Exhibiting the Universe

Interactive exhibitions on astronomy and space for Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, the world’s most popular observatory (and movie location). Seen by over a million visitors a year, exhibits range from the phases of the moon to black holes and exoplanets.

One of the most visited places on the west coast, and the most popular observatory in the world, Griffith hosts over 20,000 square feet of visitor experiences, indoors and out.

“…the exhibitions by C&G Partners rather courageously turn their back on contemporary pressures in the museum world … all the exhibits remain deliberately human centered; they encourage observation and are about observation.” – The New York Times

In the Gunther Depths of Space hall, the “Big Picture” is the largest astronomical image in the world, glazed onto a porcelain enamel wall 150 feet long. Although gigantic, this entire image represents only the amount of sky your index finger would cover if held a foot from your eye at night.

The grounds of the Observatory include a scale model of the solar system’s orbits built into the sidewalk, and the terraces offer vistas of Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, and, of course, the famous Hollywood sign.

The exhibitions include a three-dimensional sculptural representation of each of the planets, at a common scale, even icy, distant Pluto.

The Hall of the Eye tells the history of the observation of the cosmos with a row of Pepper’s Ghost dioramas, from the earliest archaeoastronomy sites to the modern science of radio telescopes. Overhead, a ceiling mural of Southern Hemisphere constellations based on astronomical instruments keeps watch over the room.

Instruments also observe what’s below: a keenly-watched seismograph keeps track of real L.A. tremors. A smaller version nearby lets visitors make an earthquake of their own with a few jumps, to see the recording on the drum in real time.

An interactive periodic table — housing real samples of each — shows which of the elements found in our bodies were originally forged inside a star. As popular astronomer Carl Sagan famously said, “We are made of star-stuff.”

The Observatory’s lawns and terraces have a wide variety of embedded exhibition elements that become significant only once or twice a year, but are popular gathering points for celebrations of solstices, equinoxes, and other annual occurrences of everyday astronomy.

Griffith Observatory is owned and operated as a public service by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks.