Check out the Trailside Museum and earn a badge: Established in 1931, the Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History served as the first public nature education facility of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Visitors to the Museum, housed in a historic mid-1870′s Victorian mansion, will discover displays of live native animals, colorful wildflower gardens, information about local wildlife and their habitats, and more.
Natural-surfaced hiking trails through the surrounding Forest Preserve wind through beautiful oak woodlands and floodplain forest, and to a pond and along the Des Plaines River.
Trailside Museum is child-friendly, and offers a wide variety of public nature programs and guided hikes every month, for children, families and adults. School groups and organizations are welcome to make reservations to visit, and will receive a customized tour with a naturalist.
Trailside Museum is located at the western edge of suburban River Forest, and is easily reached by foot, bicycle, car, or public transportation.
Visitors to the Museum, housed in a historic mid-1870′s Victorian mansion, will discover displays of live native animals, colorful wildflower gardens, information about local wildlife and their habitats, and more.
Natural-surfaced hiking trails through the surrounding Forest Preserve wind through beautiful oak woodlands and floodplain forest, and to a pond and along the Des Plaines River.
Trailside Museum is child-friendly, and offers a wide variety of public nature programs and guided hikes every month, for children, families and adults. School groups and organizations are welcome to make reservations to visit, and will receive a customized tour with a naturalist.
Trailside Museum is located at the western edge of suburban River Forest, and is easily reached by foot, bicycle, car, or public transportation.
Reading also happens when we visit a museum, a park, a nature center..... For example, a family went to the Indiana Dunes last summer, and they took a few minutes to get a brochure and go online to read about how the dunes were formed. This type of trip and reading will earn you a badge. If you go to the zoo, read a sign or plaque and learn about the animals. Most major attractions also have their own website. If you go on a family field trip to Washington D.C. or Mt. Rushmore, take a few minutes to read about the site you're visiting . A parent can read along with you. Here is a list of local places to visit. Don't forget to bring in an artifact from the trip. It can be a brochure, drawing you made, ticket stub, photo, etc....
Family field trips are important. Take a look at this great article for ideas.
http://www.familyliteracyjournal.com/family-field-trips/take-a-family-field-trip
There are many places near Berwyn that you can go and explore with your family. Why not plan a trip this weekend? Many of these places are open all year round! The following is a growing list of places that we suggest.
Have you been to a special place that connects to our learning, is not on this list, and would like to share? Let us know and we can add it to the list!
NATURE/WILDLIFE
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County
http://www.fpdcc.com/
The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center (Palos Hills)
http://fpdcc.com/nature-centers/little-red-schoolhouse-nature-center
The Garfield Park Conservatory (Chicago)
http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/
The Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe)
http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
The Morton Arboretum (Lisle)
http://www.mortonarb.org/
Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield)
http://www.czs.org/czs/Brookfield/Zoo-Home.aspx
Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago)
http://www.lpzoo.com/
Cosley Zoo (Wheaton)
http://www.cosleyzoo.org/
Willowbrook Wildlife Center (Glen Ellyn)
http://www.willowbrookwildlife.com/
The Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/
Blackberry Farm (Aurora)
http://www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org/?q=node/2
Starved Rock State Park (Utica)
http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/
Cantigny Gardens and Museums (Wheaton)
http://www.cantigny.org/
Trailside Nature Center (River Forest)
http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=5&file=abt_5f
MUSEUMS (history/science)
The Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
http://www.msichicago.org/
The Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago)
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/
The Chicago History Museum (Chicago)
http://www.chicagohs.org
The DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago)
http://www.dusablemuseum.org
Naper Settlement (Naperville)
http://www.napersettlement.org/
Graue Mill and Museum (Oak Brook)
http://www.grauemill.org/
Cantigny Gardens and Museums (Wheaton)
http://www.cantigny.org/
Illinois Railway Museum (Union)
http://www.irm.org
ART MUSEUMS
The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.artic.edu/aic/
The National Museum of Mexican Art
http://www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/
PLANETARIUM
The Adler Planetarium (Chicago)
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/
Family field trips are important. Take a look at this great article for ideas.
http://www.familyliteracyjournal.com/family-field-trips/take-a-family-field-trip
There are many places near Berwyn that you can go and explore with your family. Why not plan a trip this weekend? Many of these places are open all year round! The following is a growing list of places that we suggest.
Have you been to a special place that connects to our learning, is not on this list, and would like to share? Let us know and we can add it to the list!
NATURE/WILDLIFE
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County
http://www.fpdcc.com/
The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center (Palos Hills)
http://fpdcc.com/nature-centers/little-red-schoolhouse-nature-center
The Garfield Park Conservatory (Chicago)
http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/
The Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe)
http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
The Morton Arboretum (Lisle)
http://www.mortonarb.org/
Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield)
http://www.czs.org/czs/Brookfield/Zoo-Home.aspx
Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago)
http://www.lpzoo.com/
Cosley Zoo (Wheaton)
http://www.cosleyzoo.org/
Willowbrook Wildlife Center (Glen Ellyn)
http://www.willowbrookwildlife.com/
The Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/
Blackberry Farm (Aurora)
http://www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org/?q=node/2
Starved Rock State Park (Utica)
http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/
Cantigny Gardens and Museums (Wheaton)
http://www.cantigny.org/
Trailside Nature Center (River Forest)
http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=5&file=abt_5f
MUSEUMS (history/science)
The Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
http://www.msichicago.org/
The Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago)
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/
The Chicago History Museum (Chicago)
http://www.chicagohs.org
The DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago)
http://www.dusablemuseum.org
Naper Settlement (Naperville)
http://www.napersettlement.org/
Graue Mill and Museum (Oak Brook)
http://www.grauemill.org/
Cantigny Gardens and Museums (Wheaton)
http://www.cantigny.org/
Illinois Railway Museum (Union)
http://www.irm.org
ART MUSEUMS
The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.artic.edu/aic/
The National Museum of Mexican Art
http://www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/
PLANETARIUM
The Adler Planetarium (Chicago)
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/