An outdoor exhibition about asteroids and the escape room “The Mystery of the Lost Telescope” opened at Tartu Old Observatory

Starting from June 11, the exhibition “Asteroids – Danger or Opportunity?” will be open in the courtyard of the Tartu Old Observatory. In addition, until the end of September, one can take part in a fun escape room experience.

The outdoor exhibition introduces different types of asteroids, ways they could impact Earth, and how we can protect ourselves from them.

“From time to time, the media publishes news—and sometimes even fake news—about asteroids coming dangerously close to Earth. On the other hand, some asteroids have indeed fallen to Earth as meteorites without any early warning. Besides the dangers, there has also been considerable discussion about all the things we could potentially obtain from asteroids, if only our technology were advanced enough,” explains curator Lea Leppik in introducing the exhibition.

We welcome groups to the escape room “The Mystery of the Missing Telescope”, where participants must be at least 14 years old and group sizes range from 2 to 6 members. The tasks can be solved in either Estonian or English within 90 minutes, and the adventure costs 50 euros per group. In the escape room, participants must find the lost telescope by solving various puzzles and tasks. The adventure takes place in the observatory’s courtyard.

“With the escape room adventure, we aim to make better use of and draw attention to the area surrounding the observatory. Now people can access places they usually wouldn’t visit,” explained Kärt Soieva, the curator of educational programs.“

For more information and bookings, contact [email protected]. The asteroid exhibition was created in cooperation between the University of Tartu Museum and the Estonian Research Council. The exhibition will remain open to visitors until summer 2026.