Carter Observatory is a great educational experience for the whole family.

The entry fee is fair and includes entry to the exhibition, a planetarium show and viewing through the Thomas Cooke Telescope (during the evenings). The staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

Highlights include an excellent range of shows in the planetarium, interactive displays and lots of interesting information about the stars. The Tuhura Module - an area set up like the inside of a space station - is a favourite for my children. They also enjoy watching videos of rockets launching, touching a piece of the moon and feeling heavy meteorites.

The annual pass (StarPass) is a great option. It pays for itself after only 2-3 visits. This has enabled our family to see all of the planetarium shows - some more than once - and explore the whole facility. Carter also offers excellent special events. Most of which are free for Star Pass holders. We attended an event based around the Transit of Venus earlier this year which gave us all a better understanding of this unusual event. We also visited during the recent partial solar eclipse.

For tourists the observatory is a great family option that can easily be tied in with a trip to the Botanical Gardens, Cable Car and Cable Car Museum.

Reviewed almost 12 years ago