A crown of white topped with rounded copper domes rests on the peak of the flat head of Mt Hollywood. Set at an altitude of 495m, the Griffith Observatory hails from the early 1930s as a culmination of scientific excellence and a mark of America’s pioneering foray into astrophysics. Once through the entrance, visitors can head to one of two wings displaying themed exhibits and hands on demonstrations.

To the left, the Wider Hall of the Eye is a walk through our discovery of the science behind our universe as we gradually assembled tools to dig deeper and swim further into the murky, vacuous galaxies and stars beyond us. This is where, in a burst of ear splitting cracks and blinding light, a Tesla coil standing centerpiece releases electricity before an open-mouthed audience each day. The celestial path of the sun and moon are dutifully chartered and revealed at the Ahmanson Hall of the Sky. A stark contrast adjacent to the cutting edge digital displays of the frothing, bubbling magma oceans on the surface of the sun are the historical pieces of research equipment such as the clunky spectrohelioscope still functional for visitors to feel and use.

Best known to musical lovers and fans of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the star spangled interiors of the Samuel Oschin planetarium would be a familiar sight as captured in the critically acclaimed movie musical La La Land. Zip through unnamed swirling storms of celestial dust and balls of hydrogen glowing white hot as a deep space pioneer peering through the windows of your spacecraft, all while rested against a cushioned seat.

The self-discovery of astronomy aside, the museum’s terraces allows for the discovery of the sparse, almost lifeless chaparral slopes on one end and on the other, an oasis of glass from the still slate Pacific Ocean to the skyscrapers of Downtown LA. It’s only at the Griffith Observatory where you’ll get a deep look into both the unfathomable pitch dark beyond the stratosphere and the rolling landscapes down below.