Each month I ask the kids what their favourite traveling experiences have been so far while travelling with Mum!

This month I asked both Jay and Ivy ( presently 10 and 7 years old)

Whats one of the experiences you have loved so far?

Both agreed…. The Sydney Observatory!!

Why did you love it?

Jay: Its cool how you can see the sun and the moon and it is a cool perspective, I also love the history. When we went outside we got to launch rockets which was awesome!!

Ivy: I liked it because it was all about space. It was creative as well because we got to play with rockets and talk about energy.

Recently while we were staying on Cockatoo Island for New Years Eve we took the opportunity to visit the Sydney Observatory and the kids, and I had a ball!!

We opted for the family friendly twilight tour for two reasons. One it starts at 6.15am and finished early enough for us to get back to Cockatoo Island before it got to late… and Two it has rocket launching!!!!

So first things first…

After a short walk from Circular Quay we found ourselves standing on top of Observatory Hill, over looking the Sydney Harbour Bridge and famous Harbour Bridge. the views alone were worth the journey, but we were here to look through the telescope into space, so after checking in we walked upstairs towards the dome to meet our guide. I was a bit concerned… the sun was still blaring in, so I wasn’t sure what we were going to see? I shouldn’t have been worried. Our guide explained to us the special telescope that we were going to look through can allow you to safely view the sun and we were lucky… the moon was already up so we had a chance to view that as well.

The act of opening the dome itself was exciting, and the movement of the roof as it moved into position intrigued all the children present. After a small amount of talking from our guide, we got to the part that everyone was dying for… viewing the sun and the moon through the telescope viewfinder. A step ladder made it easy for all the kids to have a glimpse at the sun, the only tricky part was getting the younger children who were present to look through with one eye closed!

After experiencing an amazing view of outer space we headed down to the front of the observatory to let off some rockets! My kids love science, so were all over this! The rockets were powered by water pressure so were safe for everyone to be involve in. My kids were first to volunteer. Using a bike pump to slowly build up the pressure, the homemade (soft drink bottle) rockets were launched high into the air accompanied by the cheers of both kids and adults! It was seriously so much fun, as well as educational, so much so that I had a go too!

Honestly the guide had a hard time moving us on from that experience… but finally he enticed us inside to the planetarium. Reclining on a lounge looking up to a fake sky, the planetarium gives you a chance to imagine the night sky, away from the city lights, to a place you can see all the stars spread out above you. it looked amazing! As the night sky moved above us, our guide pointed out all of the main constellations and shared with us the ancient mythology behind each of them…it was a great way to finish off the tour.

What: The Sydney Observatory.

Where: 1003 Upper Fort Street, Millers Point. Sydney Australia

How much?:Family: $65, Adult: $22, Concession: $20,Child: $17 (this was for the family friendly tour, other tours vary in price check the website for more info!)

Need to know: The views alone and walking through the rocks area are worth it even without visiting the Observatory.. take a picnic dinner to have before hand to eat in the park beforehand, book your tour before you go to ensure a spot, there is plenty to see on the lower levels before hand lots of displays on the history of the Observatory, the area is easily accessed via the train and ferry terminals at Circular Quay,

We had so much fun at the Observatory and plan to return in the future to do a night time tour!

Have you been to The Sydney Observatory?

Or any Observatory for that matter?

Safe Travels

Kerrie

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