April of 2007 found us in Texas. We spent most of our time in Big Bend National Park and also had time to get to the McDonald Observatory in Ft Davis Texas. This is an active site with several research projects going on.

What was most impressive to us was that besides doing serious research they also provided an outstanding visitor experience. It was one of the best that we ever had at any of the observatories that we have visited. The visitor center provides an excellent overview of the research activities at McDonald as well as the usual general presentations on the concepts of astronomy and astrophysics. The gift shop was great and offered a wide range of books and educational materials. Not the usual collection of stuffed animals. I picked up an "adult" bag of books, magazines and a planisphere. It was good for even an old hand like me.

During the day there was a walking tour that included the big 107" Harlan Smith telescope. At night, activities shifted to an outdoor amphitheater where visitors got to be planets, starts and constellations. The kids loved it since some of them got to "orbit" the Sun. One kid got to be the Moon and "orbit" the Earth kid while the Earth kid was orbiting the Sun. . A good time was had by all and Jane got to be a constellation. .

Here's the approach to the observatory.	Visitor center parking lot. The 2 domes in the foreground are for the visitors during star parties.
Visitor center entrance. Sorry about not getting a better view of the sign for this title shot.	Visitor center in the foreground, research dome in the background.
The gnomon of a really large sundial outside.	Some of the landscape. The dome in the foreground is for a small research instrument.
This is the big 107" Harlan Smith telescope. It is an instrument that I really liked because clearly it was a research telescope rather than a museum piece. You can see that there have been modifications and changes made for changes in attachments and instrumentation. It's definitely a working instrument. It has the unfortunate distinction of being the only telescope that I know of to have been a victim of a shooting by a disgruntled employee.
Here's Jane as a constellation and on the right the kids arranged as the solar system with the constellations in the background. Later on we got to observe with some large amateur telescopes that were close by.

Links:

McDonald Observatory

Harlan Smith Telescope