Moms, dads, grandparents, and siblings swarmed the campus for a fun Family Weekend filled with activities and catching up, while attending events on Saturday that went all the way through Sunday evening.
After registering, families were able to take a tour of the Art Museum in Centennial Hall, which contained over 4,000 pieces that were separated by three different galleries. The families had a chance to learn about the Permanent Collection, art pieces that represent certain cultures, the Teaching Collection, put together for learning purposes, and the Heritage Collection, art pieces that hold defined importance to the history of Augustana and it’s heritage. The day continued with a lecture by Paleontologist, Dr. Bill Hammer on his search for new dinosaurs and Antarctic adventures.
Following Dr. Hammer’s lecture, the current students and families followed the crowd over to learn about CORE. While heading over to the events, freshman Lauren Blankenship and her parents, Nicole and Wallace, said they were ready to have a good day.
The families were able to meet the staff and learn more about what the program has to offer them at the college. While the current families were introduced to CORE, the high school student visitors and their families had a meeting with the Admissions office to discuss the financial details and what to expect while in college.
President Steve Bahls addressed all the visitors and future Vikings to the campus and spoke about Augustana’s lasting greatness. Later on in the festivities, the president and his wife opened up their home to the crowd and welcomed them to come chat, ask questions, take some pictures, and enjoy the scenery.
“My favorite part of family weekend is opening the president’s home to families. Jane and I have done this for each of the twelve years that we’ve lived in the house. It is a great opportunity to meet parents and check in with them about how it is going for their students,” President Bahls said.
Augustana staff set up tents all over campus with food and drinks as refreshments for when people had leisure time. On Saturday, the college held a picnic outdoors for the guests and set up a mass of tables and chairs so the families could enjoy the weather and each others company.
Family events continued into Sunday with an outdoor worship held in the morning followed by a ride and lunch held on the Celebration Belle while cruising down the Mississippi River on an 800-passenger paddle-wheel boat.