"Second Saturday" Public Tour @ the LIGO Hanford Observatory

Tour Information:

Tours include a walking tour of the site, time inside the new LIGO Exploration Center (LExC), and a talk by a staff member. Tours typically last 1.5 hours. Multiple tour times are available for your convenience, please choose the time slot that works best for you when reserving your ticket.

Future Tours:

LIGO does Second Saturday Public Tours on the second Saturday of every month, except December and January. Tickets are reserved online via our website here: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/WA/page/lho-public-tours. Tickets open the Monday following the second Saturday tour for the next month.

What will I see?

During your visit you will have a chance to explore the interactive and static exhibits in the LIGO Exploration Center (LExC), including the historic Weber Bar (one of the earliest devices designed to detect gravitational waves) and a full-scale engineering model of one of initial LIGO's suspension tables, showcasing not only the evolution of LIGO, but gravitational-wave detection as a whole. You will also visit the one point on the site where you can see both of the interferometer's 4km-long arms reaching into the Eastern Washington shrub-steppe. A highlight for many guests is the interferometer's control room, where you will learn even more about LIGO directly from the people who maintain and operate the world's most sensitive measuring device. Questions enthusiastically welcome!

Additional things to note:

• Visitors do not require any special badging to visit LIGO.
• Entry begins 15 minutes before your scheduled tour time.
• The outdoor walking tour lasts about one hour. Guests should dress for the season and wear comfortable walking shoes. The total distance of the walking tour is about three quarters of a mile.
• With the summer heat, we encourage guests to bring water and sun protection.
• Photographs are welcome on site. However, we kindly request that you do not record/video staff members without their permission.
• LIGO tours are suitable for all ages. The talks are geared toward visitors aged 12 and up, but all ages are welcome.
• LIGO’s facilities are wheelchair accessible, though you will encounter two slopes during the site tour itself.

For additional information, please check our website.