Reviews of Green Bank Telescope (Tourist Attraction)

Kris Merithew

Wow!

Marilyn Reid

Just totally awesome!!!

Johnny Brown

Must see if you have even the slightest interest

jonathan wilkinson

Nice scenery. The restaurant could use a little more variety and the gift shop is a little pricey, but everyone should visit it at least once. You will see multiple telescopes and possibly wildlife on the tour. I know many people in this little town and the people are awesome individuals rich in history. A nice ,quiet, little country town with a big heart.

Jim Greenfield

Interesting and educational. Worth the stop w/beautiful scenery!

David Hurley

It is big!

High Roller

The most wonderful structurevever built and that moves too! It could take msny decades or maybe centuries too find anything. How do we not know that extraterrestrials are being silent in space with the facted they know we want here them. We need find more ways of funding this place more and stopping less people moving too close too it as neighbors.. But its a lovely struture that we still need out there for space!!!!!

VEDAY581945 Films

Space

Dean Bradley

Frequency-Free Life. As God intended.

Jana O'Dell

Amazing staff. Great tour, exhibit and information. Would recommend anyone to go.

Carmine Dinitto

I loved it there. The telescopes are awesome. The tour guide was nice and informative. Lunch was ok. Would go back.

Rodger Bird

Interesting tour from a small bus. Only 3 stars because many of the hands on exhibits in the exhibit hall we're broken or inoperable. The food on-site is very limited so make sure not to plan on eating there. The gift shop was not too bad, with a good variety of items for all ages.

Timothy Brownson Sr

Very interesting tour. I recommend bringing your 35mm camera or pick up a disposable one, electronics are not allowed beyond a certain point. Could not even wear my fit bit.

Rocky Ringhiser

Great place. Stumbled across this place after noticing a sign near the Greenbrier about an Observatory. Decided to check it out and was overall a fantastic facility. Tour was inexpensive, and informative. Cannot use digital cameras past a checkpoint, so if you want to get good up-close shots bring a disposable or film camera. This is in the National Radio Quiet Zone so no cellular coverage for miles. Friendly staff, and they have a small cafeteria which is nice considering the isolation of this place.

Christine

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!

J Grimmtooth

Come early and bring your bicycle, you can ride right up to the telescopes.

Jenn

Extremely interesting place even though we missed the last tour... planning on returning to catch the tour.

Nancy Miller

It is free to visit and walk around. There is a tour that had a cost (2015) of adults $6, seniors $5 and children ages 3 to 11 $4. It is small but it is very nice and educational. There is limited area for picture taking. There is also in the main visitor center a food concession. Their food is really good and not overly priced. All in all this is a great place to visit for those Sunday drives through the country or visiting the area and looking for nice things to see and learn from. It's amazing how much technology has grown. We actually made 2 visits in our 5 day stay in the area from NE Ohio, as my 15 year old grandson wants to grow up to be an Aeronautic Engineer. He loved it, and though I am not scientifically inclined, I enjoyed it as well for the peaceful quiet retreat it offered. Definitely a must see.

Kamil M.

Such a thing but still no WiFi signal here Xddd

BRENDA BAYLESS

On Sunday, June 2, 2019, our 4-H club members and their parents toured your facility and took part in some of the activities you offer. The children were ages 5 to 18. They all enjoyed the Greenbank Observatory and learned information about radio waves and the solar system. The lady with long blond hair that worked in the gift shop was so nice to everyone in the group. She helped explain the tour process and directed the group to where they needed to be. She went above and beyond what would be expected of a gift shop sales associate. With the above being said, we would like to express our disappointment and frustration with other employees. We were scheduled to arrive at 10:30. However our bus had some difficulties and we didn’t arrive until a little after 11:00. When the club leader walked in and went to the information desk, Arlene was extremely rude about our tardiness. She then just said to go to the room at the end of the hall – not even giving us time to get everyone off the bus and situated. When we would ask what time our next activity would start, she would just say to listen to the announcements. The announcements would say something to the effect of, “The 1:00 tour is now starting.” or “The 2:00 star lab is now starting.” We were never given an itinerary of our activities so we didn’t know which tour time or activity time was ours. Again, we would have to ask Arlene which was for us and again she would be quite rude. When it was time for our group to participate in the tower building STEM activity, there were three teens seated in the lobby with two adults. The lady who was teaching the class came and told them to come to the room to start the activity. The kids were still eating and a told her that they were not participating in the activity. She became rude with them and insisted that they had to go. Finally, one of the fathers stepped in and told her that they were not going to go with her. They were still eating and two of the three have extreme anxiety issues and were having some difficulties due to that. No, she didn’t know what was going on with the kids but she should not have talked to them the way she did. They were not causing a disturbance and were seated with two parents. One of the parents has a panic disorder and cannot be in small enclosed areas. When the group she was with went to Starlab, she let the guide know that she would not be able to go into the inflatable planetarium but there were several other parents going in that would help chaperone the kids. The guide became short with her and told her her, “If you want to be a boring person you can just go out and sit for 45 minutes.” The driver of our tour bus came into the building to buy lunch about an hour after we started our visit. The bus driver asked Arlene a question and received an extremely rude response. The driver told us about this on our way back home. Before she told us, she did not know what had already transpired with our group and the inconsiderate employees of your establishment. The club members were very well behaved and respectful. I am quite proud of how our children behaved. These kids worked hard to raise enough money to charter a bus. They washed cars. They shoveled horse stalls. They worked bake sales. They picked up litter. It is a shame that they and their parents worked so hard for this trip but were treated so poorly.

