The Truman State Observatory consists of a 17-inch Planewave CDK17 telescope, several CCD cameras used for Astronomy research, an automated dome, a weather station, a cloud sensor and a rain sensor. The observatory can be controlled remotely with the help of the ACP software package, which controls the telescope with The Sky, the CCD camera with Maximdl, and interfaces with the weather station and the cloud & rain sensors to smoothly operate the system.

In addition to the CDK17, the observatory also has two eVScopes (see Images) that are used for outreach events.

The Observatory has several smaller 6-inch Meade reflector scopes, and one 8-inch and 10-inch Schmidt Cassegrain Meade LX 200 scopes. All these are used by students during public outreach events.

Students and the public can also use several binoculars to view solar system and deep sky objects.