IT BEGAN AS A HUMBLE DISPLAY OVERSEEN BY LOCAL ENTHUSIAST MILTON MAHLBERG.
THEN IN 1942, IT IT BECAME THE
NUCLEUS FOR A NEW MUSEUM AND
MOVED INTO THIS VICTORIAN
MANSION.
AND, STILL, MAHLBERG, KEPT
ADDING ITEMS AND BUILDING
DISPLAYS.
HELLO, I AM JIM WILHELM.
EVENTUALLY THE BURPEE OF MUSEUM
OF NATURAL HISTORY FILLED EVERY
NOOK AND CRANNY OF THIS
BUILDING.
WHAT WAS ONCE THE GRANDEST HOME
IN ROCKFORD WAS CLUTTERED WITH
THE REMNANTS OF THIS GEOLOGICAL
PAST.
THE HOUSE ITSELF HAD BEEN BUILT
IN 1893 BY A LOCAL INDUS
TRIFLIST AT A COST OF $30,000.
INSIDE, HANDCAR OFFED CHERRY
WOODWORK ADORNED THE FOYER AND
MAIN HALLWAY.
DESPITE ITS 15 ROOMS, THERE WAS
NOT ENOUGH SPACE.
EVENTUALLY THE MUSEUM A YIERD
THIS HOUSE NEXT DOOR.
IT HAD BEEN THE HOME OF ANOTHER
LOCAL INDUSTRIALIST, JOHN MANNY.
HIS COMPANY MANUFACTURED REAPERS
BASED ON A DESIGN HIS FATHER HAD
INVENTED AND PATENTED IN 1849.
THE MC CORMICK COMPANY SUED HIP
FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT, AND THE
CASE WOUND UP IN THE SUPREME
COURT.
THERE HIS LAWYER SUCCESSFULLY
DEFEND HIS MACHINE.
OH, AND ONE OF THE LAWYERS AT
THE TIME, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
ANYWAY, BACK TO THE BURPEE MUSEUM. RECENTLY A NEW ADDITION WAS
ADDED TO THE MANNY MANSION AND
THE COLLECTION MOVED AGAIN. BUT
MAHLBERG HAD BEGUN IN THE 19
20'S HAS BLOSSOMED INTO A
FIRST-RATE FACILITY.
INSIDE ARE SEVERAL DIORAMASA
VISITORS CAN GO THROUGH TAKING
THREW THE GEOLOGICAL AND
BIOLOGICAL HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
THIS REPRESENTS THE ROCKFORD
AREA OF 200 MILLION YEARS AGO
WHEN IT WAS A TROPICAL RAIN
FOREST.
AT THAT TIME, THE MOST DOMINANT
PLANT WAS THE LYCOPOD TREES THAT
COULD REACH HEIGHTS OF OVER A
HUNDRED FEET.
TODAY, LYCOPODS ARE REPRESENTED
BY ONLY A HANDFUL OF MOSSES.
BUT BACK THEN THEY WERE THE
BEGINNING OF ILLINOIS' ENERGY
RESERVE.
AS THE PLANTS DIED AND FELL INTO
STAGNANT WATERS, A THICK MAT OF
PLANT MATERIAL ACCUMULATED.
THOSE MATS WERE THEN COVERED
OVER WITH MUD AND SAND, AND THE
PROCESS REPEATED ITSELF.
AS THE LEVELS BUILT-UP, THE
PLANTS BELOW CAME UNDER
INCREASED PRESSURE AND HEAT.
THAT PLANT MATERIAL SLOWLY
CHANGED INTO COAL.
TODAY, COAL UNDERLIES 65% OF THE
STATE, AND OF THE 75 SCENES HAD
BEEN IDENTIFIED, ONLY 20 HAD
BEEN MINED COMMERCIALLY.
ILLINOIS STILL HAS THE LARGEST
RESERVES OF BITUMINOUS COAL IN
THE NATION.
RISING ABOVE ME IS THE MOST POPULAR EXHIBIT. IT IS ONE OF ONLY TWO T-REX
SKELETONS ON DISPLAY ANYWHERE IN
THE MID WEST.
THESE ARE NOT THE ACTUAL BONES,
BUT CASTS OF THE BONES FROM THE
T-REX THAT STANDS IN THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL
HISTORY IN NEW YORK.
IT WAS THE FIRST SUCH SKELETON
EVER SEEN BY THE PUBLIC AND WAS
CREATED FROM THE REMAINS OF TWO
DIFFERENT T-REX'S.
BOTH FOSSILS WERE FOUND IN THE
EARLY 1900'S BY THE FAMOUS
PAELENTOLOGIST BARHAM BROWN IN
MONTANA.
ONLY 30 T-REX SKELETONS HAVE
BEEN FOUND, AND NONE WERE
COMPLETELY INTACT.
THIS ONE IS 35 FEET LONG AND
STANDS TEN FEET HIGH.
A LIVING T-REX MIGHT WEIGH AS
MUCH AS EIGHT TONS.
ANOTHER CARNIVORE, BUT ON A
DIFFERENT SCALE, IS THE ONE
MOVIE GOERS WILL RECOGNIZE BY
THE SIZE AND SHAPED CLAWS ON ITS
FEET.
THIS IS A CAST OF THE RAPTOR
ROMASAURUS DISCOVERED BY
SCIENTISTS IN 1922 IN ALBERTA,
CANADA.
THEY WERE A VICIOUS PREDATOR
WHOSE CLAWS COULD RIP APART
THEIR PREY.
INTERESTINGLY, DINOSAUR FOSSILS
HAVE NEVER BEEN FOUND IN
ILLINOIS.
