Meet scientists and engineers who work at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and hear all about their work!

Welcome to Doors Open Days 2026- an amazing chance to see behind the scenes at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and find out about the people who work here!

PLEASE NOTE: Due to essential repairs, we will NOT be inviting visitors to the rooftop, library and Victorian telescope dome this year. There will be NO TOURS of these historical areas as they will be CLOSED. There are still lots of other areas to see on our site.

Join us to learn more about the out-of-this-world work, both past and present, being done right here in Edinburgh at the organisations based on site at the Observatory:

Edinburgh University's Institute for Astronomy

The UK Astronomy Technology Centre

Higgs Centre for Innovation

Activities across the weekend include:

Talk to Engineers and Astronomers

Astronomy crafts

Hear from exciting start-up companies

Handle meteorites

10am to 5pm with last entry to the site at 4pm. Some areas, will close earlier than this.

We are a working site where cutting-edge science and engineering takes place every day! This means that all our spaces have limited capacity for visitors and you may need to queue for access to certain areas.

We recommend that you reserve an arrival slot for free to help us manage the flow of visitors, arrival slots are valid for arrival on site up to fifteen minutes after the time stated on your booking.

Please note that activities are designed for children aged 6 years and upwards. All children aged 16 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Accessibility

Due to the age of many of our buildings, not all areas are accessible and several are only reachable by stairs. If you have any accessibility questions please get in touch with our team before the weekend or ask the Welcome Team when you arrive at the Observatory.

Parking restrictions

Parking will be very limited on the day and therefore it is advisable to leave your car behind if possible and consider alternative ways to reach us.

The Royal Observatory is serviced by Lothian Buses routes numbered 9, 12, 24 and 38. You can find out more information about these bus routes through the Lothian Buses app or website as well as Google Maps. These buses come close to the site but the last part of the walk is quite steep and uphill so please bear this in mind in your travel plans.

More useful info

Drinks, snacks and lunches are available for sale in our canteen which will close at 4pm and takes card only (no cash I'm afraid), there are also a few outdoor areas on-site to eat a picnic if you bring your own food and drink.

Please note that photography and filming will be taking place at this event for documentary and promotional purposes. The photographs and recordings are likely to appear on our website and social media.

If you are not happy with your image being used in this way please contact a member of staff on arrival.

Covid considerations

We are enjoying welcoming people back to our site but recognise that some visitors are nervous being in public spaces. Where possible our spaces are well ventilated and we will limit numbers in certain areas to prevent overcrowding.

You are welcome to wear a face mask if you wish and some of our staff may choose to do so.

Description supplied by the event organiser.