Entry No. 39 — the Buffalo file — filed under: stargazing
Penn Dixie Monthly Stargazing
By day this is a Devonian shale quarry where visitors split open 380-million-year-old trilobites; one Saturday a month in summer, the Hamburg Natural History Society reopens the gates after dark and Penn Dixie's astronomers, joined by the Buffalo Astronomical Association, line up telescopes on the quarry floor. They walk the crowd across planets, constellations, and deep-sky objects for two hours while you supply lawn chairs, blankets, and snacks. The Town of Hamburg picks up the bill, so the 2026 evening astronomy programs are free with no registration — you just show up. One date remains this season: September 19, 7–9 pm, with September 26 as the rain date.
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The story
The Penn Dixie Cement Corporation dug this ground for the Devonian shale that makes cement, then walked away from it. What the quarrying exposed is Middle Devonian sea floor: brachiopods, crinoids, and the trilobite Eldredgeops rana, common enough if you know where to look and very hard to find whole. The Hamburg Natural History Society, a 501(c)(3), now runs the 54 acres as a park where you keep everything you dig up. A 2011 scientific study ranked it the number one fossil park in the United States, and in 2018 it took the inaugural Guinness World Record for the world's largest fossil dig with 905 people digging at once.
The same qualities that make it a good quarry make it a good observing field: flat, close to treeless, little vegetation, open to the horizon in most directions. Four Saturday nights a summer, Penn Dixie's own astronomers — Ernie Jacobs is the one who writes their telescope guide and their Astronomy Night handout — set up alongside members of the Buffalo Astronomical Association and work an audience through planets, constellations and deep-sky objects on a range of telescopes and specialized equipment. The Town of Hamburg pays for it, which is why there is no admission and no registration to fill out.
The 2026 schedule crept earlier as the nights got longer: June 20 and July 25 ran 9 to 11pm, August 15 ran 8 to 10, and the last night of the season is September 19, 7 to 9pm, with September 26 held in reserve as the rain date. That is close to the end of everything here — the park's final public day of the 2026 season is Sunday, September 27, after which the gates stay shut until spring.
What it's like
Arrive a few minutes early — 6:45 for a 7pm start — because you need to park, find the portable toilets, and get chairs and blankets down while you can still see. Parking is free and there's no ticket line, because there are no tickets. Then it's a scatter of tripods on flat quarry ground with astronomers rotating people through eyepieces and narrating what's in the field of view for a solid two hours; bring your own telescope and they'll give you advice on it. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, a flashlight, warm layers and your own food and drink, because nothing is sold. All ages, first come. If you turn up after the start time, dim your headlights pulling into the lot — everyone's night vision is already committed.
The move: Mark September 19: pack two lawn chairs, a blanket, and a thermos, get to 4050 North Street by 6:45 pm, and let the astronomers point you from Saturn to whatever deep-sky objects the night allows until 9 — total cost, nothing.
📍 Before you go Free in 2026 (Town of Hamburg sponsors it), no registration — arrive a few minutes before start. The season's last date is Sept 19, 7–9 pm, rain date Sept 26; rain or heavy cloud cancels, so check Penn Dixie's Facebook or Instagram that afternoon. If you arrive after start time, dim your headlights pulling into the lot.
- 📍 Blasdell
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 4050 North Street, Blasdell, NY 14219
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Expressive Glass — Vicki Schneider's flameworking studio is minutes from the quarry gate on Lake Shore Road — spend the daylight hours melting glass rods over a torch, then spend the dark ones looking through ground glass.
- Kellogg Observatory Wednesday Nights — The indoor, ticketed, midweek counterpart: a restored 1930s refractor under a dome on the Buffalo Museum of Science roof, versus a free scatter of portable scopes on open quarry floor.
- Eternal Flame Falls — The Southtowns' other Devonian shale trick — at Penn Dixie you crack the shale open for what died in it, at Chestnut Ridge the shale leaks gas that burns behind a waterfall.
More weird in Buffalo
Good to know
What does it cost, and do I need to book?
Nothing, and no. The Town of Hamburg's support covers the evening astronomy programs, so there is no charge and registration is not required — you show up. All ages are welcome.
What happens if the weather turns?
Stargazing is cancelled outright for rain or heavy cloud cover. Penn Dixie posts weather calls on its Facebook and Instagram, so check that afternoon rather than driving out on faith. September 19 is the last 2026 date, with September 26 as its rain date.
Can I hunt fossils the same night?
No — the digging and the stargazing are separate visits. The park is open to the public 9am to 4:30pm with last entry at 2:45pm; general admission is $25 adults, $20 for Erie County residents with proof, $17 seniors, military and students, $15 for ages 3 to 17, and includes a 20-minute guided tour, a bucket and trowel, a fossil ID card and a bag for whatever you keep.
Is the site accessible?
Largely yes, by design — most of Penn Dixie including the fossil collecting areas is usable by wheelchair and mobility-impaired visitors, with paved trails and flat, mostly bare ground. The one caveat for an evening program: restrooms are portable toilets, not permanent facilities.
I put the address in my phone and got something else — what gives?
Penn Dixie runs two addresses. The park itself is 4050 North Street, Blasdell, NY 14219, and that's where you drive. The Hamburg Natural History Society's office and mailing address is 3218 Lake Shore Road, Suite 202 — mail only, no visitors. The general phone line is 716-627-4560.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · buffalorising.com
last checked: 2026-08-25