Cernan Earth and Space Center

The Cernan Earth and Space Center is a museum located on Triton College's campus dedicated to space and earth sciences. Its main feature is a 44-foot projection dome where visitors experience immersive presentations about celestial objects and environmental sciences.

The center is named after astronaut Eugene Cernan, who flew to the moon on the Apollo 17 mission and walked on its surface. His original spacesuit, worn during the Apollo 10 orbital mission, is displayed in the museum as a historical artifact.

The center hosts star observation nights where visitors can use telescopes to study constellations and planets from the roof. These sessions connect people directly to the night sky in ways that classroom learning cannot.

Presentations run regularly on Friday and Saturday evenings as well as Sunday afternoons, allowing visitors to choose times that fit their schedule. The museum is about an hour from downtown Chicago and easiest to reach by car, with parking available on the college campus.

The museum displays fossils found in Illinois, including a rare specimen with an unusual trunk-like snout that hints at an extinct animal species. Visitors can also see a scale model of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which shows how spacecraft were built for space exploration.

Location: Illinois

GPS coordinates: 41.91740,-87.84240

Latest update: December 12, 2025 14:26