium shows about our night sky.

The program will be held at the Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge. Please click here for additional location information and directions.