Visnjan Observatory is situated in the western part of the Istrian peninsula . It is part of the picturesque city of Višnjan. During the past ten years, Visnjan became one of the world's most prolific discovery sites for the small bodies in the Solar System. More than 1400 minor planets have been discovered with our 40 cm telescope.

At this time, we are putting together a new observatory with 1 m telescope . It is called Tican , and it is just 3 km away from Visnjan. We have some exciting times ahead!

Astronomy is not the only thing that is going on in Visnjan. We are involved in many educational projects that include physics, biology, chemistry, ecology , and many other fields. Our programs offer new and creative methods of teaching science to young people. Recently, we have also started a workshop on management in science. We strongly believe that in today's rapidly evolving educational and social environment, students need more than what is offered in government schools.

Visnjan Observatory and its projects are carried out by a group of volunteers and participating students. Their success is a proof of how much can be done just with enthusiasm.

Visnjan Observatory runs two types of projects. The first is designed for teachers, and the other one is intended for students. During teaching seminars, we are trying to develop creative ways of learning and improving classroom methodology, as well as broaden teachers' knowledge in advanced science. The student workshops include astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry, and we are working on adding more scientific fields. We plan one day to have a real interdisciplinary youth research center at Visnjan. For now, one of the main student events is Visnjan's Summer School of Astronomy.

Here youngsters, ranging from the elementary school to college, work on challenging projects, side by side with recognized scientists. The relaxed atmosphere encourages communication between the students and the experts, and it results in high-quality results. Some of these results get presented in science competitions and even get published.

The study of small bodies of the Solar System is a major research topic at Visnjan. In addition, students get involved in telescope construction, automatization technology, data analysis, and storage software. All of this develops analytical thinking and sparks one's imagination. We hope this gives a good starting point for science enthusiasts or even future scientists.

Prije nešto više od stotinjak godina, naš je bard prirodoslovlja, Oton Kučera, zapisao jednu misao, koja je i danas aktualna kao i tada, i to ne samo u astronomiji!

... posveti koju uru pojavama kojima ćeš biti svjedok. Naći ćeš doduše dosta ljudi, koji će te gledati u čudu, što li nalaziš u tome zabavna, da se udubljuješ u to nebo, jer žalibože danas tisuće i tisuće i obrazovanih ljudi svaki dan gledaju te krasne pojave, a da ih ne vide. Neka ti oni ne budu mjerilom: rdjav odgoj, pretjerana borba za svagdašnji život, možda i niske strasti ugušile su u njima polet srca, koji ne može da shvaća takovih užitaka. Ne dao nam Bog, da ikad, pa ni u dubokoj starosti padnemo na te niske grane!