Telescopes for Beginners

Learn how to begin exploring the night sky with a telescope. Don Ficken, president of the St. Louis chapter of Dark Sky Missouri, will bring several kinds of telescopes to the Education Classroom and demonstrate how to use them.

The evening begins with an indoor presentation. If weather permits, the group will then move to the Entrance Plaza for telescope views of the Moon and other celestial objects. Visitors enter the Arch through the west entrance facing Fourth Street and the Old Courthouse and must pass through airport-style security screening; weapons, including pepper spray, are prohibited. The park has no dedicated visitor parking, so families should plan on a downtown garage, street parking, or a roughly 10-minute walk from the 8th & Pine or Laclede’s Landing MetroLink stations.