STARGAZING-IN-STYLE TELESCOPE, PLANETARIUM, VINTAGE BUS TOUR

The world’s largest accessible astronomy park! Includes transportation in beautifully-restored Circa 1939 open-top coach

In addition to being the world’s largest, most accessible dark sky preserve, Jasper is also one of the smallest towns in North America with its own planetarium.

Travel back to a time when the Icefields Parkway was barely built, when Marilyn Monroe came here to cruise down the ‘River Of No Return’, and astronomers had just discovered a new planet named Pluto.

Enjoy an entertaining, fun-filled evening of astronomy and local history in style!

This exciting program includes:
o complimentary pick-up in a genuine Circa 1939 ‘Jammer’ open-top coach
o transportation to all locations for this tour
o guided tour of the local history of Jasper in days-gone-by, the history of this unique vehicle and of astronomical discovery in the area
o Planetarium Experience at The Jasper Planetarium
o Telescope Experience at The Jasper Planetarium
o travel to a nearby location in Jasper Dark Sky preserve for even darker views of the skies
o use of pair of astronomical binoculars to use at dark sky location
o guided binocular tour with a staff member from The Jasper Planetarium

In partnership with SunDog Transportation and Tour Co.

Planetarium Experience — indoors
A virtual guided tour in our inflated, domed theatre with a LIVE local astronomy guide. Orbit the earth, looking down on night time storms and the auroras. Explore local constellations, the Northern Lights, the Milky Way, and right to the edge of the universe from Jasper Dark Sky Preserve. Includes time for a Q&A with staff. Duration: 40 minutes.

Telescope Experience*** — outdoors, dress warmly
Join us outside the planetarium for…

• an interactive guided tour of the largest, most powerful telescopes in the Rockies
• an explanation of how telescopes work. o A look at the latest archived imagery from our telescopes in Jasper.
• hands-on experiences: make an aurora, hold a meteorite! (NEW come see our new Mars rock!)
• a look at how to photograph the sky with your DSLR camera, if of interest
• also, if the skies are clear enough, we will offer guided viewing through our telescopes*** next to the planetarium.

Dark Sky Binocular/Vintage Coach Experience*** — outdoors, dress warmly

Travel in a genuine Circa 1930s open-top “Space Jammer” bus to one-or-more specially-selected sites in the world’s largest accessible dark sky preserve
laser-guided tour of naked-eye constellations and planets (if visible)
“learn together” with binoculars we supply and look at our Milky Way and deep space objects for yourself
upon-request, get tips on how to use your DSLR camera to photograph auroras and the Milky Way

Duration: up to 3.5 hours

Available on various dates throughout the summer & fall

*** For health and safety reasons, our telescope experience is partly ‘touchless’, using video-based telescopes as our primary observing tool (so guests never have to put their face up to a telescope eyepiece – instead, live telescope views will appear on 4K TV screens, which provide the brightest, most colourful views of space possible PLUS no waiting in line for telescope views – Many people can view at the same time!)
In cases where binoculars are available, we will disinfect them after each use by an individual travel party.
For hands-on activities, disposable plastic gloves are provided.

NOTE: The Binocular and Telescope experiences are a learning opportunity with many outdoor activities that are not weather-dependent and weather-permitting views of the sky. While we DO NOT need the sky to be completely clear to use our instruments, we CAN NOT guarantee clear skies. We DO NOT provide refunds if skies are too cloudy to observe with our binoculars, but can offer a “rain check” for the telescope and binocular aspect of the tour to re-book for another date anytime within two years of your original booking date.

Our cancellation policy is 24 hours – the best in the Rockies!