Facility Tours

Go behind the scenes on a tour of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland! During your tour, your group will have the chance to see active working areas that are not open to the public outside of these tours. Tours are only available to qualifying pre-registered groups.

• Tours are 2 hours long and begin with a guided presentation at the Visitor Center. Tours are only available to educational, non-profit, civic and community groups.
  • Individuals, families and/or groups that do not meet the eligibility criteria are unable to join an organized group’s scheduled tour. Instead, those groups are invited to explore the Visitor Center’s exhibits during open hours (Thursday-Saturday) and do not need to make a reservation.
• Tours are only offered to pre-reserved groups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Weekend and evening tours are not available.
• Eligible groups are limited to four (4) tours/programs in a calendar year per organization/school.
• Tours are scheduled a minimum of four (4) weeks in advance and a maximum of 180 days in advance.
• Participants must be at least 10 years old or in the 5th grade.
• Minimum group size is 8 people, recommended maximum is 25
  • Occasionally tours of up to 50 people can be accommodated for a modified tour with only one tour stop
• Tour groups are responsible for providing tour transportation consisting of a single vehicle (usually a bus or van) that can accommodate the entire tour group plus the visitor center tour guide.
• Tour groups must follow all security procedures including providing a full name list for all participants a minimum of seven (7) days in advance of the tour for U.S. citizens, and 20 days for foreign nationals. Additional security procedures apply.

To inquire about a facility tour email GSFC-VisitorCenter@mail.nasa.gov and include

-The name of your group

-Name, email and phone number of the group’s point of contact

-Location: City & State

-The number, age range/ grade of the tour participants

-The Citizenship of all tour participants

-The approximate date and time you would like to visit for a tour (Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10:00-12:00 or 1:00-3:00).

Other

Families and small groups wishing to visit the visitor center and explore the exhibit gallery and rocket garden on their own do not need to make reservations.

Foreign nationals from most countries can participate in a facility tour. Security regulations require that the full names, emails, and country of origin information for each foreign national in your group be submitted at least 20 days prior to your scheduled visit. Foreign nationals who do not provide this information in advance will not be permitted on the tour.

The visitor center has no cafeteria, but guests are welcome to bring their own food and eat at any of the picnic tables on the visitor center grounds. There are several restaurants and other food options nearby on Greenbelt Road. Guests may not bring alcohol onto visitor center grounds. Please note that there is no food or drink permitted inside the visitor center.