Explore the Guestbook

The real Van Vleck Observatory guestbook currently sits behind glass on a shelf in the Van Vleck Observatory Library exhibit. At over 100 years old, the guestbook may only be handled with white gloves and a fair deal of caution. Fortunately, you can skip the white gloves as you flip through this digital version, composed of high-quality scans of the original. Almost a thousand individuals signed the guestbook, each with their own story to tell. Take a look at who were the very first signatories and who were the very last. How many states and countries do you think are represented by all of the signing visitors? Why—and how—do you think they all made their way to Middletown, Connecticut? And who do you think might have crossed through the observatory but didn't sign, hiding their names and their stories from history?