Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) has offered a hands-on working laboratory to young and seniors alike for more than eight years. Last year PARI excited the scientific imaginations of more than 20,000 people. Visitors to PARI have the opportunity to not only observe science, but to participate in scientific exploration.

Public Tours – Visitors are welcomed daily at PARI where they can drive throughout the 200-acre site, receive materials about the history of the site and current programs. After touring the site, they can shop at the PARI gift shop, talk with astronomers and science educators and arrange for additional tours and lectures. In addition, weekly Friends of PARI docent-led two-hour tours give visitors a detailed orientation to PARI. PARI holds an annual Space Day open house which brings hundreds of people to the campus for a full day of programs and activities.

North American Center for Astronomical Photographic Preservation - PARI currently houses a permanent collection of more than 50,000 astronomical photographic glass plates and has been chosen by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as the primary North American repository for these valuable historical artifacts. Working closely with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, PARI is helping digitize and store these priceless records. Visitors to PARI are able to observe this process.

Historical Instruments - The PARI campus itself contains several instruments that are of significant historical importance as they were part of the early days of the U.S. space program.  The campus was one of the first sites developed by NASA to track satellites and communicate with the early astronaut pioneers. PARI’s 26m (85ft) East radio telescope was the first of its type to be constructed.  Today, the massive 400 ton instrument and a similar 26m West radio telescope are used for training and research by PARI astronomers, visiting faculty and students and are demonstrated for visitors.

PARI Library – Visitors to PARI can browse through the PARI library and find original journals and records going back to the mid 1800’s. The PARI library collection is comprised of a large number of rare books concerning astronomy, mathematics, engineering and other sciences.

Steaming Scientific Instrument Data – Real-time data from many instruments is available on-line via the Internet over PARI’s broadband connection.  As a member of the Grassroots Museum Collaborative, PARI is now seeking funds to develop online scientific exhibits and interactive displays that can be used by visitors to other museums throughout North Carolina.

StarLab Planetarium – Some 50,000 people have attended planetarium shows with programs ranging from demonstrations of basic shapes and objects to discussion of how many cultures have observed the night sky in the program entitled “Stars of My People.” Shows are conducted in the 7,500 square foot StarLab building.

Group Presentations – Customized presentations are available for all types of groups. The School for Galactic Radio Astronomy trains teachers and others to remotely use PARI’s radio antenna over the Internet. Astronomy clubs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, high school reunions, college students, K-12 student groups, homeschoolers and professional associations have come to PARI to experience a place where science comes out of the classroom and into the realm of the imagination.