Celebrate Green Bank’s historic role in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence with a rare opportunity to see inside our historic telescopes and speak with one of our radio astronomers in person!  We begin where it all started, in the control room of the 85-foot telescope used by Frank Drake in the original search, Project Ozma. From there, we’ll tour the 140-foot telescope used by Jill Tarter’s Project Phoenix, then take a stroll inside the gate around the GBT for a close-up view of the world’s largest fully-steerable radio telescope. The tour concludes in the historic Drake Lounge for a conversation with a staff astronomer about the current status and future goals of SETI projects, including Breakthrough Listen, the largest search to date for evidence of civilizations beyond Earth.

If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek inside our historic telescopes or speak with one of our radio astronomers, then this is THE opportunity of a lifetime!

SETI Tours are offered seasonally on select Fridays from 1:00-3:45 PM. See our online shop for all available dates.

Book early! This tour has high demand and very limited capacity; it does tend to sell out for most of the season. $40/person, 22 participants max, advance reservations required; recommended for ages 12 & up.