Thank you for your interest in visiting the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College!
The Bradley Observatory (84 17 38.98 W, 33 45 54.84 N) is an astronomical teaching and research facility located on the campus of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. The observatory, named in honor of William C. and Sarah Hall Bradley, welcomes guests with an artful plaza that represents our solar system and galaxy. This plaza provides a space for astronomical viewing with small telescopes. The large dome atop the observatory houses the 30-inch Lewis H. Beck telescope.. In the back of the building, the fabulous 70-seat Delafield Planetarium simulates the night sky with a mechanical ZEISS star projector.
The building also contains a classroom with a stage, a library/seminar room, three faculty offices, a darkroom, and a student computer lab.
The observatory is available for tours to groups of 20 or more. Tours are conducted by student and faculty volunteers and are offered throughout the year, but usually take place during the day when school is in session. It makes for a splendid class field trip! Tour times are subject to the availability of the student and faculty volunteers.
The one-hour tour includes an exploration of the plaza, a visit to the vintage Beck telescope, and a planetarium show. Our tour guides will also answer any questions you or your students may have. We generally follow the Georgia Science Standards for second, fourth, and sixth grades, but if there are other topics the teachers would like to cover, we can accommodate those requests with some notice.
FEE SCHEDULE
Fees for observatory visits help to support maintenance of the telescopes and the Open House series. We charge $4 per person for private schools, home school groups, and other private groups (clubs, community groups, etc.). There is no charge for public school groups. There is no charge for chaperones of students.
Additional fees apply for custom, private events. Email Dr. Yep (ayep@agnesscott.edu) for more information.
Admission to our monthly Open House series is always free (see our events listed on our campus calendar or Facebook).
Payment should be made by check, cash, or card via Square upon arrival, or via mailed check made payable to Agnes Scott College and mailed to the following address prior to the visit:
Agnes Scott College
141 E. College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
ATTN: Amy Strand, Bullock Science Center, (404)-471-6368
PARKING
Handicapped accessible parking is available adjacent to the observatory. There is free on–street parking along E. Dougherty St. or in our Public Safety parking deck located on S. McDonough St.
School buses may drop off students in the S. McDonough St. parking lot adjoining Gellerstedt Field and the Byers Tennis Courts. The sidewalk to Bradley Observatory is found between the Woodruff Physical Activities building and Gellerstedt Field, to the left (south) side of E. Dougherty St.
Please refer to our campus map for parking information: http://www.agnesscott.edu/files/documents/CampusMap2012_8x14.pdf
