ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (October 8, 2025) — Augustana College's John Deere Planetarium and Fryxell Geology Museum will be open to the public on Saturday, November 1, for the annual Fall Open House. The planetarium and geology museum, located at 820 38th Street, Rock Island, will be open 7-8:30PM, with indoor and outdoor programs in the planetarium, observatory, and geology museum. There is no charge for admission.
The evening’s events will include a planetarium show where the wonders of the night sky will be presented on the facility’s thirty-foot dome. Views of astronomical objects, including the Moon and the planet Saturn will be provided via the telescopes of the Carl Gamble Observatory. In addition, the Getz-Rogers Gallery, where images of celestial objects and a quarter-ton piece of the Canyon Diablo meteor are on display, will also be open to the public.
The Fryxell Geology Museum, which features one of the best collections of minerals and fossils in the Midwest, will offer hands-on mineral and fossil activities. Highlights in the museum include a wall of glowing, fluorescent rocks, a cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, and a complete 22-foot long skeleton of Cryolophosaurus, a large crested carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Antarctica.
The observing areas are unheated so dress appropriate to the weather. In the event of cloudy sky conditions, telescope views may not be possible but the indoor programs will still be offered.
