Burpee Museum of Natural History — Attraction in Rockford Township

I hadn’t been at the Burpee Museum in almost 5 years, but upon returning this past month, I was delighted by the amount of change that had occurred in various parts of this museum, including some new exhibits that enhanced the quality of the visit. Some of the new expansions that I enjoyed exploring the most were an exhibit about life in Illinois during the ice ages, some scattered new additions to their geology gallery, and an exhibit called ‘Survival of the Smallest’ (which focuses on how some insects and arachnids develop striking adaptations to hunt, defend themselves, mate, reproduce, etc.).

However, my favorite new addition to the Burpee Museum was a gallery displaying fossils from the Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. The fossils on display here are all from the late Jurassic, and specimens from dinosaur species such as Stegosaurus, Camarasaurus, Allosaurus, and a rare dinosaur called Mymoorapelta can be found in this exhibit. The centerpiece of the Jurassic fossil gallery is a massive 60 inch long diplodocus femur, likely from an adult individual of this long necked dinosaur species. The specimen was named Mr. Beast, as the world famous YouTuber was at the site when the bone was being excavated. This fossil is bound to become one of the Burpee Museum’s most renowned icons of dinosaur discovery, just like Jane the T. Rex and Homer the Triceratops have been for decades!

The Burpee Museum of Natural History, though smaller than the Field Museum, is still a must-see for those who love to learn about dinosaurs, paleontology, geology, and other subjects related to natural sciences. The museum displays a stunning array of artifacts and its exhibits are very informative. Some of the older exhibits are dated and need upgrades, but beyond that, you won’t be disappointed with your visit to this iconic tourist attraction...

It's never easy or even appropriate to speak poorly of an institution that endeavors to educate. The Burpee Museum of Natural History is by no means a definitive statement on the broad natural science; however, it is an earnest attempt to educate its patrons on the natural history of the area -- from geology to botany to insects to fish and to larger mammals, as well as a quality paleontology section featuring some impressive fossils and reconstructions.

Let there be no doubt about it: the Burpee is a small space, and its educational value is very much a local affair. The price of admission is, to my mind, a bit steep (my son and I visited on a Friday afternoon, and it was $8/each), particularly for a purely educational museum. I'm sure they have discounted prices for schools and other groups, but even moving through the exhibits at an intentionally slow pace, it only took 45 minutes or so to cover the three-story space.

Nevertheless, I can recommend the museum unequivocally, if for no other reason than those associated with it are genuinely committed to the sciences, as should we all be in this strange point in our national zeitgeist, in which science is under siege by those who denounce science and reject the scientific method for textural mythology and...

The reptiles on the top floors are severally malnourished and stressed, their enclosures were unlocked and anyone could have easily reached in,one python was in an enclosure 3 times too small (curled up it covered almost the whole floor of the enclosure) there were dead rotting rats in most snake cages and they smelt to high heaven, in one enclosure the bedding was moving from ants and what I can only assume were worms of some kind, most of the enclosures were in the children's play area which is dangerous for both the reptiles and children, most didn't have thermometers or humidity gages and 1 enclosure the only thing keeping anyone from getting in was that the door was turned towards the wall which did nothing because it was on wheels, I brought my nieces and nephew here because they loved dinosaurs but left absolutely disgusted by the sight we saw there P.S a veiled chameleon should NEVER be so skinny you can see every bone in its legs and they should never be a dark brown, a healthy and happy veiled chameleon should be a plump reptile that is a very lovely light...