The Drake Municipal Observatory is a hidden gem located on the grounds of the Waveland Golf Course (between the 27th and 18th holes) on the West edge of Des Moines proper and immediately north of I-235 at about 56th St. I've not been fortunate enough to be able to look through the 8.25 refracting telescope but I remain ever hopeful. You might think that an observatory in the center of the metro would be worthless (to be fair, the area was far less developed when the observatory was built in 1921), but might sky is more easily viewed than expected from this urban seeing. While you could better night skies stargazing at a park outside of town, the observatory provides the benefits of decent and convenient viewing, a neat location, and free classes as part of Drake University's obligation to the city. an astronomical observatory in Des Moines, Iowa. It is jointly operated by Drake University and the city of Des Moines, and is located within the Waveland Golf Course between the 17th green and the 18th tee (the highest point in Des Moines at the time of construction).[1] Things to know: * The observatory presents public programs on Friday nights throughout the spring through autumn months and, weather permitting, attendees can observe celestial objects with a variety of telescopes. * There is limited parking at the observatory. * Additional parking (or after hours) can be found east of the golf course on Observatory Road which is off of Polk Blvd. The observatory is a two block walk from the lot. * The observatory is in an active golf course. Be careful if you visit before dark. * As a bonus, deer frequent the golf course. read more

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The Drake Municipal Observatory has a Friday night lecture at 8pm in the spring, summer and fall. Finding the observatory was a little challenging. It's at Waveland Golf Course but do not enter at the general entrance. The room for the lecture was full so we went to the top where the big giant telescope is. There's also a few other smaller telescopes that are set up for visitors. We saw Saturn, Mars, the moon and set of stars. It was pretty cool. The building has a lot of history. It's nice to have something like this to do with family and friends- or if you want to learn more abou read more

Drake Municipal Observatory - Observatories Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa