gingin observatory

Dear Gemma DThankyou we do appreciate constructive criticism comments, help us to understand more of what our visitors appreciate and not appreciate.The particular evening in question , we did have some technical problems with our computer system as it had crashed before people had arrived , and unfortunately this is why our presenter had not all their focus on the audience that evening, as they was worried about it crashing again.We would like to offer you a Gift Voucher valid for 6 months If this is suitable please let us know and thankyou again for you comments

Dear Sir / MadamThankyou we do appreciate your commentUnfortunately this was out of our hands - our Chief Fire Warden for the Gravity Precinct was the person who was under instruction of UWA to close the site.We also want to make sure that each of our customers were looked after from an OHS saftey perspective.As this information came to us at the very last minute and we had contacted every person by phone if we could not speak with people we left a message or sent a text message and also emailed each of our customers that particular date. Any further complaints please contact our Fire Warden - Mark Dickinson -Gravity Discovery Centre -:95757577- ManagerWhat the Gingin Observatory would like to do is to give you a Gift Voucher to come again if this is suitable please contact us regardsHead Stargazers

Dear Karen FWe do appreciate your constructive criticism Unfortunately we are unable to control the weather - and if you had not got to see anything in the night sky that evening you would of we presume before you left you were given a cloudy night pass to come back again another time? we hope this was the caseIf this had not happened our apology We can offer you though a Gift Voucher that will last for 6 months to come back again hopefully in better weather conditions.thankyou

We loved our evening at the Observatory for the Moon Experience. The talk with the Astronut was informative and mind boggling and the telescopes were fantastic. It's such a great experience to see the moon that close, as well as Jupiter, Rubies and Diamonds and to learn about the constellations. We did feel that perhaps it might be better to devise an experience/talk for adults and a separate one for children, but appreciate that there are time constraints. It would have also been great to have had yoga mats or deck chairs out by the telescopes, so we didn't have to crane our necks so much, and so we could have taken in the night sky a bit more after we'd looked through the telescopes. Otherwise, a truly educational evening and very much enjoyed. Thank you!

We visited here last night and it was pretty awesome It's an evening show, so we rocked up about 7.30ish. It's in the middle of the bush about an hour away from the city so there's no light pollution. When you arrive there's a short presentation about things that you'll be viewing, so you can understand more once you view thru the telescopes. Then they take you outside where everything is set up and turn the lights and WOW ....... We live in Australia and we know that the stars are a lot more spectacular than other places in the world, but when you're out away from the city lights in the middle of the bush it's jaw dropping! They then followed with a quick "walk" round the evening skies pointing out constellations and galaxies and planets. We then got to walk round several large telescopes which had been set up to look at different things. We got to view Jupiter and various constellations and a galaxy as well. All in all I thought it was a really good and informative evening and something out of the ordinary. The staff there are really knowledgable and friendly and welcome all kinds of questions. It's also a good evening for kids too. They also sell refreshments, as well as a coffee van being outside as well. The last thing I'd say is take a jacket as it can get a little cool at night.

Liked the hosts, and interactiveness. disliked having to wait in lines at each telescope. be prepared for the cold in winter months. Probably not that cool to take kids under 5. long night for them.

Was quite impressed with the Observatory. Well set out with all the science experiments for the kids, or the big kids. A bit of a drive but when your looking for something different, this is it. There is also a Cafe on site, quite basic but quite OK.

Thankyou for your comment

Went to Gingin observatory to see the Moon show and it was great, even with small kids. Saw a number of celestial objects including the moon, jupiter and its 4 moons, Orion nebula and others using a range of telescopes. Also had an informative presentation and kids all got a chocolate as well!!

Fantastic! Got to see Jupiter and two of its moon with my very own eyes :) almost like it was straight out of a sci if..

Pleasant drive from Perth, beware of wildlife on the road, several dead kangaroos passed en route. Whilst understanding the financial need to attract good numbers, far too many were there, I would guess around 80+. The booking/sales system was chaotic, with one person doing everything and another watching, whilst a long queue developed... Interesting The initial lecture was too long and rather specific for those who do not know the difference between galaxy, cosmos, milked way etc....(like me). Following the slide presentation inside a further brief lecture followed outside with us standing up, we then were asked to move around the five telescopes ad hoc. This could have been far better organised into set groups. At each telescope station the information was highly variable, some being more interested than others. We then returned to the hall for a further shorter lecturer, with information there that would have been helpful initially.The sky was fantastic, no clouds, so it was a positive experience from that point and perhaps I should not complain, but as an educationalists, I would like to have seen better organisation. A previous experience at Bickley observatory was far better.

We had an enjoyable evening (2 adults,1 teenager). We had clear skies, plenty of telescopes pointed at several celestial objects,with Jupiter and Orion being the main focus, we even had a flyover of the ISS. The staff/astronomy guides were friendly and knowledgeable and there was plenty of reading material around if you wanted to improve your own knowledge. Drinks and snacks were available,as well as a gift/astronomy hobby shop.

Overpriced for what you get. Go to the Perth Observatory if you want lots of viewing time and want to learn interesting and relevant things about the stars, moon, planets etc. We had booked the 'dinner' at the discovery centre, only to find the staff quickly locking up & dissappearing out the back as we arrived at the cafe door. When we asked the staff at the observatory about it they happily informed us that 'they do that all the time...'. When looking for souvenirs to take home there were none on display & when we asked if they had any Gingin Observatory fridge magnets etc we were given blank looks & asked if we wanted a business card! There was a presentation that was amateurish and irrelative. There were about 40-50 people which was just too many. When we finally got to look through the telescopes it was a relief as by now we were really worried that the whole night was going to be a bust! Although, of the 5 telescopes that we could look through, the staff had trained two of them on objects that were blurry and left you wondering what the hell... Needless to say, it was a wasted $44 ea

Not too far from Perth . Did on our way back from ledge point. Very interesting learning about the planets and the scenery was pretty.

Very enjoyable and informative. May be better suited to smaller groups to fully understand what we were looking at!! Loved the presentations, speccy pics and Mr Universe's commentary!