Burpee Museum of Natural History

🦖✨ Just visited the Burpee Museum in Rockford and WOW! ✨🦕 From walking alongside life-size dinosaurs to watching real scientists prep fossils in the lab — this place is an absolute gem! “Jane,” the juvenile T. rex, was a total showstopper, and the Native American exhibit was both powerful and beautifully done. The museum is super clean, well-organized, and full of interactive exhibits for all ages. I especially loved the live reptiles and the ancient sea displays (seriously cool for both kids and adults). Staff were so friendly and helpful — you can tell they love what they do. :) Plan for at least 2 hours — there's so much to see! Tickets were affordable, and it’s totally worth it. ($15 for adults) IL residents might get a discount. Tip: Wear comfy shoes and bring your curiosity! Highly recommend if you're in the Rockford area. I’ll definitely be back! 🌍🦎💫

It was my first time visiting this museum and it was awesome! The amount of fossils and dinosaur replicas were my favorite. We went on a Wednesday afternoon and it was nice, quiet and peaceful. Also a great place to learn about the natural history of Rockford and surrounding area. The staff was super friendly and knowledgeable! Highly recommend!!

Great, little museum! They have fossils of ice age animals and dinosaurs. There are some modern animal mounts as well. You can see gem and minerals displayed as well. It's still being set up as of my visit Aug 1 2025 so it isn't a 5 star review yet. Probably a 3 star review however, for what they've done, I'm giving it 4 stars.

The Burpee museum is a terrific natural science museum. Multiple floors of great exhibits and artifacts and galleries. The dinosaur collection they have is quite extensive and has many fascinating and rare pieces. I also really enjoyed the mineral/geology exhibit as well. The guy working here gave me a lot of great information on their dinosaur exhibit. Great museum overall to visit.

Was a very lovely jazz and blues concert in the amphitheater behind the museum. There was wine and beer and a food truck. Music was great and the atmosphere was lovely.

I've been coming to Burpee Museum my entire life either with family or for school field trips and it's always been such a great experience. I brought my 2 kids, my niece, and one of my kids brothers Friday afternoon. Everything was very clean and maintained beautifully. There is still a large variety of items, artifacts, fossils, specimens, and more. We were INCREDIBLY lucky and while we were in the Windows to Wilderness room, two of the teen workers (I did not catch their names but they are in the photos or videos attached to this review) came into the room to clean enclosures and ended up getting quite a few of the creatures out for us to see, learn more about, and pet. All the kids with me and myself thought it was the coolest experience we could ever have. This was my neices first time at a museum and I know she'll never forget it. Everyone enjoyed our time there. Thank you SO much! Please let those two kids know that they made everyone's summer with that opportunity, they were both so kind, knowledgeable, great with kids/the public, very polite, and just altogether amazing.

This is a real hidden gem in Rockford, Il. A wonderful natural history museum that shares a building with a discovery museum and and art museum. Burpee covers various eras from the Carboniferous to the Quaternary. A great place to visit if you have a budding paleontologist kid. They have Jane, a nanotyrannosaurus, and Homer an almost complete skeleton of a juvenile triceratops along with many different ceratopsian skulls There are also ice age mammals, and live reptiles in the museum We did the Advanced Palentology Tour. Ryan was an amazing guide and was very patient with my son's enthusiasm and questions. Getting to spend time in the actual paleontology lab was a great experience and well worth the $33 price per person (which included admission). You will need to buy the special tours in advance. We will be back when we are in the area again.

You will not believe it until you step into the building. Very informative, a lot to see and learn, eye catching and worth the ticket prices.

This museum is amazing! The amount of dinosaur fossils to view is incredible for being a smaller museum and the staff is wonderful! We didn't realize it but the director actually showed us all the reptiles and let us hold/ pet them. She was so kind, patient and knowledgable! We will go back and highly recommend the trip!

Excellent place to visit with or without kids. I really enjoyed traveling through the entire museum. Downstairs they have a temporary exhibit highlighting fossils they are finding in the Green River Shale in Utah. From the large bones to the tiny buds of plants. The dinosaur exhibit on the first floor will particularly appeal to kids and vertebrate fossil fans. While I was drawn to the very nice collection of Mazon Creek concretions and my first in person view of a Tully Monster (which is the Illinois State Fossil). 2nd floor is more geology focused than paleontology and the 3rd floor is Biological. I spent some time looking at the different birds they had on display as well as the live reptiles in the education room. Plus a little fox at floor level where young children could Ben down and look eye to eye was a nice touch. We will definitely return. Rockford is close.

