Adler Planetarium’s Astro Road Trip

Chicago’s Adler Planetarium is sending its outreach team back on the road to communities across Southern Illinois in preparation for the Monday, April 8, total solar eclipse! 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.

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.

Address: 206 S Market St, Marion, IL 62959

Time: 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm (program is the same at both time slots)

Note: Space is limited. Program seating is first come, first served.

Astro Road Trip returns to the Marion Carnegie Library! 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.

Address: 1237 E Main St, Space 1048 at University Mall, Carbondale, IL 62901

Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Note: Activities are included with The Science Center admission.

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.

Address: 8885 State Route 37 South, Cypress, IL 62923

Time: 9:30 am–11:30 am

Site information: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/visitorcenter/park.cacheriver.html

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.

Address: 1430 N 7th St, Murphysboro, IL 62966

Time: Beginning at 6:00 pm

Site information: http://bigmuddybrewing.com/

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.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is planning a fun weekend of eclipse-themed events! For more information about all the programs happening on campus, ticket details, and more: https://eclipse.siu.edu/

Program link: https://www.youtube.com/live/zJFvj_hGA20?si=4skBowEBIB_ATbAq

Onsite location: 1050 S Normal Ave, Carbondale, IL 62901

Note: In case of inclement weather, Sky Observers Hangout will broadcast from inside Shryock Auditorium.

More information: https://eclipse.siu.edu/

Join us on April 7, 2024, for this very special episode of Sky Observers Hangout, broadcast in front of a live audience from the steps of Shryock Auditorium at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, as we prepare for a total solar eclipse that will cross North America the very next day, April 8. Adler’s astronomy educators, Michelle and Hunter, will ensure that you’re fully equipped to observe the eclipse yourself, but they won’t be alone! Special guests from SIU and NASA Edge will join them on-stream, so come with all your eclipse questions in the chat!

For Sky Observers Hangout attendees who join us in Carbondale, in person for the Hangout: after the show until 9:00 pm, stick around for nighttime telescope viewing, weather permitting.

The April 8 eclipse is the second total solar eclipse visible in the United States in the past seven years. It will follow a path from Mexico up through Texas, and then across the country through the northeastern states. 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!

For more information and to purchase tickets: https://eclipse.siu.edu/tickets/

To learn more about the Adler’s eclipse-related programming, including facts about solar eclipses and tips for safe viewing, get our Eclipse Encounter Digital Press Kit.