burpee museum of natural history

This museum is so small, that you can actually talk to the staff and they will try to answer you with the answer you want. If they don't know it, they will find out. They're famous for Jane the juvenile T-Rex , but they are always adding, adding, adding. 3 floors of displays and all very interesting. Enjoy

This place is definitely full of grand dinosaurs and awesome finds but I can't justify the fee, we go on free days and enjoy it all in a relaxing environment as we are homeschoolers and it's usually quiet on free days during the school year. We love to read about their excavations and learn so much but as I said, I don't think it is something we could do while paying for it. This museum is about 20 minutes from our home, but we bought a Field Museum membership instead because we can do so much more there and would rather take on the extra drive.

We are fortunate to have Jane the juvenile T-Rex and other rcent finds by our local museum. People come from around the world to see Jane. She has been featured on the Discover Channel.

Was much better than expected. Has the worlds most complete Juvenile T-REX! We enjoy museums, but some can be overkill. This one was just perfect, it took about 2 hours to go through and didn't have a headache when done. Some real sweet authentic displays, our favorite was the T-rex skeleton (yes its not a copy, but the REAL one) We had 5 adults and 2 kids aged 3 and 5. all had a fantastic time. They even have free wheelchairs, so I got one for my mom to make it easy on her.

First off - I think get the right age range. There are 2 wonderful attractions right next door to each other...See... I've been here a couple of times. When my kids were small, we always went to the next door Discovery World (children's museum) which kept them occupied for many hours. Since it was so hands on - and geared for younger kids (younger than 10), we waited until my older one was 10 to come here. This was an exciting place for her at age 10; but not for the younger one. Fast forward several years... now my younger one is 12 - and he just spent 5 hours here.In reality - 5 hours is a stretch. This is probably a 2-3 hour effort for most kids aged 10-16 or so (which I think is the sweet spot). My son wants to be a paleontologist - so he spent more time here.Key "hits" are:- Bison, Canoe, Teepee, Sauk house on top floor- Dinosaur Exhibit (most bones have been found, pictures of the scientists finding it)- Young T-Rex, Triceratops, and all the "heads" (you have to see it to understand)- Geological detail and historySo... go here with older kids, take the younger ones next door. Wish I could write a review for it; but haven't been there in a few years.

We toured this museum shortly after it had opened. It had a lot of nice natural displays. It is conveniently attached (pretty much) to the Discovery Center. Great place to take kids.

Fossils, rocks, skeletons, dinosaurs! Haven't we all been interested in those at some time in our lives? Burpee has an exceptional collection of all those things and much more in very user-friendly, well documented exhibits. The museum is just the right size to enjoy and explore without being overwhelmed or bored by too much stuff. Partnered with a visit to the next-door Children's World Museum, it makes for an awesome and enriching day.

I can see how this place would be good for older kids but not the best place for toddlers. My son is 3 and even though I explained things to him and he liked some of the animals and of course Jane, he really just wanted to run around. I should have taken him to a park instead. I just wanted an outing for him where learning was incorporated. A mistake on my part, I should have researched this place more thoroughly. When we were leaving we seen the Discovery Center near by and I was bummed I hadn't found that instead.The Burpee seems nice enough, clean, some interesting things to see and well organized but not quite what I had in mind. The staff smiled at us but they were not very engaging. Overall, I would not recommend or return, even when my son is older.

Love the brio trains, electric exhibits and lots of farm equipment to sit with. Stairs are a little challenging but great flow to go see the dinosaurs and lots of other exhibits, can do a full day with my grand kids

A little hard to find for visitors not familiar with the area (follow the signs to the Riverfront Museum Park), but worth the drive. I was expecting a small local museum, but was surprised by the number and quality of their exhibits, especially their nearly complete dinosaur skeletons. Also displays I didn't expect, including Indian mounds, local flora and fauna (including a few live specimens), and the history of mining in the area. I recommend visiting the nice children's science center next door as well - you can do both in an afternoon.

If you love paleontology and lots of other great scientific biological history, you're gonna love Jane and her friends! Dinosaur skeletons and lots of groovy fossilized life forms await your visit to this above average museum! I'm so glad I live nearby so we can visit at least once a year!

My science geek friend and I recently stopped in at the Burpee to take in the Megalodon display. Although a bit pricey for the entrance fee and special exhibit (it can't be cheap to keep up regular exhibits and bring in new ones to try to stay competitive with larger city museum offerings), it was totally worth it! The Megalodon was, well, mega. You could have walked into his mouth as an appetizer!The gift shop is small, but we were able to pick up some stuffed dinosaurs for a special little guy we know. Perfect!I recommend the Burpee Museum the next time you are in the Rockford, Illinois area. But do take extra time to visit the Discovery Center next door. You won't need to entertain your kids or grandkids for a couple of hours.

This museum would make me pine for the Museum of Natural History in Chicago but there isn't anything to pine over. Again, not worth the price of admission. Make sure you get in for free and you will not be disappointed.

There are museums and then there are museums. The Burpee not only had great exhibits, starting with Jane the T-Rex, but enough things to keep kids and adults interested and occupied. Terrific family exhibition.

This was a great place to visit. There was so much information about the world in which we live in from the past to the present. If you love dinosaurs then you are going to love the dinosaur skeletons that they have there. And the displays are very informative. What they also feature are the different rock formations and what can be commonly found in the area. On the third floor was an exhibit of how the Indians lived in the area. What they did and how they went through the winter season. And finally they had an exhibit called Rick's Picks. The lead guitarist for the band Cheap Trick had several of his possessions on display. The Rick's Picks exhibit was for a limited time. As of this writing it is no longer at the museum. However if it does come back make sure to check it out. All in all I found the museum to be very informative and the kids will have a good time there as well.