Family Weekend

On behalf of the entire College, the Division of Student Affairs invites all families to Family Weekend. Family Weekend in 2018 will be Friday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Sept. 30. Plan now to attend this fall!

Weekend Activities

Family Weekend is the perfect opportunity to spend time with your student, meet faculty members, and become better acquainted with Grinnell College. Here is a sampling of the events planned for Family Weekend 2018. A schedule with times and locations will be posted by September 4. Please keep in mind that this online schedule will be subject to change. For the most accurate and up-to-date schedule, please stop by the Family Weekend Welcome and Information table in the Joe Rosenfield lobby upon your arrival to campus.

Friday, Sept. 28

7:30 a.m.–8 p.m.
Family Weekend welcome and information table
Rosenfield Center, lobby
Please visit the welcome and information table for the most current schedule, maps, and information.

8 a.m.–3:50 p.m.
Class Visits
Families are invited to attend classes. Stop by the Family Weekend welcome and information table to view our list of classes and receive your required guest pass. Seating is limited.

8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Campus Office Visits
Please feel free to make an appointment or stop by our campus offices to see the services we offer your student.

8 a.m.–Close
Grinnell College Golf Course
933 13th Ave.
We welcome families of our students to golf for free. Golf clubs and carts are available for rent. Go to golf.grinnell.edu or call 641-236-3590 to schedule a tee time.

8:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
Grinnell College Pioneer Bookshop
933 Main St., Grinnell
Visit the Bookshop for Grinnell insignia clothing and gifts and receive the Family Weekend 10% discount. Some exclusions apply.

9–11 a.m.
Office of Admission Information Session and Campus Tour
John Chrystal Center, second-floor
Prospective students and families can learn more about Grinnell College. An admission counselor and a current student will discuss the Grinnell experience, the application process, and financial aid. There will be time for questions and answers. Following this hourlong information session, guests can explore Grinnell’s campus and facilities on an hourlong tour led by a student guide. Please sign up for this online at admission.grinnell.edu/portal/campus-visit. Parents, you don’t need to sign up — only prospective students.

9 a.m.–9 p.m.
Exhibition: and those exist together
Rosenfield Center, lobby
This student exhibition features work by Bojana Crnomarkovic ‘20. Smith Gallery features student art year-round.

11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Irresistible Images: Photographs from a Private Collection
Faulconer Gallery
Irresistible Images features works from the dawn of photography in the 1840s through the early 20th century. While it includes works by well-known pioneers in the medium from Henry Fox Talbot to Gertrude Käsebier, the exhibition features many more works by anonymous photographers to demonstrate the nature of photography as a universal form of expression almost from the moment of its invention. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the private collection of Nigel Maister, Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Director of the University of Rochester International Theatre Program.

11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Watercolors of Corporal John Gaddis: Documenting the Civil War
Faulconer Gallery
14 paintings capture the daily life of a Union army soldier during the 1860s. All of the paintings were done by Corporal John Gaddis while he was based at Camp Randall, Wisconsin, and on military campaigns in Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The exhibition is organized and circulated by Wisconsin Veterans Museum, State of Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, Madison.

1–3 p.m.
Office of Admission Information Session and Campus Tour
John Chrystal Center, second-floor
Prospective students and families can learn more about Grinnell College. An admission counselor and a current student will discuss the Grinnell experience, the application process, and financial aid. There will be time for questions and answers. Following this hourlong information session, guests can explore Grinnell’s campus and facilities on an hourlong tour led by a student guide. Please sign up for this online at admission.grinnell.edu/portal/campus-visit. Parents, you don’t need to sign up — only prospective students.

1:30 p.m.
Gumaa Prayer
Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice, 913 8th Ave.
This weekly session of the Muslim Prayer Group is open for all to observe or participate. Prayers will be held in the new Muslim Prayer and Cultural Space.

3 p.m.
President’s Welcome: Raynard S. Kington
Harris Center Concert Hall
President Kington will offer a welcome to families/friends and share brief remarks related to the college.