Derek Knight

This is a fascinating place! As long as you can survive without a cell phone signal and wifi (its actually quite refreshing), this place is more than worth the drive to get to. The science center is fascinating with a plethora of hands-on exhibits teaching about how to observe the universe. It's great for kids and adults. Seeing the telescopes up close is even cooler. It's incredible just how HUGE the Green Bank Telescope is. You really can't get a sense for its size unless you go there. If you stay overnight, the facilities range from very nice to adequate. Be sure to check out the Drake Lounge where Francis Drake first presented his famous equation exploring the chances of finding intelligence life elsewhere in the universe.

Fa Wang

Great telescope to see in West Virginia. When you plan to have fun in Snowshoe, stop by Green Bank Telescope.

Vernon Helmick

Amazing place...

Dave Bauer

Nicest people there! Crazy giant telescope, well more accurately its a receiver, a listening device deep deep into the Cosmos. Nice science center, movie and tours of the telescope. Its so sensitive, taking a picture with your digital camera distrupts the signal. Obviously my photos were taken before I knew about that. On the lighter side I may have been responsible for a team of Swiss Astronomers to buy rounds for the whole bar that night! The telescope is located in the Beautiful Alleghany Mountains of West Virginia. It's so worth a trip, make sure you check ahead when they are open for tours. The gift shop is worth the visit alone and the T-shirts are really beautiful! Green Bank is a Federally protected Quiet Zone... no cell phone coverage allowed in the area. No public funding so send them a donation or buy a T-shirt! As a kid I went to Camp Minihaha, very close to Green Bank... Enjoy!

Sara W

Saw no bears. Did tour, recommend.

Bryan M

Cool place to take a tour

Srujan Penikelapati

One of the best experiences I had when I went there for 3 days. It was so cool to actually try out the telescopes and record data that is actually readable. Definitely recommended!

Rebecca Rhoades

Enjoyed the tour.

Daniel Lux

I recently visited the Green Bank Radio Telescope with 4 friends on our motorcycle trip. We attended the hourly tour that was led by a helpful and informative young woman. Following a short video she answered questions then took us on a bus tour through the facility pointing out various radio telescopes and telling us anecdotes about each one and multiple stories about unwanted radio noise in the radio quiet zone. We were permitted out of the bus in the vicinity of the very large radio telescope but we couldn’t get too close. Following the tour we had lunch in the snack shop. The food was okay, the soup wasn’t warm but it tasted okay. The tour was thoroughly enjoyable and given the opportunity I’d go again and take a longer more in depth tour. One word of warning, digital cameras aren’t permitted in the quiet zone. Cell phones must be turned off and fitness watches are placed in a faraday cages to eliminate radio noise. Film cameras are permitted!

John Delprincipe

I loved this place when I visited in Feb of 16. Great little educational museum there in the visitors center that goes over the spectrums of light, rf, uv, and the other things.

افلال عيسى بني عيسى

(Translated by Google) Sweet (Original) حلو

Casey Bailey

Such an amazing place to go!! Totally worth losing cell phone service and getting lost for the day. Take the tour and see the telescopes. Great prices. The restaurant inside has awesome sandwiches!!

Bill

Awesome telescope and tour!

Pi V

Amazing experience. A great place to visit.

Nick Balaam

Great place to fight a four-armed light monster. Just make sure you have a wormhole-traveling, sword-wielding alien helping you out.

Gina Marie Thompson

Interesting and informative! Take the tour! Great place to spend some time!

Ashley Cheek

Brilliant educational centre for all ages

Wei S

We drove quite a distance to see the giant telescope. The tour was educational for both adults and kids and we learned how the site was funded and the fact that also the data collected is open to public. Wish we could bring our phones for the outside tour to have some close up pictures.

Ryan X

Good work I use your data

Cynthia Bolyard

Very informational.

Lisa Staton

This telescope is amazing.

Emily Steele

Loved it. Worth the trip. See my full review under the NRAO .

jamie marshall

Wonderful place off the beaten path like a hidden treasure and technology. Educational for the kids as well.

Steve Phariss

Science!! The main telescope is HUGE and the tour guide was very friendly and informative

Kevin Neberman

A must see while you're in Green Bank

Tony Fowler

Had a great time at the Green Bank Observatory. We were already close by at Cass Scenic Railroad so we went to observatory and took the tour. Very interesting and our guide did a good job explaining to us the on going work there as the telescope listens for radio wave activity in outer space.

Benjamin Freaklin

Once in a lifetime trip. You will spend several hours here touring and being out in a cell phone dead zone, all while learning about space! They have tour bus rides, a great gift shop, and places for adults and kids to play.

Debra Arcus

Little did I know there was such a thing in the states! National Radio Quiet Zone covers 13,000 SQUARE MILES!!!!!! A must go when in the region! Great tour also. Then go to Cass Scenic Railroad. Loved this motorcycle trip!

George Dujanovic

Great educational place for the kids to see...

Lisa W

Loved it.

Matt Moschel

Awesome, definitely worth walking the path if you are in the area. Remember to turn off your cell phone. And just walking around is free. The path is a proportional representation of the solar system, very cool!

Margaret Robinson

Visited for the first time in 2014. Very interesting and informative!

Noah Goetz

to Brenda bayless. I haven't ever posted anything on google review but this time I had to just to say well then cry about it and don't come to Indiana then or you will get a ton of rudeness as you call it here.