We came on a "Donation Day." However, this is for Illinois residents only. Otherwise, it's $10 for children 4-12 and $12 13 and up. This museum is too small for that cost. We were in and out within the hour. Veteran/educator discounts ONLY if you buy a membership. Half the 3rd floor was temporarily closed. I think you may have more visitors for what little you have if your pricing for kids was more reasonable. Or if you opened donation day to those outside Illinois. Especially for a museum one is in and out within an hour. Maybe you should offer a pass, tying in with the Children's museum and perhaps the Art museum since they are all located nearby. Such a great opportunity to introduce young children to Natural History and Art if one was offered. Otherwise, $32 for the 3 of us will not have us return anytime soon.

We do a lot lot lot of museums, and I didn't expect much of the place just given the location. But it is fantastic. We walked along the river ahead of time, then checked out the exhibits. Amazing collection, considering it's not a well known place like the equivalents in Chicago or New York. The dinosaurs are amazing, along with the fossils, the live animals, and the rocks. Well arranged. A young man was in there sketching, I believe a volunteer, and he told us even more about the exhibits. Can't say enough good about this place. Multiple floors with lots to see and learn. The exhibits aren't just STUFF, they are set up to tell stories. NOT touristy. Seriously, go there. And check out the riverfront just behind it as well. Another review says it's too small for the price and they were in and out within an hour. That means they didn't bother actually reading the materials and probably just buzzed past things. Their loss.

This is a great place to take anyone interested in dinosaurs and learning about history. Interactive displays offer a unique opportunity to learn about history!

What a hidden Jem! All the times we've been to Rockford we never knew they had this wonderful museum. If you like dinosaurs and fossils you will love this museum. It's not very big so it would be a great place to bring the kids. This place will keep them interested enough to get through the whole place before they get bored and ornery. I think they will be in awe just like I was when I walked in the front door and the first thing you see is this giant Mammoth skeleton. This place is awesome and we will be back and bringing our grandkids. I highly recommend the Burpee Museum of Natural History. I forgot to mention. The staff were really great too. Very nice and friendly. Great team!! Go if you are ever in the area!!

We are avid museum-goers but it's mostly been to larger museums with multiple wings and exhibitions. The Burpee Museum, although a much smaller location, still packs a punch. We appreicated the exhibits--dinosaurs are always a hit. And seeing a younger T-rex and Triceraptops was a real interesting section. We also liked the exhibit of Native American dwellings, the live ambphibian/reptiles and the rocks/gems. It took us about 90 minutes to visit, we didn't feel rushed nor did we seem crowded by other visitors. Really worth the visit if you're in the area.

We drove out here from Mundelein, about 1.5 hours. It was a nice calm drive. We had a 2-for-1 coupon, cost $19 for my wife, myself and my eight year old son. I was pleasantly surprised by the museum. They had a large selection of dinosaurs and fossils, including Jane, the young trex. Very cool. Great selection of minerals and other rare materials. Some good historical material on the area. I expected it to be tiny and weak, but was really happy with our visit. It's not going to compete with the huge museums in the city, but if you're anywhere out here in the burbs it's well worth the trip. We ate at Olympic Tavern down the street for lunch and it was great as well. (Kid friendly restaurant).

Way to go Rockford!! Looking forward to my next visit already!! The dinosaurs were fantastic, the Native American exhibits were very informative. We enjoyed the several hours exploring the museum and reading about various displays. Can't wait to get back to Rockford to see more associated locations.

First off - I think get the right age range. There are 2 wonderful attractions right next door to each other...this one is for older kids 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 history So... 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.

