National Radio Astronomy Observatory Reviews

This is an absolute must stop for space buffs or science geeks (my husband falls into both catagories). Great interactive visitors center and free tour. The staff was informative and friendly and we had a great time.

Lots to do and see. Great for families. Impressive.

Been here many times over the last 30 years. Always a great time. In later years just a place to grab a bite to eat (one of the only places) when visiting Green Bank area.

Terrific visiters center! The museum & displays were informative and packed with useful information and images, especially the sections that show how radio wave "images" are created & how they differ from visible light & x-rays, gamma Ray's, etc.

Really interesting place with a very nice interactive area. Standard tour is cheap and only an hour. Note that the town and observatory is in a radio silence zone, your cellphones will NOT work nor is there any Wifi. Digital cameras and other electronics must be shut off before proceeding on the tour up to the actual telescopes so you cannot take pictures unless using a disposable camera (they sell them in the gift shop). You can use phone cameras or other digital cameras from afar, there's even a platform for it.

Home of the GBT - the largest telescope of its kind on the planet. It's an awesome sight for anyone interested in science, engineering, architecture, or if you just like big things. Mankind's limitless curiosity and ingenuity is all on display here.

Electronics are not illegal here. All wireless devices including Bluetooth just won't work.
There's a large radio telescope in this town that rules the airwaves. Just consider it a very large Jamming device which we need in certain areas of this country to get more people out and about to live life without being tied to a battery with a screen!

Attended the Green Bank Star Quest 2018. Fascinating place, great science being done there. Nice, well kept facilities and grounds.

The place is a living museum where the history of radio astronomy is being written

Let us walk around and look at everything took about 2hrs to do the entire trail

World class research facility with nice people and very peaceful.

I went there for PSC camp. It was a blast! I made great friends and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Very interesting especially those interested in space and stars, etc.

Insanely cool!

You can take the nature trail to hike near the telescope. This splits off into other trails that get you up to and around the gate.

Can't take phones or digital watches anywhere nearby, so be sure to bring a film camera! We got wonderful pictures up close.

The GBT is the home for the largest microwave radio telescope. They are the ones that helped image the black hole, recently.

Science at it's best. No cellphone range about 50 miles radius from the GBT. In a way a blessing. GPS doesn't work unless you have an offline map saved.

The daily tours are thrice a day ( 11am, 1pm and 3pm) beautiful tours, starting with 30 minutes live presentation, a background video and an experiment. All this followed by a bus tour to the GBT.

There is no digital or cellphone photography allowed.. so you may purchase a disposable film camera for about $12 from the gift store.

This place was amazing for me (a big nerd) and for my brother's. Our wives were less impressed, but I really would recommend this to anyone.

Be prepared to take a mile long hike if the visitor center is closed; this is what we did. If you go when the visitor center is open, the apparently have a shuttle that will take you out to the largest telescope.

Be prepared, there is no cell service in this entire region, no matter what cell carrier you have because of a federal law that makes this area a radio free zone. This is done to protect the research that is being done at this site.

Interesting information but not too in depth. Affordable tours and cafe. The exhibit hall has fun hands on activities. We did everything leisurely but hike on the trails in 3.5 hours.

Such an interesting place!

Firstly the remote town of Greebank is unique as there is no cell phones, no Wi-Fi or anything like that. Because of the radio telescope they have to keep the area free of those kind of radio waves.

The facility itself is a gem. The restaurant is good and very reasonably priced and the museum attraction is very interesting.

The tour of the telescope itself is very well done an very enjoyable. Interesting to note they only use Diesel vehicles on site, as gasoline engines interfere with the telescope.

Also, you are not allowed to use digital camera's anywhere on the tour. So to document your trip you have to use a film camera! We bought ours in CVS but they sell them in the gift shop too.

Highly recommended if you are in the area!

Neat place. Wish I had more time to check out the center.

We didn t get to take the tour but just the sight from a distance is amazing. Can t wait to take the tour!

The 1 hour tour from the visitor center was very educational and our guide Lindsay was wonderful!

We had no idea this place existed until we saw the telescope from the side of the road while we were passing through. We absolutely loved our visit to the Green Bank Observatory! We started our visit with a trip to the cafe where the food was all really great (cheese pizza, club sub, garden salad) and had large portions. We visited the exhibit hall afterwards and it was highly educational for myself and my husband and there were great exhibits for my children too (ages 5&3). If we hadn't been passing through we could have easily spent hours there. Noreen was our tour guide and she was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The bus tour is $6/11+ and $5/seniors. Free for kids 10&under. The photo deck about a mile from the GBT is accessible by car but the drive up to the GBT is not. If you want pictures at the closer location bring a disposable camera. The gift shop was also full of a ton of great educational/fun products (Usborne books, science-y toys, etc) GBO is located in a National Quiet Radio Zone so there is NO cell service.

You have got to see this thing! We had a great time touring the control center and learning about the facility.

Fun to visit... this place is named after robert c Byrd the big kkk recruiter and mentor to Hillary Clinton. Take that name down!!!! They are tearing everything else down in history! Get rid of Robert c Byrd the racist

Interesting place. The public tour is very informative. The radio telescope is so big..
Need to take care of directions especially while returning back as cell network and gps search doesn't work as this is in radio silence zone.

My family was coming back from New River Gorge and we saw a sign for NRAO. The site itself is really interesting and the exhibits are enjoyable. There are very few hotels nearby, so I wouldn't recommend a special trip. This is a great roadside stop.

This place is incredibly cool. There is no comparison between reading about the dish and seeing it.
Be prepared to walk some. The paths were well kept and mostly level. ( You CAN bring your dog. )
Also no electronics past a certain point.
Sadly the visitor center wasn't open today. Probably due to the corona. Happily you can still walk down and see the dish. The other dishes as well if you're inclined. And there's a lot of interesting reading. The science of it all is fascinating.
I was blown away by the construction of The big dish. Quite an engineering feat.

