Download Seeing the Stars in Baltimore - Baltimore County Public Schools

There are 6 observatories and planetariums in the Baltimore area and all
provide public open-house nights and some offer private group tours. All
events are weather permitting.
1. Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center has the rooftop Crosby
Ramsey Memorial Observatory. It is located at 601 Light St.,
Baltimore, MD. Call 410-685-2370 or 410- 545-2999. The
computer controlled 8 inch telescope is open Friday
evenings from 7-10:00 and Saturdays from 1-4:00. The
Maryland Science Center also has the Davis Planetarium
which puts on several planetarium shows daily. Admission
to the observatory is free with admission to the museum. For more information,
visit http://mdsci.org.
2. Maryland Space Grant Observatory
On the roof of the Bloomberg Center for Physics and
Astronomy is the Maryland Space Grant Observatory. It is
located on the Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus, 3701 San
Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD. Call 410-516-7106 or 410-5166525. The 20 inch telescope is open Friday evenings after
sunset and the 1st Tuesday of the month. For more
information, visit md.spacegrant.org.
The observatory is located across the street from the Space
Telescope Science Institute (STScI) which runs the Hubble
Space Telescope. The STScI also hosts public lectures about
space and telescopes on Tuesdays at 8:00. For more information, visit
http://hubblesite.org/about_us/public_talks.
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Office of Science PreK-12
Starlab
3. University of Maryland Observatory
The observatory for the University of Maryland is found
in College Park, MD. Call 301-405-6555. The
observatory is open the 5th and 20th of every month at
9:00 in the summer and fall months. January classes are
available for novice telescope users. The University of
Maryland also offers noncredit astronomy classes on the
beginner and advanced levels. For more information, visit www://astro.umd.edu.
4. UMBC Telescope
The UMBC telescope is found on the roof of the Physics
Building at UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD.
Check in at Room #401. Call 410-455-2513. The telescope is
available the 1st Thursday of every month at 9:00. For more
information, visit http://jca.umbc.edu or
[email protected] or the observatory’s Twitter account
(@UMBCObservatory).
5. CCBC Dundalk Observatory
The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) has 2 areas to see the stars.
Its observatory is found on the CCBC Dundalk campus at 7200 Sollers Point Rd.,
Dundalk, MD. Call 443-84-4216. Star parties are
held Sept. 14, Oct. 5, Oct. 19, Nov. 2, Nov. 16, and
Dec. 7th. Call in Jan. 2013 for the new star party
dates. The advantage of this 14 inch telescope is
that it is located on the ground, not the roof of a
building and therefore it is handicapped accessible
and excellent for small children. For more
information, visit
ccbcmd.edu/catonsvilleplanetarium.
Office of Science PreK-12
Starlab
The Banneker Planetarium is on the CCBC Catonsville campus at 800 S. Rolling
Road, Catonsville, MD. in Room D-003 of the “D” Science Building. Call 410443-840-4560 or 443-840-1711. There are free planetarium shows on Sept. 15,
Oct. 27, Nov. 17, and Dec. 8th at 10:00. For more information, visit
[email protected].
6. Towson University Planetarium and Telescope
The Watson-King telescope is found in Smith Hall at
Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD.
Call 410-704-3003. The 16 inch telescope is
normally available the 3rd Friday of the month at
8:00. Unfortunately, the telescope will be closed for
renovation until February, 2013.
Towson University also has a planetarium in Room
#SM521 of Smith Hall which puts on live hour long
free shows each month. The planetarium shows are
followed by an open viewing of the telescope. Call
410-704-3020. For more information, visit towson.edu/physics/astronomy.
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Only the #5 CCBC Dundalk Observatory has handicap access.
Office of Science PreK-12
Starlab