John Deere Planetarium and Fryxell Geology Museum open house

The John Deere Planetarium will be open for an evening of stargazing and planet viewing from 8:30-10 p.m.

There will be indoor and outdoor programs in the planetarium, the Carl Gamble Observatory, and the building's grounds. Observing areas are unheated so dress for the weather.

In the event of cloudy conditions, the indoor programs will still be offered. 

This year’s open house will feature Venus, the beautiful "evening star." Telescopes also will reveal the mountains and craters of the Earth’s Moon and views of other heavenly bodies.

Also on display will be a quarter-ton piece of the Canyon Diablo meteorite and a planetarium show with images and information on the wonders of the night sky. 

The Fryxell Geology Museum, which features one of the best collections of minerals and fossils in the Midwest, will also be open to the public. Highlights in the museum include a wall of glowing fluorescent rocks, as well as a cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull and a complete 22-foot long skeleton of Cryolophosaurus, a large crested carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Antarctica.