I probably would have given them five stars if the visitor center had been open.

It's in the middle of nowhere but it's worth the ride.

Fascinating! But closed due to Covid. We were so disappointed! Cant wait until we can take a tour and visit the gift shop!

This place is very nice and is said to be used for conversations with alien creatures! This building is huge!



This place is very cool, it is said to be used for dialogue with alien creatures! This building is huge!

Great day trip. Radio silence area for miles means no cell phones, no wifi...it was awesome! Kids were engaged in everything. Good demonstrations, cool bus trip around the property with history of the sites. Neat gift shop and friendly fun staff. Not to mention the beautiful drive just getting there.

Not allowed to take upclose pics of the GBT...Cranbrook Science Museum is better :)

Incredible research going on here. Make sure you go on the tour to see the GBT up close! Phenomenal feat of engineering.

This place is so interesting and fun. No matter how smart you are you will learn something. No matter how not into space and technology, you will be impressed. The whole family will get something out of it. The tour is pretty simple but the guide we had was very knowledgable and welcomed all questions. Why is this place important? Who can use it? What has it found so far? You will be enlightened for sure.

Excellent tour; fascinating. There is about a half hour film that explains the basics, then a bus ride around the facility where the tour guide gives fun stats.

Next time I'm in the area, I'll do it again and stay awake for the film. (Not the film's fault, I didn't sleep well the night before)

Still going strong. Great work done here. Please support their efforts.

I visited the Green Bank Observatory last weekend. I would definitely recommend taking a day trip there! Every employee at the facility was nice from the lady who ran the front desk, to the cafe workers, to our tour guide. You could tell our tour guide enjoyed his job. He was funny and entertaining. He encouraged questions and answered in dept. Seeing a telescope that large was just so cool, and hearing the history of all the other telescopes and learning about the research they conduct was awesome!

The facility had a nice cafe. The prices were fairly cheap, especially for an "attraction" and they even offered healthier options which was a plus! The gift shop was nice and prices were reasonable. The lady in the gift shop was very welcoming and engaged in conversation with us.

The only down fall was the Science Center. Many of the interactive exhibits were either out-dated or did not work. That wasn't a major downer for us though, the tour itself is what made the trip!

For a science and tech type of person this is awesome. But also a good area for a nature lover.. The observatory is well integrated into the landscape and is not obtrusive. Night time here is great so little light pollution and great view of the sky (obviously)

Grew up so close to the GBT that if it fell it would hit our house. The most amazing place to grow up with all the trails and beautiful scenery. Have also worked here on and off for the past 5 or so years. While it was still NRAO and now as GBO. A great working environment with fantastic co-workers.

Great educational experience. Always learn new things here and get a good lunch too

Spent the day as a guest of the observatory with a guided tour of all the facilities including going up to the top of the GBT. Awesome place with a lot of educational opportunities

Get a close-up look at science and technology at a great bargain. Also visit the nice souvenir/snack shop. Guided tours are available. The friendliest of people make it a must see if you are in the area.

Very interesting and informative. Lots of cool universe insights.

Enjoyed the tour and the science center. All of the staff members were very friendly and informative.

Unfortunately it was closed. Probably due to the COVID situation or i would've rated a 5 .

Absolutely amazing place-hidden gem of West Virginia! They do state of the art science in a rural town. No cell phone service anywhere around offers a great escape. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and all ages will enjoy visiting.

Very cool and interesting place to visit. Telescope is definitely the best part

Always a great time, the science center had plenty for the kids to see and learn and the the bus tour is a grand way to learn how we are discovering our universe.

Sadly the visitors center, and thus the tour to the base of the giant radio telescope was closed at the time of my visit. But I did the tour 2 years ago and highly recommend it. Be sure to take a disposable style camera with you, as normal cameras and cell phones are not allowed at the base of the telescope. You can take all the photos you want from a distance though.
And for the Fallout 76 fans, this is a special treat of a real life visit.

It is worth a short visit to rest and an impression. You can not enter the site itself but there is an observation deck overlooking the telescope ..

I love science and studying galaxies.. this place was just that. Sparked my daughters interested just enough, the tour wants too long and Kept you engaged. Every thing was reasonably priced and super kid friendly

Great place to take the kids, didn't cost a fortune for the 1 hr tour. I as an adult enjoyed and learned alot.

Amazing place! Fascinating & edifying Museum. Totally opened new doors to understanding, but fun, interactive as well as scientific & illuminating.

The tour was great seeing the GBT up close was...spiritual. Seeing the replica of first radio telescope built by Grote Reber in 1937 in his mother s back yard (it is very large!) is a testament to the remarkable commitment demanded by scientific curiosity and a mother s love. Beautiful. Also delicious sandwiches & salads & even espresso at the science center. Lovely personnel, great gift shop. See if they have the hand painted eggs with GBT beautiful and unique, like the visit.

went with a large group of all ages... everyone had a great time learning and seeing the sights. Tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable.

An amazing piece of engineering. Very cool. No cell service. Friendly people. A nerd's paradise

This place and the tour were simply fantastic. Wish I had the ability to do the SETI tour since I ve been an active participant for over 10 years. Tour guide very knowledgeable, they take you right up to the GBT...simply fantastic.

Wonderful tour with knowledgeable guides. Scientific and engineering wonder.

This is a gem! We were staying at snowshoe ski resort for the summer. Needed something to do with our 2 year old. Free for active duty and veterans. Not dependents though. Still worth the visit!

Lots of great memories. Wish I co UK led work here some day.

Love to see this place for the second time in a year. Always memorable location and a human marvel!