Membership Types

Friends of Lick Observatory offers membership levels to suit everyone. See below or download a pdf table of membership types and benefits. Memberships are for one year. Benefits are subject to change or substitution without notice.

Celestial Circle

Student/Senior (65 & older): $30
Individual: $50
Family (2 Adults & Children under 18): $75

Membership Card
Quarterly Newsletter
Advance Notice to Purchase Tickets for Summer Public Events
10%-off Coupon for Lick Gift Shop
Lick Observatory souvenir
Participation in Association of Science Technology Centers Passport Program*

Nebula Circle: $150

All Celestial Circle Benefits
Priority Seating for Summer Public Events
Exclusive Set of Laurie Hatch Lick Observatory Note Cards (fair market value $20)

Galaxy Circle: $500

All Nebula Circle Benefits
Two General Admission Tickets to Music of the Spheres Concert (fair market value $30)
Priority Telescope Viewing at Lick Summer Public Programs

Supernova Circle: $1000

All Galaxy Circle Benefits
Invitation to Exclusive Member Event

Quasar Circle: $2500

All Supernova Circle Benefits
Private Tour of Lick Observatory by Astronomer

James Lick Society: $5000

All Quasar Circle Benefits
Private Viewing Session at the Great Lick Refractor

*certain restrictions apply and you must present your Friends of Lick Observatory membership card

Friends of Lick Observatory

The Friends of Lick Observatory (FoLO) supports Lick through fund-raising and community outreach. FoLO also offers members many opportunities to participate in the Lick community and enjoy special connections with the telescopes, scientists, and science programs .

The Board of Directors for FoLO is the Lick Observatory Council. The Council is composed of scientists, business entrepreneurs, and long-time observatory supporters and is dedicated to ensuring a long-term healthy future for Lick.

FoLO donations are helping Lick to do things like:

Preserve the treasure-trove of artifacts and archives in the Lick Historical Collections
Install a self-guided summit tour on Mt. Hamilton emphasizing the history and accomplishments of Lick astronomers.
Launch the Saturday Stars program to enable visitors to view through the Great Refractor and compare data the same objects with the CCD camera on the Nickel 40-inch
Host the annual Shane Observational Astronomy workshop for UC graduate students.
Build a revolutionary new CCD detector for the Kast Spectrograph on the Shane 120-inch telescope

We are seeking larger gifts to enable projects like:

Discovery of earth-like planets using the new Automated Planet-Finder telescope
Construction of the next-generation Shane Adaptive Optics system, which is developing technologies to enable ground-based telescopes to see much sharper than the Hubble Space Telecope.
Major refurbishments to the historic 36-inch Great Refractor.

Since its founding, Lick Observatory has enjoyed the good will of individuals who are inspired by the prospect of observing the cosmos. From Mr. Lick himself, through the wealthy philanthropists who funded the Lick eclipse expeditions that verified Einstein's theory of general relativity, to the current Lick Volunteers who introduce Mt. Hamilton annually to the public, these friends have been an indispensable part of Lick's continuing success. Lick Observatory's future depends on the excellence of its science and its dedicated community of friends, like you!

Please note: All gifts to Lick Observatory are processed through the UC Santa Cruz Foundation. By clicking the button below, you will be taken to the UC Santa Cruz Foundation site. Be sure to indicate your gift is to benefit the Lick Observatory.Thank you for your dedication and support.

Join or Renew Friends of Lick Observatory

If you prefer to mail in your membership, you can click here to download a printable membership form.

Questions about Membership? Contact friends@ucolick.org