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Autumn Holiday: Science and Other Stellar Experiences
Autumn Break is filled with curiosity at Christian IV’s Historic Observatory Tower. Dive into creative planet workshops for kids, experience the magic of the Observatory at the top of the tower, and explore the science exhibition “From Science to Society.”
Planet Workshops for Kids
October 14th–18th, 10-16
Color the planets and create your own Solar System when the Round Tower invites you to join creative drop-in workshops for children and adults. Try your hand at scissors, glue, cotton balls, and beautiful wax crayons that can be blended with water to create colorful planets.
The Round Tower provides tools and drawing kits but you get to decide the look and design of the celestial bodies.
The workshop is open to everyone with a regular entrance ticket, but there are limited spots available.
Astro Evenings for Families
October 14th & 17th, 18-21
Join us when we open the Observatory exclusively for children and their adults and adjust the telescope to see Saturn or the Moon if the weather permits. During the evening you can also make planets in our open planet workshop in the Reading Room next to the Library Hall or solve fun challenges in the Spiral Ramp. You’ll also have the option to purchase a cup of cocoa or other refreshments for children.
Remember to dress warmly for the Observatory!
Registration is required for Astro Evenings.
Exhibition: From Science to Society
Every day until October 20th
Learn more about both famous and unknown scientists together in the Round Tower’s Library Hall, where you can currently explore the exhibition “From Science to Society,” presented in collaboration with the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU).
From Monday to Thursday in week during Autumn Break, there will be “Mirror Image Days” in the exhibition, where you can delve into the chemistry behind life’s twists and turns! The building blocks of nature exist as mirror images – something called ‘chirality’. You may have never heard of it before, but once you become aware of chirality, you’ll see it everywhere: your hands, your shoes, you name it – even the Round Tower is chiral!
At the experiment tables in the exhibition, you will be able to smell and taste mirror image molecules and learn more about chirality. Build the organic molecules you taste and discover why they are called ‘mirror image forms’.
Planet Workshop for Kids
Color the planets and create your own Solar System when the Round Tower invites you to join creative drop-in workshops for children and adults.
Try your hand at scissors, glue, cotton balls, and beautiful wax crayons that can be blended with water to create colorful planets.
The Round Tower provides tools and drawing kits but you get to decide the look and design of the celestial bodies.
The workshop is open to everyone with a regular entrance ticket, but there are limited spots
Look Through the Telescope
Join our astronomers for a night of star and planet gazing. During the winter months the Observatory is open and manned every Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 18 to 21. No reservation is needed – the visit is included in your entrance ticket.
Used by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, the Round Tower hosts Europe’s oldest functioning observatory at the top. Today, it is open to peek inside year-round and manned on special days by the Round Tower’s astronomers who invite our guests inside to take a look through the refracting telescope with 80-450 x magnification. The season of stargazing takes place from October to March.
Please Note: Stargazing is not possible if the sky is overcast.
The Round Tower cannot guarantee visible stars or planets if the weather does not permit.
If it is cloudy or overcast, our astronomers will still keep the Observatory open for visits and will in stead tell you more about the telescope and the old Observatory.
What is visible on the night sky?
As mentioned above, the Round Tower cannot guarantee clear skies and perfect visibility for stars and planets if the weather does not permit, but here you can see the prognosis for which stars or planets our astronomers will be looking for the next couple of months:
OKTOBER
1/10 (Tuesday): Venus or Saturn
2/10 (Wednesday): Venus or Saturn
8/10 (Tuesday): Saturn, Moon or Draconides
9/10 (Wednesday): Saturn or Moon
11/10 (Friday) Culture Night: Saturn or Moon
14/10 (Monday) Autumn Holiday: Saturn or Moon
15/10 (Tuesday) Autumn Holiday: Saturn or Moon
16/10 (Wednesday) Autumn Holiday: Saturn or Moon
17/10 (Thursday) Autumn Holiday: Saturn or Moon
22/10 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Orinides
23/10 (Wednesday): Saturn or Jupiter
29/10 (Thursday): Saturn or Jupiter
30/10 (Wednesday): Saturn or Jupiter
NOVEMBER
05/11 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Taurides
06/11 (Wednesday): Saturn or Jupiter
12/11 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
13/11 (Wednesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
19/11 (Tuesday): Saturn or Jupiter
20/11 (Wednesday): Saturn or Jupiter
26/11 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
27/11 (Wednesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
DECEMBER
03/12 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
04/12 (Wednesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
10/12 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
11/12 (Wednesday): Saturn, Jupiter or Moon
17/12 (Tuesday): Saturn, Jupiter, Mars or Moon
18/12 (Wednesday): Saturn, Jupiter, Mars or Moon
Sun Observation Sundays
Every day during opening hours, visitors can peek at the telescope inside the Observatory dome on the tower top. On special days during the Summer Holiday, however, the Observatory will be open and manned for Sun observations.
Join us each Sunday from June 30th to August 11th as our astronomers operate the old telescope between 1-4PM. Look up into the skies yourself and take a closer look at the Sun and Sun Spots through a special lens while our astronomers guide you and answer questions about the heavenly bodies.
A visit to the Observatory is included in your entry fee.
Please note: The Round Tower cannot control the weather. If the sky is overcast, our astronomers cannot guarantee visibility of the Sun.
English subtitles available.