3:30 –5 p.m.
Resources Fair and Ice Cream Social
Harris Center Concert Hall
Following President Kington’s welcome, please join the staff from the Office of Student Affairs and various college departments for ice cream while learning about resources available to your student at Grinnell. At 5 p.m., enjoy a short concert by the student vocal groups Con Brio and GTones.

4:30 - 6 p.m.
Opening Reception for Two New Exhibitions
Bucksbaum Rotunda
We invite everyone to join us for the opening reception celebrating Irresistible Images: Photographs from a Private Collection and Watercolors of Corporal John Gaddis: Documenting the Civil War. Tour the Faulconer Gallery and enjoy refreshments.

6:15 p.m.
Shabbat Table
Rosenfield Center, Room 209
All are invited to Shabbat Table, the weekly Shabbat dinner of vegetarian/dairy cuisine prepared by Grinnell College students from the student group Chalutzim, welcoming the Sabbath with the spirit of community and peace. For more information, please email chalutzim@grinnell.edu or Deanna Shorb, dean of religious life, shorb@grinnell.edu.

7:15 p.m.
SGA Movie, Incredibles 2 (2018, PG)
Harris Center Cinema

9–11 p.m.
Grant O. Gale Observatory
Gale Observatory
Dependent upon weather conditions, the Gale Observatory may be open on an informal basis; no transportation will be provided. This observatory, north of Rosenbloom Field, features one of the largest telescopes in Iowa. If opened, physics professor Robert R. Cadmus Jr. will be available during viewing hours. Regardless of weather, the observatory will be open Saturday night, complete with shuttle service. There is an accessible path to the observatory. While the telescope is reached using stairs, the telescope program can be viewed on a monitor on the first floor and heard using an interactive sound system including an FM Loop.

9:30 p.m.
SGA Movie, Incredibles 2 (2018, PG)
Harris Center Cinema

Saturday, Sept. 29

7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Family Weekend welcome and information table
Rosenfield Center, lobby
Please visit the welcome and information table for the most current schedule, maps, and information.

9–10:30 a.m.
Science Division Poster Session and Reception
Noyce Science Center, Ahrens Atrium
Engage with students as they present their research and summer internships in a scholarly poster session format. Science faculty and staff will be in attendance.

9–10:30 a.m.
Social Studies and Humanities Poster Session and Reception
Rosenfield Center, second-floor lobby
Engage with students as they present their research and summer internships in a scholarly poster session format. Social studies and humanities faculty and staff will be in attendance.

9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Grinnell College Pioneer Bookshop
933 Main St. in Downtown Grinnell
Visit the Bookshop for Grinnell insignia clothing and gifts and receive the Family Weekend 10% discount. Some exclusions apply.

10 a.m.
Women’s Golf vs. William Penn and University of Iowa
Grinnell College Golf Course, 933 13th Ave.

10 a.m.–11 a.m.
Grinnell Legacy Reception
Grinnell House
By invitation only: Alumni parents and grandparents (along with their students!) are invited to attend this invitation-only brunch reception hosted by three generations of Grinnellians: Bob Uchida ’54, Kathy Uchida ’86, Bryce Lew ’19, and Scott Lew ’22.
Sponsored by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations

10 a.m.– Noon
Office of Admission Information Session and Campus Tour
John Chrystal Center, second-floor
Prospective students and families can learn more about Grinnell College. An admission counselor and a current student will discuss the Grinnell experience, the application process, and financial aid. There will be time for questions and answers. Following this hourlong information session, guests can explore Grinnell’s campus and facilities on an hourlong tour led by a student guide. Please sign up for this online at admission.grinnell.edu/portal/campus-visit. Parents, you don’t need to sign up–only prospective students.

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Trip to Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA)
Bus departs from Rosenfield Center, lobby
CERA: 11203 S. 12th Ave. E, Kellogg
Join biology faculty and staff for a tour of the College’s biological field station including a one-mile hike and tour of the Environmental Education Center. Please wear closed-toe shoes or boots and weather-appropriate clothes. Bus transportation provided. Sign up for the free bus transportation at the Family Weekend welcome and information table. If you are planning to provide your own transportation, CERA is 11 miles west of Grinnell.

