Fryxell Geology Museum

Come take a walk through Earth 's history as told by its rocks, minerals and fossils!

The museum, named after Dr. Fritiof Fryxell, has become one of the largest and finest collections of rocks, minerals and fossils in the Midwest. Begun in the late 1880's with a modest natural history collection, the museum now boasts over 1,500 rock, mineral, and fossil specimens. On display is a complete skeleton of a Tylosaurus "sea serpent", skulls of Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Apatosaurus, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex and a 2 billion year old fossil! Of particular interest is a state-of-the-art fluorescent mineral display and an exhibit of the complete 22-foot long skeleton of Cryolophosaurus, a large crested carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Antarctica in 1991 by Augustana paleontologist Dr. William Hammer.

The museum is open to the public and free-of-charge. We also offer free school fieldtrip programs and geology discovery kits.

The museum is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, and on weekend afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the academic school year. (Please note that Augustana will be on Fall Break so the museum will be closed the weekends of Nov.7,8,14,15 and for Thanksgiving Nov. 28,29) Please click here for directions and visit information. For more information, please call  (309) 794-7318 .

   

 

Upcoming Event!

Astronomy and Geology at Augustana College Augustana's John Deere Planetarium and Fryxell Geology Museum Openhouse
820 38th St., Rock Island, Illinois on the Augustana College Campus
Saturday night, Oct. 24, 7:30-9:00PM
Admission is Free

The planetarium and observatory will be open to the public on Saturday night, Oct. 24th,  for  an Open House. The planetarium will offer indoor and outdoor programs. The evening's events will include a planetarium show where the wonders of the night sky will be presented on the facility's 30-foot dome with the Spitz A3P projector. The star of this year's show will be Jupiter. Telescope views will show off the planet's cloud bands and four large moons. Views of star clusters, double stars, and galaxies will be provided via the 14-inch reflecting telescope in the Gamble Observatory. The Fryxell Geology Museum, adjacent to the Planetarium, will also be open for visitors with dinosaurs to diamonds and fossils to fluorescent minerals on display. The observing areas are unheated so dress appropriately. In the event of cloudy sky conditions, the indoor programs will still be offered. Click here for more info