| Exhibits |
Burpee Museum has four floors of modern exhibits. Exhibits are specimen based, with strong interactive and educational components. The first floor is dedicated to paleontology; take a walk through time as your visit exhibits chronicling key times in earth's history. The Geoscience exhibit is located on the second floor, where rocks and minerals, fluorescent minerals, and the geology of the region can be found. Third floor exhibits include the Windows to Wilderness exhibit on Rock River Valley biology and the First People exhibit which introduces visitors to different Native American cultures. Located in the basement is the Dean Olson Viewing lab where fossil and biological specimens are prepared for exhibit. |
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| Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur |
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The Children's Gallery |
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Carboniferous
Coal Forest |
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The Ordovician Sea |
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| After four years of preparation, Jane is now on display as the centerpiece
of a new exhibit at Burpee Museum. Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur. Come discover
what happened during the 66 million years she lay buried, visit the expedition's
Montana base camp, and view Jane's fully restored 21-foot skeleton. |
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On the Museum's third floor you'll find a special place for children
and families to explore! Full of games, live animals, books, and activities,
the Gallery is the perfect place to spend a day discovering the natural
world together. |
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State-of-the-art technology is combined to create a two-story tall prehistoric
coal forest. Thrill to the thunder and lightning of a sudden tropical rainstorm
as you explore our local landscape, insects and amphibians as they existed
300 million years ago. |
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What did Rockford look like millions of years ago? Here's a hint: you'd
need your bathing suit! Discover the ancient sea that covered this region
and see fossils of the critters who called it home long before we did. |
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| Geoscience |
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The First People |
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Windows to Wilderness |
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Dean Olson
Viewing Lab |
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| Visit the second level to learn how our earth was formed and the forces
still at work shaping our planet. Included are exhibits on economic,
world and regional geology. See extraordinary
displays of unusual rocks, gems, and minerals; and information on plate
tectonics, land formations, and more. |
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Your trip through time continues with the history of humankind in North
America. The First People features a full-size wigwam and tipi, an
American Bison, and a dugout canoe that you can climb into! Make
sure to visit the video kiosk on your way out to learn what it's
like to live in a wigwam, hear Native American stories, and watch
a Pow Wow. |
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Focusing on the wildlife of the Rock River Valley, Windows to Wilderness
offers a fun, interactive approach to the world around us. Prepare yourself
to look at our environment through a new set of eyes as you explore this
hands-on exhibit, encounter live animals and re-discover your own habitat! |
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The Dean and Nancy Olson Specimen Viewing Lab is a window into how the
Museum works. Located on the lower level, the viewing area's large glass
windows reveal the biology and paleontology laboratories where specimens
are prepared for the Museum's collections and exhibits. Homer, the sub-adult Triceratops is found in and just outside the lab. Burpee Museum
maintains more than 60 thousand items in its permanent collection! |
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