Burpee Museum is a small museum that focuses on the local area, explaining how that area was historically - grasslands, bison, local flora and fauna all being central to the displays. Their premier display is Jane, the juvenile t-rex, which we did enjoy viewing. Some displays are interactive, allowing kids to touch/feel. Others are primarily visual and require reading abilities. We happened to be there on the Saturday of Easter Weekend - they had 4H club in there with live rabbits and a duck. Also, they had an easter egg hunt in the museum, and the ability to have kids pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. Seemed very community oriented, which I think is a great attribute for a small museum like this. Also - something of note - Burpee is part of a bigger museum complex - so when you pay admission to Burpee, you also get admission to Discovery musuem, from what I understand. (Don't take my word for it though - check this before you go - it may have been a special that day - I didn't ask any questions.) Another thing of note - If you buy the family annual membership (from memory $60 - very affordable) you get free entry to many other museums for the year too. See http://www.astc.org/ for more info on this.) The thing I really like about small museums is they tend to fit nicely into the attention span of kids. I hate paying a fortune to go to a big museum and an hour later, when you are busy trying to take in all the info you can, your child says "can we go, I'm bored".....These smaller museums tend to be more manageable for families - less expensive, take less time, less crowded, more relevant to the area. Parking was a problem - until we asked the security guard who told us to park on the other side of the Discovery museum where there's lots of parking, and walk thru the underground pathway (tunnel) that connects the two complexes - enter Discovery museum and follow the signs to Burpee. Burpee museum store was very small, and lacking in much that was interesting - usually I love museum stores. We didn't get to go into it, but the Discovery Museum store looked much more interesting as we walked by it - wish we had of gone in there instead. Would we return? Yes. Would I recommend? Yes - but I would also suggest going in warmer weather, and plan to spend one to 1.5 hours in Burpee and then end up in Discovery museum - they seem to have an outdoor structure that looks like it might be fun for kids. We may leave our 13 year old at home though - Discovery museum might not peak his interest.

Honestly wasn't sure what to expect since kiddo generally gets super bored or antsy at these types of museums. However, she relished every single exhibit, loved loved loved the Sprouts area, had a bonus adventure with a tree frog, and loved seeing Jane and Homer. The staff was so nice and the space was just the right size (and not overcrowded) for a fun early afternoon adventure.

Burpee is not going to compete with places like the Field or the Museum of Science and Industry n Chicago but it punches way above it's weight in comparison to other local science museums. They do it the right way by focusing on the geological and life science topics relevant to the Rockford region...it's about the dinosaurs, rocks, and people that make up this part of the country and in that way it really succeeds. It is also nice to have a museum where you can see everything...Field can be overwhelming whereas Burpee offers a satisfying but not overwhelming serving of knowledge and edutainment. The real highlight of this place are the dinosaur skeletons; they have a juvenile T Rex skeleton and a complete triceratops skeleton to go with it. There is a very impressive room full of triceratops skulls, including juveniles and adults from a number of species. Those are the highlights but they also have some very nice dioramas of paleozoic era forests, a collection of different minerals, and a 2nd floor that highlights the animals, plants, and people of the Rockford area. This is worth an hour or so visit. The Discovery Museum next door has more stuff to keep young children engaged and is worth a visit as well but if your kids are of an age where they want to delve a bit deeper and especially if they like dinosaurs Burpee is not to be missed!

Great little museum in rockford that is perfect for any little dino lover! We went during paleo fest and it wasn't overly crowded which was nice. They had some stations for the kids that were fun. It's 4 levels but don't worry, it's not overly huge. We were able to look at the whole museum in about 2-3 hours. Make sure to go in the lower level and see if there are any projects going on and you can watch thru the viewing glass.

Great place to learn about history and see displays that are well thought out and placed for all ages. Excellent hands on experiences

Looks very interesting from the outside. We checked the website and FB before going but did not buy advance tickets. Imagine our surprise when we found a paper taped to the door saying they were closed until January 17. Very disappointed.

This is a pretty interesting little museum. I found the extra admission for the special exhibit a bit high ($13 vs $8) when they don't have anyone making sure those who didn't pay the extra price don't enter the special exhibit area, but other than that it was nice. I enjoyed the Megalodon exhibit and Jane the Tyrannosaurus Rex. I like that the museum is connected to a building housing other fun places like a children's & art museum as a family could spend a nice day here. It would be cool if there was a reduced admission deal if you bought tickets to multiple museums, though. Just an idea. Visited: April 13, 2014

If you love paleontology and dinosaurs, this is a great place to visit. The Burpee museum clearly has a great interest in paleontology and active collection. Jane the dinosaur was interesting. The exhibits make you wish you could dig right in and find some fossils yourself! The anthropology exhibits were also great although smaller. Great for all ages. It took my family about 3 hours to get through all three levels. Will definitely return again.

This place should thank Rick Nielsen for the exhibit that brought me there a few weeks ago. I never knew the place existed until then! Great location, lots of things to see and really inexpensive. This really is an asset to the city of Rockford.

