Field Trips

LIGO Hanford Observatory is now scheduling field trips for the spring 2025 field trip season. Requests for fall 2025 field trips will be accepted beginning July 1, 2025.  Please fill out the field trip request form below to schedule your visit.

The LIGO Hanford Observatory offers FREE field trips, which we recommend for students grade 4 and up. Field trips are available Tuesday – Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and last 2 to 3 hours. Field Trips include time visiting the LIGO Exploration Center (home to many interactive science exhibits) and a walking tour of the observatory. During the tour, students learn about our search for gravitational waves, meet and interact with LIGO scientists and engineers, view the 4km (2.5mi)-long arms of the interferometer, and visit the instrument's control room. Please take into consideration that the walking portion of the field trip is around 1 mile in total.

For younger grades (K-3), consider bringing LIGO to your school. We have many hands on activities we can bring into your classroom for all grades k-12. Please visit our webpage Bring LIGO to You, and fill out the form to request a visit from LIGO staff.

LIGO is a genuinely multidisciplinary project that encompasses many science, math, and engineering concepts. Several Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are clearly illustrated by the work conducted here. We stand at the forefront of modern science and technology, and while some aspects of LIGO are fairly advanced, visits to LIGO are engaging to students of all ages.

We have a limited amount of bus funding support available. To request assistance with transportation costs, please contact outreach@ligo-wa.caltech.edu.

Field Trips for Homeschoolers

We have designated field trip days for homeschool groups in order to ensure that we are able to provide the best possible experience during your visit. The next LIGO Homeschool Day has not yet been scheduled, but will take place in spring of 2025-- keep an eye out for updated dates soon!

For any questions, please contact outreach@ligo-wa.caltech.edu.

Additional Information and How to Schedule a Regular Field Trip

• There are no food facilities at LIGO. If you wish to eat lunch during your visit, please plan to bring your own. A large outdoor patio with picnic tables is now available at LExC.
• We recommend one chaperone for every 10 students.
• Though the LIGO Hanford Observatory's location is now recognized by most mapping and direction-finding services, please check our web-viewable driving directions to help your field trip bus find our facility.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUwKoWiM5hNK1Ic60a9Z48wXkUEtns-poB_qHIRWfkBLZNBg/viewform?usp=sf_link

We will contact you upon receipt of your request.

LIGO field trips are free thanks to generous support from the United States National Science Foundation