Entry No. 19 — the Salt Lake City file — filed under: planetarium
Ott Planetarium & Public Observatory
One floor below a 30-foot, 60-seat full-dome theater sits a rooftop observatory with nine 'point-and-go' telescopes and nine sets of high-power binoculars; you can book the whole roof for $100/hour (one-hour minimum, a week's notice) and run observing sessions from sunset to midnight.
The story
Most Salt Lake stargazers fall into the trap of heading downtown to Clark Planetarium, completely unaware of what sits thirty miles north on Weber State's Ogden campus. The university built a dual-facility setup split across two buildings: inside Room 203 of Lind Lecture Hall is a 30-foot, 60-seat full-dome planetarium, while the real hardware sits outdoors atop the nearby Tracy Hall Science Center. Up on that exposed roof, they've mounted nine 'point-and-go' telescopes paired alongside nine sets of high-power binoculars.
What makes the venue odd isn't just its regular public observing sessions and ties to the Ogden Astronomical Society—it's the university's quiet rental policy. For $100 an hour, provided you book at least a week in advance, the school hands over the entire roof deck to private parties between sunset and midnight. That means for the price of a decent dinner, you get private access to nine optical stations aimed at Saturn's rings, lunar terminators, and whatever deep-sky objects happen to be rising over the Wasatch Front.
What it's like
Park near the science complex on Harrison Boulevard and head for the rooftop of the Tracy Hall Science Center for viewing, keeping in mind that any full-dome screenings happen next door in Lind Lecture Hall Room 203. If you reserve a private block, arrive right as the sun dips to give your eyes time to adjust while the concrete deck cools. Up on the exposed roof, mountain canyon drafts cut cold even in midsummer, so pack an extra layer while you cycle through the nine scope stations.
The move: Book a private evening slot for two — a full-dome planetarium show followed by an hour on the rooftop deck working through nine telescopes at Saturn, the Moon, and whatever's rising, on a campus most Salt Lake daters have never set foot on.
- 📍 Weber State University, Ogden
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 3848 Harrison Blvd, Ogden, UT 84408 (planetarium in Lind Lecture Hall, Rm 203; observatory atop Tracy Hall Science Center)
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Union Station (Ogden) — Spend the afternoon exploring historic 25th Street and the station's 1927 underground pedestrian subway before heading up the hill to Weber State for dark.
- Willard Eccles Astronomy Observatory (WEAO) — Compare Weber State's multi-scope open rooftop deck with the single rotating dome setup sitting on the U of U campus down in Salt Lake.
- Dry Lake Antimony Mine — Pair an afternoon scramble around an abandoned late-19th-century mountain mine near Brigham City with deep-space observation in Ogden that night.
Good to know
How do you book the rooftop observatory for a private group?
Private reservations cost $100 per hour (with a one-hour minimum) and run between sunset and midnight. You must book at least one week in advance through the university.
Where are the planetarium and observatory located on campus?
The planetarium theater is in Room 203 of Lind Lecture Hall. The rooftop observatory with the telescopes sits atop the Tracy Hall Science Center at 3848 Harrison Blvd.
What kind of viewing equipment is installed on the roof?
The observation deck features nine 'point-and-go' telescopes and nine pairs of high-power mounted binoculars.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: weber.edu · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-07-20