Jun. 5, 2026
Friday / 6:00 PM
The Observatory offers programs exploring the history of astronomy and the history of the University of Michigan. We’re open Thursdays, Fridays, and select Saturdays. Admission is always free!
Check our calendar for programs and events!
Learn more about this newly reimagined, one-of-a-kind place, where the spirit of science and discovery link the past and present.
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It's summer in Michigan, and you know what that means—construction! From its initial build in 1854, to the 2022 addition, the Frankel Detroit Observatory is no stranger to the rebuilding of campus infrastructure. The first photo, from 1997, shows workers refinishing the historic dome, home to the 1857 Fitz telescope, which you can still visit today!
Though it may look like a work zone in front of our Observatory Street entrance, we are open this week for our usual hours, Thursday 12-5 pm, Friday 12-11 pm, with nighttime telescope observing 9-11 pm on Friday (weather permitting).
#TBT
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Did you know that in 1965 anti-war activists at U-M organized the first teach-in?
Inspired in part by Civil Rights era sit-ins, students and faculty convened in Angell Hall and held an all-night series of debates, discussions, and talks in opposition to US military intervention in Vietnam.
Learn more and explore the long history of student activism at U-M on Paths of Protest, a campus walking tour led by the Observatory's student docents. Spaces are still available for the Saturday (May 30) edition, which meets at 1 PM at the Michigan League's Ingalls Mall entrance (facing the fountain).
Register here: myumi.ch/WDRj7
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🔭🔭🔭 We're open almost every Friday evening—including this one. But is it worth visiting when it's cloudy? ☁️☁️☁️
Absolutely! We offer historic observatory tours, exhibits, hands-on activities, demonstrations, and workshops. Even if you can't look through the telescopes, there's always something interesting to do.
So don't let the weather discourage you!
After all, clouds didn't turn away the folks in this 1855 Jasper Cropsey painting of the Observatory.
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