W. M. Keck Observatory Review

Weak. One room with stuff the average person knows.

Went to the Sabaru and Keck telescopes whilst on business at Hawaii. The views from there and the acclimatisation camp were something else - beautiful.
Due to being up 14 000ft, you MUST take care. Oxygen has a relative low level (~40%) although the level of oxygen is actually very close to 100% but at this height the partial pressure is very low. You must drink water as your body reacts differently at this height, listen to everything the people at the telescope tell you and most importantly tell someone immediately if you feel weird, headachy or sick - if not you are most probably going to pass out (one of our party did!).
The people at Keck are nicer and easier to communicate with, although the people at Subaru are very nice also!
Enjoy the wonderful telescopes, drink and keep warm!

Warm thanks to Ed, who took the time to answer our endless nerd questions. Great place to understand how Mauna Kea contributes so significantly to astronomy!

You're going to drive right by it and it's awesome so you should probably stop. Listen to a presentation, it's as interesting as you want it to be... Bring out some of that inner geek, you're among friends!

Cool place to visit. Knowledgeable staff. Neat exhibits!

Excellent welcome and orientation from volunteer docent!

A leading astronomical institution and a great place to visit. Located close to a shopping center and with very good accommodations for the visiting observers. You could also stop by the souvenir shop during the businesses hours.

The observatory has a desk in the front lobby manned by volunteers to greet visitors. Get your questions about Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea, and astronomy answered by great local folks.

Not a big, fancy visitor center. A few exhibits, bathrooms, and a few souvenirs for sale. Free and worth your time if you have a few questions.

Awesome staff and great details provided by front desk.

Stop here before going up to the visitor center, it's worth it. Especially to find out the best nights for stargazing!

Amazing place to visit with very knowledgeable guides and best of all it was free. Great for kids and very educational and interesting.

Awesome. Hard drive - 4x4 recommended for safety. Takes a while to get up here from Kona. Worth it.

Tom had us at hello... what a great presentation he gave us; so much knowledge that was easy to understand & explained well.
He even put up with our jokes (we thought they were hilarious...) and our multitude of questions.

What a great resource this is, and what a great way to be greeted & informed.

Thanks!

Interesting spot. There was a well informed volunteer, who was happy to explain things about the telescope.

This is a great place to stop and learn about space and history of the observatories. A guide will give a good overview about the current and future projects. They will answer any questions too! If you have kids that love space this is a great stop! 5 stars!

This is a small visitor center (one room) staffed by a knowlegeable volunteer who loves to share the exciting research and discoveries made at the Keck Observatory. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in astronomy. It has no glitz or fancy displays, but you can learn a lot about one of the most important telescopes and its astronomers and their research from their enthusiastic volunteer.

To enter the fascinating world of astronomy, the visitor center will give you five cents

Not much there to see but the Tourguide was nice and informative

The largest concentration of international telescopes in the world

There isn't a lot to see, but the lady who gave our tour was very friendly and informative. Great for those who want a quick, educational stop.

Fascinating! Astronomy and cosmology buffs will love this place! An expert spent 45 minutes with our group of 4, amazing us with stories and facts about the Keck Observatory and it s discoveries including a Nobel prize for finding the accelerated expansion of the universe!

Pretty neat. The staff is friendly and informative as well as helpful. I just wish there were more for visitors or to keep the keike entertained. We couldn't go to the top of the mountain because the children are too small. It might be a good idea to do a little more for the little ones not able to go all the way up. :) Overall though, very cool!

As a visit to Mauna Kea summit wasn't possible due to winter weather, we headed to the Keck headquarters. A former employee led us through the exhibition and answered all our questions on astronomy, space, the work of the Keck organization and it's telescopes. Had a great time with the guide and in the end left the place way smarter. Definitely a good decision to come over here. Thank you!

Nice for a short visit on history and making of Keck Observatory

This is the admin building for the telescope, not the visitors center or the telescope itself. Visitor services were extremely limited, and consisted of a lobby that has a few models and pictures. No gift shop, food, drinks, or restrooms. However, the lobby was staffed with a Ph.d legit scientist to answer questions and talk about the telescope... Lucitia was amazing! She was so excited about the work there, and relayed information in a way that we could easily understand. Without her the stop would have been a bust, but taking to her was fun and informative. Worth a stop for any one interested in space science.

Before heading out to the Mauna Kea visitors center, we stopped by the observatory headquarters for a brief stop. The visitors part of the center is small and has a few telescope photos and models. It is surrounded by working astronomers and others. The visitor center volunteer gave us some interesting facts and educated us on the different telescopes used on the volcano and who owned them. The information given in the brief tour was both quick and informative. We also received information on some of the programs offered at the visitors center. We went to the evening event where volunteers brought out 5 telescopes and let visitors see the various stars and planets.

Great stop to learn a little background before heading up to Mauna Kea summit. They pack a lot of info into a single room. Plan on 30 minutes, give our take depending on your interest level.

Georjean was our knowledgeable guide who is obviously very passionate about what the center does, we had a lovely time listening to her tour.

Amazing science done here by nice, friendly people!

Great place to stop. Especially cool if you plan on visiting the Mauna Kea summit.

Interesting place of you enjoy, our better yet, love astronomy. The hosts really know the topic and answer all questions, including those non-topic related :-)

I am giving 4 stars because it wasn't quite what we expected (I think we thought it would be more like a museum), but it was a very good experience nonetheless. The docent was extremely knowledgeable and loved talking about the telescopes and how they work and how the scientists use them for different observations.

Average experience, not much to explore considering how good it could be.

Loved it here learn alot of what really goes on up there

Interesting information about the telescopes and discoveries that scientists have made at this observatory.

Great talk. Knowledgeable staff. I really enjoyed all the information they gave us.

Always quick and friendly. Try the monster burrito!

Greatest place on Earth for sharp images with lots of photons.

Great information at the visitor center and gift shop.

Great place to stop by and learn something about the telescopes. The staff is very friendly and helpful!

A must-see for anyone interested in astronomy or science, and general!

The WM Keck observatory headquarters is where it all happens! The friendly volunteer staff were able to give us a great tour of some of the exhibits that they have on display as well as explaining the science that's being done at the top of Mauna kea!