Astro Road Trip Brings Adler Planetarium Telescope Programming To Towns Across Southern Illinois Ahead Of The Total Solar Eclipse
Header Image: Astro Road Trip astronomy educators posing with the Adler Planetarium van in front of the Adler Planetarium.
In preparation for the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse, the Adler Planetarium will be bringing telescope programming to communities across Southern Illinois! The Adler’s sixth Astro Road Trip will engage guests in a variety of hands-on, eclipse-related activities at locations throughout the region from April 1–April 8, 2024.
Check out the various Astro Road Trip stops below to see if our astronomy educators are coming to your city.
Astro Road Trip Stops
April 1, 2024 @ First Christian Church
- Address: 100 W Center St, Fairfield, IL 62837
- Time: 6:00 pm
- We will kick off Astro Road Trip week with a presentation about the upcoming solar eclipse and what to expect in Fairfield, Illinois. After the talk and time for Q&A, attendees will be able to touch a piece of the actual Moon: a lunar meteorite. The program is suitable for a general audience. While supplies last, attendees will receive a solar viewer for safely looking at the Sun.
April 2, 2024 @ Marion Carnegie Library
- Address: 206 S Market St, Marion, IL 62959
- Time: 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm (program is the same at both time slots)
- Join us for a presentation about the upcoming solar eclipse and what to expect in Marion, Illinois. After the talk, plus time for Q&A, attendees will be able to participate in Adler Planetarium staff-led demonstrations about how solar eclipses work and how to safely view a solar eclipse, as well as interact with our lunar meteorite. Program is suitable for a general audience. While supplies last, attendees will receive a solar viewer for safely looking at the Sun. Space is limited. Program seating is first come, first served.
April 3, 2024 @ The Science Center
- Address: 1237 E Main St, Space 1048 at University Mall, Carbondale, IL 62901
- Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
- Each year, the Adler Planetarium’s home away from home for Astro Road Trip is The Science Center! Fun, hands-on activities led by Adler staff will include seeing—and touching!—our fabulous Moon, Mars, and asteroid meteorite collection, making a drawing of a solar eclipse using chalk and construction paper, creating a pinhole projector, and assembling a special bead bracelet to “see” colorful effects of ultraviolet light from the Sun. While supplies last, attendees will receive a solar viewer for safely looking at the Sun. Activities are included with The Science Center admission.
April 5, 2024 @ Henry N. Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center
- Address: 8885 State Route 37 South, Cypress, IL 62923
- Time: 9:30 am–11:30 am
- Wetlands Center visitors can participate in Adler Planetarium staff-led demonstrations about how solar eclipses work and how to safely view a solar eclipse, as well as interact with the Adler’s lunar meteorite. Weather permitting, catch a view of the Sun through a solar telescope & through ‘scopes provided by the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois! This program is suitable for a general audience. While supplies last, attendees will receive a solar viewer for safely looking at the Sun.
April 5, 2024 @ Big Muddy Brewing
- Address: 1430 N 7th St, Murphysboro, IL 62966
- Time: Beginning at 6:00 pm
- We’ll kick off the evening at 6:00 pm with a presentation about the upcoming solar eclipse and what to expect in Murphysboro, Illinois. Bring your lawn chair to relax during the talk! At 7:00 pm, attendees can participate in Adler Planetarium staff-led demonstrations about how solar eclipses work and how to safely view a solar eclipse, as well as interact with our lunar meteorite. Starting around 8:15 pm, look through our telescope at objects in the night sky, weather permitting, along with telescopes provided by the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois. This program is suitable for a general audience. While supplies last, attendees will receive a solar viewer for safely looking at the Sun.
April 5–April 8, 2024 @ Southern Illinois University
- Address: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale is planning a fun weekend of eclipse-themed events! Southern Illinois will experience totality lasting for a few seconds up to a maximum of just over 4 minutes, depending on the location. Carbondale is on the center-line of the path of totality and will see 4 minutes and 9 seconds of totality for eclipse 2024, nearly double what was seen in 2017. Visibility starts at 12:43 pm, with totality being reached at 1:59 pm. The Adler’s Director of Public Observing, Michelle Nichols, along with Astronomy Educator Hunter Miller will help lead Southern Illinois University’s live, epic, in-person eclipse show. If you are looking for a great place to hang out with eclipse enthusiasts to experience the total solar eclipse together, this is for you!
Look Up Through ‘Scopes With The Adler
Welcome to ‘Scopes with the Adler, where we bring the cosmos closer to you with telescope observing programs across Chicago and at the Adler Planetarium—perfect for observing experts and novices alike.
At ‘Scopes in the City events, we bring small telescopes around Chicagoland for anyone to stop by and stargaze with us. Sky Observers Hangout is our online program where we nerd-out about relevant celestial events with space-lovers from all over the world. At the planetarium, you can connect with other astronomy lovers during ‘Scopes at the Adler programming where you can look through our small telescopes or the Doane Observatory telescope while visiting the museum!
