Elgin Public Museum

"Small museum of natural history and (a little) anthropology. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, it is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. Some of the exhibits are really showing their age. The "stuffed" animals and birds are an example. Lighting isn't ideal in several areas, which makes it tough to see the feather and fur colors. That said, several exhibits are much more updated. We appreciated the large colorful mural on the second floor showing currently endangered native Illinois species, for example. Also some nice exhibits on tree species found in Lords Park and on local ecology (including habitats at risk for egrets, sandhill cranes, and black-crowned night herons). We had good chuckles from the contemporary art on the first floor. Many of the pieces are quite whimsical and entertaining. Worth the price of admission just for the art! Museum volunteer was friendly and helpful. All in all, a fun and educational visit for a great price."

"What an amazing museum for this area! It displays the region’s natural history very well, especially the Glacial History! I’ve been trying to understand that better since moving here from a non-glacial region. Lots of activities in the kid’s space. An affordable trip for anyone!"

"Elgin Public Museum has always been a place our family loves to go. The museum is nestled within Lord's Park in Elgin. We have gone many times this past year to take Homeschool classes. We've taken classes on Rocks, Indigenous Tech and many others. They have so many things to see here. Information on the ice ages, fossils, rocks, plants, animals, dioramas, indigenous people artifacts, many taxidermy animals and a whole large area for kids to discover and play. They also have a small gift shop, host many adult educational classes and fundraisers as well. Next to the Museum you can visit the park, see the Bison and Elk, visit Lord's Park Zoo or walk around the beautiful lagoons."

"It is a nice, but tiny natural history museum. They had beautiful displays for Day of the Dead and coloring and activity pages available for children. The only complaint we had was that many of the artifacts did not say where they had been found."

"Took our kids to story time here on a cold Saturday morning. The staff was friendly, place was warm and kids enjoyed the visit. Museum is definitely 100 years old. The building seemed more interesting than the exhibits. I realize that things like this take funding, but doesn't seem like they've updated since the 70's. We would return more often, or even do a paid membership if they offered upgraded programming."