11:00 a.m.
Grinnell Men’s Soccer vs. Lake Forest College
Jane Gunderson Springer ’50 Soccer Field

11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Irresistible Images: Photographs from a Private Collection
Faulconer Gallery
Irresistible Images features works from the dawn of photography in the 1840s through the early 20th century. While it includes works by well-known pioneers in the medium from Henry Fox Talbot to Gertrude Käsebier, the exhibition features many more works by anonymous photographers to demonstrate the nature of photography as a universal form of expression almost from the moment of its invention. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the private collection of Nigel Maister, Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Director of the University of Rochester International Theatre Program.

Noon
Grinnell Women’s Volleyball vs. Ripon College
Darby Gymnasium

1 p.m.
Grinnell Football vs. Ripon College
Rosenbloom Football Field

1:30 p.m.
Grinnell Women’s Soccer vs. Lake Forest College
Jane Gunderson Springer ’50 Soccer Field

2 p.m.
Grinnell Symphony Orchestra
Bucksbaum Center, Sebring-Lewis Hall
The Grinnell Symphony Orchestra presents a short concert featuring music department faculty soloists Eugene Gaub and Nancy McFarland Gaub performing “Mozart’s Concerto in D” for violin and piano. The program also includes music by Gustav Holst and GSO Director Eric McIntyre.

2 p.m.–Close
Grinnell College Golf Course
933 13th Ave.
We welcome families of our students to golf for free. Golf clubs and carts are available for rent. Go to golf.grinnell.edu or call 641-236-3590 to schedule a tee time.

4 p.m.
Grinnell Women’s Volleyball vs. Central College
Darby Gymnasium

5:30 p.m.
Grinnell Women’s Volleyball Reserve Match vs. Central College
Darby Gymnasium

7 p.m.
Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration
Harris Center Concert Hall
Join the Chinese Student Association and celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival. Experience traditional Chinese games along with a talent show.

7:30 p.m.
Choral Concert with the Grinnell Singers and the Grinnell Oratorio Society
Bucksbaum Center, Sebring-Lewis Hall
The Grinnell Singers will perform a set of folk songs from Russia, Norway, and China. Esme Rummelhart ’21 will join the Grinnell Singers to play the fiddle on “Gropen” by Gjermund Larson, a rousing fiddle tune for choir. The concert will include the world premiere of “Going Up a Tower,” by Wenqi Xu ’20, “We Cannot Leave,” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ted Hearne, Eric Whitacre’s “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine,” and “Hymne au soleil,” by Lili Boulanger. The Grinnell Oratorio Society will offer selections from Considering Matthew Shepard, by Craig Hella Johnson.

9–11 p.m.
Grant O. Gale Observatory
Gale Observatory
The Gale Observatory, north of Rosenbloom Field, features one of the largest telescopes in Iowa. Physics professor Robert R. Cadmus Jr. will be available during viewing hours. While the telescope is reached using stairs, the telescope program can be viewed on a monitor on the first floor and heard using an interactive sound system including an FM Loop. There is an accessible sidewalk to the observatory. A shuttle golf cart will depart every half-hour from the north end of the Bear Athletic Center parking lot on 10th Avenue.

Sunday, Sept. 30

10:30 a.m.
Interdenominational Christian Worship Service
Herrick Chapel
The Rev. Deanna Shorb, dean of religious life and chaplain, will preach. Wheelchair space and companion seating is available in the front pew and the chapel is equipped with a hearing loop.

10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.
Exhibition: and those exist together
Rosenfield Center, lobby
This student exhibition features work by Bojana Crnomarkovic ‘20. Smith Gallery features student art year-round.

11:00 a.m.
Grinnell Men’s Baseball Scrimmage
Grinnell College Pioneer Park

11:00 a.m.
Grinnell Men’s Soccer vs. Lawrence University
Jane Gunderson Springer ’50 Soccer Field

1:30 p.m.
Grinnell Women’s Soccer vs. Lawrence University
Jane Gunderson Springer ’50 Soccer Field

Housing Accommodations

There are several lodging options in and around Grinnell. Make your reservation today.

We look forward to welcoming families on campus this fall!