This museum was an excellent introduction to the past for my 4.5 yo. He really enjoyed Jane their Juvenile Dinosaur exhibit. I enjoyed reading boards to him and watching him interact with the hands on portions of the exhibit. The second floor was lost on us: geology and the rocks of Rockford, but the third floor had us engaged again: Native American life and the animal life of Rockford. 2 for 3 isn't such a bad batting average. Their is also a basement, but I found that more as a cafeteria and party site rather than a place to spend time. Although, I will say we went on a Sunday and some of the researchers/archaeologists were working in their lab. That was cool. The reason for the lost star, well...normally this museum is $8//$7 entry for adults and kids. The day we went it was $13/$12 with no choice because of a traveling exhibit. That exhibit was lame. Underwater sea creatures. I guess it was fine, but it was one room. And the room was smelly. Had I paid the typical fees, I would have given it all five stars, but the extra exhibit was not worth $10 for us. The coolest thing, Rockford has a museum campus and a river walk that connects them. You could bring a picnic lunch and enjoy it on the river between museums.

In early April, 2013, I spent a week in the Rockford area. Normally, I enjoy going back to the city I grew up in, but this time was different. My father has had a serious illness for nearly the last two years, and it was really sad for me to see how much Dad had gone downhill. The last day that I was there, I decided to drive around Rockford for old times sake. I happened to drive by the Burpee, saw the ads for "Rick's Picks" and decided on the spur of the moment to stop in. That was the best decision I made during the entire visit! I was a huge Cheap Trick fan back in the day, and seeing Rick's guitars and things sure brought back a lot of memories of happier times. Just what I needed to boost my spirits after a depressing week! At first, I thought that the $15.00 admission was high. As I walked through the show, I quickly realized that it was worth every penny. As I bought some gift shop things to bring home to my family, I told the clerk how much I liked the show. She said that they had heard nothing but praise for it. I wish that "Rick's Picks" was on permanent display so more people would come to Rockford and see it. (God knows, Rockford needs all the attractions it can get!) I presently live in Lubbock, TX and we have a museum for our best known resident, 1950s rock star Buddy Holly. Why not have something honoring Cheap Trick? (Or any other classic rockers in other cities. I'd be willing to travel to see any 70s-related music or movie things. I'm a sucker for that era!)

This place FAR exceeded all of my expectations. I caught a desciption of the Burpee in the Chicago Trib last month. It talked about their rock and mineral collection so I put it on my list of places to visit. Being that today was a balmy 19 degrees, a museum fit the bill. After taking a gander in RAM we headed over. This place is three floors packed with outstanding exhibits with great attention to dinosaur fossils, illinois geology, rocks and minerals, and the specific geological history of the Rockford area. My son and I thoroughly loved every bit of the place. Thier dinosaur/fossil displays are phenominal. We also paid a little extra to see the underwater dinosaur exhibit too..well worth the fee. My favorite part of the museum was their impressive rock & mineral exhibits. They've got several cases filled with top notch pieces as well as a fluorescent room where you can choose different lighting options to view the flourescent stones they have on display. The Illinois historical exhibit on the third floor was really cool too. Had a blast here..definately a must see!

I bought a Living Social deal for this museum, and wasn't sure if it was going to be a flop or not, but it actually turned out to be really cool. Obviously it isn't on the scale of the Field Museum, but it was still surprisingly awesome. It seems crazy to me that this random little museum in Rockford has Jane, an awesome (and pretty complete) young TRex. So I would say go visit. Even without a coupon or deal, the $10 admission is worth it.

Not what I thought it would be, Very small got thought it in about a half hour. Their " Coal Forest " is not an exhibit it's just a bunch of trees in the middle don't know if there was supposed to be lights and sound but it was dark and I definitely didn't get the feel of a tropical rainforests. Big let down !!

Rockford's natural history museum is a gem! My kids love the dinos (of course), but also dig the minerals, environmental, and Native American exhibits. My kids love it so much we've had a family membership for three years, which is sweet because it garners discounts at 200+ museums in the nation and some international--a bargain at $80ish. If in Rockford, with kids, this is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon.

My school went here for a summer trip and really enjoyed it. A few of the exhibits were out of order but there was still much to see and do. The videos showed basically the same thing as the posters but if you did not want to read this was exemplary. Lots of hands on exhibits for the younger audiences. Over all great experience.

This is a very small museum good for younger kids. The exhibits are well done. It is connected to the Discovery Museum so a fun combo for spending the day with kids. Both great museums for Rockford.