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Dark Sky Experience: Journey Through the Cosmos
4.3
61 Ratings
Lake Tekapo
Embark on a 13.8 billion-year journey with the Dark Sky Experience. Explore Māori astronomy, immersive visuals, and the restored Brashear telescope.
Embark on a 13.8 billion-year journey with the Dark Sky Experience. Explore Māori astronomy, immersive visuals, and the restored Brashear telescope.
Duration:
1 hour
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Dark Sky Project - An immersive delight, the Dark Sky Experience combines science, Māori astronomy, and captivating multi-media displays in a spectacular fusion of wonder and inspiration. Stimulating, informative, and engaging, the Dark Sky Experience is genuinely one-of-a-kind and is sure to positively transform your perspective.
- Dark Sky Project - An immersive delight, the Dark Sky Experience combines science, Māori astronomy, and captivating multi-media displays in a spectacular fusion of wonder and inspiration. Stimulating, informative, and engaging, the Dark Sky Experience is genuinely one-of-a-kind and is sure to positively transform your perspective.
What's Included
- 45 minutes guided tour through four zones, delivered by passionate guides
- Learn the Māori understanding of the universe, its significance in navigation, agriculture, and life
- Operates year-round - no need to rely on weather conditions
- Suitable for all ages, making it ideal for families and visitors regardless of weather conditions
- A unique…
- 45 minutes guided tour through four zones, delivered by passionate guides
- Learn the Māori understanding of the universe, its significance in navigation, agriculture, and life
- Operates year-round - no need to rely on weather conditions
- Suitable for all ages, making it ideal for families and visitors regardless of weather conditions
- A unique indoor journey through space, time, and cultural heritage
- Explore the science based narrative of how living beings came to be
- View the restored 125-year-old Brashear Telescope, a nine-meter-tall Victorian-era telescope
What's Not Included
- Snacks
- Tea and coffee
- Snacks
- Tea and coffee
Additional Information
Get ready to embark on a journey 13.8 billion years in the making. A treat for the senses, the Dark Sky Experience brings science, Māori astronomy and fascinating multi-media installations together in a ‘Big Bang’ of awe and inspiration.
Using incredible immersive visual displays, we explore the science based narrative of how living beings came to be,…
Get ready to embark on a journey 13.8 billion years in the making. A treat for the senses, the Dark Sky Experience brings science, Māori astronomy and fascinating multi-media installations together in a ‘Big Bang’ of awe and inspiration.
Using incredible immersive visual displays, we explore the science based narrative of how living beings came to be, and delve into the depths of the Milky Way. Get up close with the impressive 125 year old recently restored Brashear telescope.
Thought-provoking, educational and entertaining, this journey is sure to change your outlook in the best possible way. A world first – this indoor experience is a must on all itineraries whether you’re staying in Tekapo or just stopping by.
Location
1 Motuariki Lane
Motuariki Lane
Beside the 4 Square supermarket
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(61 Ratings)
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Anesa_t
Jan 13, 2025
A must see - Great tour guide, brilliant presentation and worth the visit.
The knowledge shared is awesome and the orator does his job very well.
Review provided by Viator
Erica_g
Jan 3, 2025
Enjoyable experience - Informative, enjoyed the cultural stories, the brought the experience to life. Glad we had something indoors to do given all the rain.
Review provided by Viator
Tonyd2860
Mar 20, 2024
The things you didn’t know! - A very interesting and educational experience. The guide was excellent and hugely knowledgeable. A good way to spend a spare hour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R6964krrobertd
Nov 16, 2023
Fun and educational - The sky above you will be explained to you with enthusiasm. The presenter knows what she is talking about. And the media portrays everything well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bbyma
Dec 23, 2023
Good tour for rainy day - Good way to spend a cloudy day, we went for the 130$NZD family ticket (daytime planetarium experience). Mikey is a good narrator and we were taken into three different rooms that displayed image projections. Leant about Māori creation stories and also how to navigate the night sky.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Claug735
Apr 2, 2025
Quite an enjoyable introduction to the stars includinb a Maori point of view - As we had come to Tekapo we wanted to find out a bit more about the stars. It was quite enjoyable. The special effects were good and we liked the telescopes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tumbleweedchris
Feb 8, 2025
Pretty Bland for the Price - This is a tough one to review. We originally booked the Summit Experience, but unfortunately it was a cloudy night, so that was canceled. I do want to advise people looking at this to be careful. I just assume observatories are placed in relatively clear locations, but looking at the forecast when we ultimately visited had several cloudy days. I don't know how often this gets canceled, but I'd be curious to know. If I had known that this area was prone to overcast nights X% of the time, it would've helped make my decision to plan this or not.
Obviously that is not the observatory's fault, but wanted to note for those considering. They offered the indoor experience as a replacement, which we took so that there was some activity. The indoor activity just wasn't terribly interesting to me. It involved looking at an old telescope and going through three rooms with projections to talk about the night sky. The presentation wasn't that different than any other planetarium show (this is not a planetarium, however) that you would find at a local science center. It's for that reason that I would not recommend taking the indoor show. I would have preferred the full refund. For those considering the indoor show, the price just doesn't meet the product you actually get. Skip the indoor and carefully weigh the Summit Experience based on the cancellation chances.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
22ccsydney
Jan 11, 2024
Disappointed - This was a bit disappointing for the price. Geared more for younger kids - not space literate teenagers and adults. I hoped to learn a bit more about the Dark Sky Project, research etc but it was mostly about Māori astronomy, which was quite interesting, but not sure it was enough to sustain the 45mins at the $180 it cost for our family. .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Absolutetravel
Sep 23, 2023
Starry night - A beautiful night sky and an informative speaker. We did the Crater Experience (just a man made area you stand in to view the night sky) Three telescopes were set up for us to look through.
It was freezing but we were offered jackets if required etc. A shuttle bus took us from the centre to the site. The experience lasted about an hour but was marred by people interrupting etc. It needed to be more strongly managed so everyone could listen, see and contribute. It was also very expensive for what it was. I did a similar one in NT which was better value for money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rodders2011
Sep 13, 2024
$50 price tag on a $20 tour - $50 per person was a bit over the top for this half hour experience. You got to watch a video on constellations on the big screen and then moved on to a room about suns, another projection about constellations and the. See the big telescope. While I’m sure out guide was very knowledgeable he was very difficult to understand. Definitely would not recommend for the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
