Ladd Observatory

Great place to visit has such a great history. Students who run it are knowledgable. The front lawn is a nice place to picnic or just relax during the day. A must see while you are in providence.

Hey Kids! If you’re looking for a cheap date night for you and your partner in the summer look no further than the Ladd Observatory on a clear Tuesday summer’s eve. I guarantee you’ll both have a universally good time!
Swoon and romance the future Mr. or Mrs. with a sky full of stars and a full wad of cash in your billfold, because on Tuesday’s your patronage is Free-​ninety-​nine! When you’re finished it’s just a short walk to the Hope Street Shops or Thayer for ice cream. Boom!

The observatory itself is very cool. A relic of a seemingly bygone era. There are a few rooms on the first level with sky charts and artifacts for viewing and then you head upstairs to the telescope viewing room.
My gripes are with the way the visitor days are organized… or specifically, NOT organized. I believe the people who work these days are volunteers so I do appreciate their services but having to stand in line almost an hour for a 2 second glimpse (literally) through the telescope didn’t really seem worth it in the end.
It was hot and muggy, there were endless cranky kids out way past their bedtimes, and at the end of it all, I sort of felt annoyed.
Even though it is free to the public, I think they should utilize a ticketing system to limit the number of people that are in the building at once.
Overall it was a neat experience but not a lifetime experience.

Solid place to look and learn about the things above us. Went on one of the Tuesday evenings where the Observatory is open to the public and got to learn a lot of neat stuff at one of the public lectures. It is really interesting to see the different instruments & learn about how the Observatory has been used throughout the years. Clearly a smaller observatory than others that are out there, but definitely neat to check out and nice people.

I was shocked and amazed when I realized that the Harvard Observatory was on Unilocal but Ladd was not.
Ladd is Brown University’s observatory, up at the top of Hope St, and it is open to the public on all clear Tuesday nights.
This place is a gem, if you’ve never been. It was left untouched through most of the 20^th century, so it’s a beautiful late-1800’s building and a gorgeous observatory. The staff are very knowledgeable — unlike most observatorys’ open nights, which are staffed by amateurs, these guys are the real deal. They will explain anything you want to know about those spots in the sky.
The large telescope upstairs is pointed at something interesting — Saturn and Jupiter are common lately. If you’ve never seen Saturn’s rings or the moons of Jupiter in anything but a picture, you OWE it to yourself to do it at least once.
Downstairs, they have presentations on astronomy-​related topics and the newly-​renovated transit room, where they’ll show you how clocks used to be set by the stars.