Three-Day Festival • Science Talks & Demos • Live Music • Food Trucks • and More
An Event 93 Years
in the making
CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY OF PLUTO’S DISCOVERY FEB 18-20, 2023
Show your love at the Home of Pluto in snowy Flagstaff, Arizona, where it was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh 93 years ago on February 18, 1930.
This festival will take place at Lowell Observatory with special events throughout the historic city of Flagstaff, Arizona. Buy tickets today!
ATTEND THE FESTIVAL
Your General Admission pass will get you all-day access to Lowell Observatory. Tickets to the Night of Discovery at the Orpheum are sold separately. VIP Tickets also available!
SEE THE SCHEDULE
Science Demos, Pluto Pub Crawl, Live Music, Beer, Night of Discovery, and more! Plan your weekend in Flagstaff at the I Heart Pluto Festival by checking out our full schedule page.
Meet Our Keynote Speaker at The Night of Discovery
Meet Famous Astronaut Nicole Stott
At the Night of Discovery event on Feb. 18, get a chance to meet and hear stories from Nicole; an astronaut, aquanaut, artist, mom, and now author of her first book Back to Earth ~ What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It. She creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on Spaceship Earth.
The Schedule At A Glance
Get a star-studded VIP experience at the 2023 I Heart Pluto Festival! A VIP ticket grants single-person admission to all IHP activities at Lowell Observatory and the Orpheum Theater.
Enjoy a special VIP tour of the observatory, followed by the historic dedication of the Clyde Tombaugh Telescope exhibit at the Rotunda Museum. Before the Night of Discovery event at the Orpheum Theater on the evening February 18, VIP guests will receive a free copy of keynote speaker and astronaut Nicole Stott’s book Back to Earth to bring to an exclusive meet and greet/book signing with the author herself, along with a copy of Clyde Tombaugh’s Lowell Observatory employment letter and a can of I Heart Pluto-themed beer from Mother Road Brewery. Book your all-access pass today!
Enjoy all-day festivities at Lowell Observatory to celebrate I Heart Pluto! You can expect:
Science Demos
Science Talks
Pluto Activity Station/Science Demos
Mother Road Custom Brew Pluto Beer
Live Music by Black Lemon
Food Trucks
Henna Artist
Face Painting
Scavenger Hunt
The festival kicks off at Mother Road Brewing Company, a local Flagstaff favorite! Mother Road will unveil its limited-edition beer, brewing exclusively for this year’s festival! Stick around learn about Clyde Tombaugh’s handmade telescope, a precious historical artifact that will soon be on display in Lowell Observatory’s Rotunda Museum.
Mother Road: Special Lowell Observatory Beer Unveiled
Astronomy on Tap:
Learn About the Tombaugh 9″ Telescope – with Al Tombaugh, Clyde Tombaugh’s Son
Explore Flagstaff’s finest pubs, bars, and brewhouses — in the shape of the Pluto symbol! After receiving a map of all participating destinations, you’ll be turned loose to enjoy historic downtown alongside fellow Pluto-lovers, and custom-made Pluto drinks and specials at all the stops. Along the way, you’ll find educators giving science talks, trivia, and more.
Maps will be available soon and will be found throughout downtown Flagstaff, at Lowell Observatory, or on the Pluto Pub Crawl page on this website.
Witness Lowell history being made at the Rotunda Museum as the Tombaugh Telescope exhibit is unveiled! The exhibit will feature Clyde Tombaugh’s fully-functional homemade telescope, which was hand-assembled from scraps found around his family’s farm in Burdette, Kansas.
Enjoy a night with Astronaut Nicole Stott, a NASA astronaut, aquanaut, and space artist who creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflights and undersea adventures with her artwork to inspire people around the world.
After this program, Nicole will sign copies of her book, Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet―And Our Mission to Protect. Copies of this book will be available for purchase at the Orpheum throughout the evening.
Also don’t miss a free taste-testing of the new Starry lemon-lime soda by Pepsi!
Enjoy our Keynote Speaker, a book signing, custom-crafted Pluto beet by Mother Road Brewing, an art show, axe-throwing, and more!
Sunday, Feb 19, 7pm: New Horizons After Pluto
With Dr. Alan Stern, Planetary Scientist/New Horizons Mission Principal Investigator, Southwest Research Institute
Monday, Feb 20, 7pm: Planetary Research
With Alice Bowman, Engineer/New Horizons Mission Operations Manager, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
A special thank you to the Arizona Office of Tourism for the Visit Arizona Initiative (VAI) Grant, which helped support this incredible community-wide event. Thank you for supporting our mission and our city’s celebration of Pluto!