Ride into Science at Green Bank

Ride to the Green Bank Science Center, featuring hands-on exhibits and displays that introduce you to the science of radio astronomy while you play! Discover what radio waves are, how the Green Bank Telescope works, and what radio astronomers have learned about the universe. Admission to the Science Center is free!

The Green Bank Science Center is the starting point for your free guided tour of the NRAO site. Browse the Galaxy Gift Shop or grab a bite to eat at the Starlight Cafe before or after your tour. The free guided tour includes educational demonstrations, a film on radio astronomy and a bus tour through the research telescope area. The bus tour includes a final stop at the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world!

Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The NRAO is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the terms of a cooperative agreement between the NSF and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), a science management corporation.