FOSSILS ARE FORMED IN LOW WET
AREAS WHERE THE SEDIMENTS BURY
THE REMAINS, AND ILLINOIS AT
THAT TIME WAS A HIGHLAND AREA.
PLUS, DURING THE ICE AGE,
GLACIERS SCRAPED AWAY THE TOP
LAYERS OF ROCK, DESTROYING ANY
POSSIBLE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE OF
LOCAL DINOSAURS.
AND SPEAKING OF THE ICE AGE,
THIS WAS ONE OF THE CREATURES
ROAMING THROUGH ILLINOIS DURING
THAT ERA WHICH WAS FROM 35,000
TO 12,000 YEARS AGO.
THIS IS A SKELETON OF A
COLUMBIAN MAHLBERG.
IT IS A LARGER COUSIN OF THE
WOOLLY MAHLBERG, AND IT, TOO,
HAD A THICK COAT OF HAIR TO
PROTECT IT FROM THE COLD.
SOME PEOPLE SPECULATE THEIR SIZE
CONTRIBUTED TO THE BEGINNING OF
HUMAN COMMUNITIES.
THEY WERE TOO BIG FOR ONE PERSON
TO FELL.
SO FAMILIES CAME TOGETHER ANVIL
ANDS WERE ORGANIZED TO HUNT
THESE BEASTS.
ABOVE THE FOSSILS DISPLAY CS AN
AREA BEING CONVERTED TO SHOWCASE
THE MINERAL COLLECTION AND LEARN
MORE ABOUT ILLINOIS' GEOLOGICAL
HISTORY.
SOON THIS FLOOR WILL BE FILLED
WITH INTERACT TIVE DISPLAYS,
EXPLORING, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
THE ICE AGES AND PLATETEC
PLATETECHTONICS.
IN ADDITION TO THE EXHIBITS, VISITORS CAN WATCH AND TALK TO SCIENTISTS AS THEY WORK IN THE
LABS.
BEHIND ME, A PAELENTOLOGIST IS
BUSY CATEGORIZING AND PRESERVING
BONES.
RECENTLY THE MUSEUM HAS BEEN
SPONSORING A DIG IN THE HELL
CREEK FORMATION OF MONTANA.
JUST ABOUT THE SAME AREA WHERE
THE T-REX SKELETON ON DISPLAY
WAS FOUND.
IN ADDITION TO STAFF, A LIMITED
NUMBER OF THE PUBLIC ARE ALLOWED
ON LOCATION.
THIS IS A BONE THAT WAS DISCOVERED DURING THE LAST OUTING.
IT IS FROM THE LEG OF A JUVENILE
TRICERATOPS.
EVERYTHING FOUND ON THOSE TRIPS
IS SENT BACK HERE AND ADDED TO
THE COLLECTION WHICH HAS NEVER
STOPPED GROWING.
BONE CHIPS FROM THE FIELD ARE
COVERED IN BURLAP AND PLASTER
FOR PROTECTION.
TO HARDEN THE FRAGILE PIECES, A
SOLUTION OF ACETAT AND PLASTIC
IS USE.
ACETATA E VAP WAITS IN THE BONE,
LEAVING THE PLASTIC TO HARDEN.
THIS IS FROM A FIND WHICH HAS
CREATED QUITE A STIR. IT IS A
TOE BONE FROM A 20-FOOT
THERAPOD, WHICH IS A DINOSAUR
THAT WALKS ON THREE TOES.
IT IS VERY UNUSUAL.
BUT THIS SKELETON APPEARS TO
HAVE BEEN PRESERVED IN ITS LIKE
POSITION WHICH VERY RARE.
EVENTUALLY THIS PIECE MIGHT BE A
SMALL PART OF A NEW EXHIBIT.
IN ADDITION TO ANCIENT ANIMALS,
THE MUSEUM ALSO GATHERS EXAMPLES
OF TODAY'S WILDLIFE, BIOLOGICAL
COLLECTION.
ANY OF THE ANIMALS OR BIRDS
CURRENTLY BEING ADDED TO THE
COLLECTION HAD BEEN FOUND DEAD
IN THE WILD.
IN THE STOREROOM ARE ROWS OF
MOUNTED BIRDS AND ANIMALS
WAITING TO BE PLACED IN EXHIBITS
OR FOR USE IN THE CLASSROOM.
PLUS THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE
ASSORTMENT OF BUTTERFLIES AND
INSECTS.
THE REAL TREASURE DOWN HERE IS
NOT GENERALLY SEEN BY THE PUBLIC
PUBLIC.
IN DRAWER AFTER DRAWER ARE SKINS WHICH ARE NOT MOUNTED OR POSED FOR DISPLAY, BUT ARE A
HISTORICAL RECORD.
THEY NOT ONLY CHRONICLE THE
SPECIES THAT LIVED IN THIS AREA,
BUT ALSO ANY CHANGES OR
ADAPTATIONS THAT OCCURRED IN THE
POPULATION.
RESEARCHERS STUDYING A
PARTICULAR SPECIES COULD HANDLE
THE SKINS BEING TAKE
MEASUREMENTS, AND STUDY THE
COLORING, AND THEY WILL LAST
PRACTICALLY FOREVER.
IMAGINE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM
NOW, SCIENTISTS COULD STILL BE
EXAMINING THESE SKINS.
BUT IT IS NOT JUST ANIMALS.
ALSO STORED AWAY IS A COLLECTION
THAT WAS GATHERED DURING THE
1940'S REPRESENTING THE PLANT
LIFE FOUND IN THIS AREA.
MANY OF THESE WERE TAKEN FROM
PARTS OF ROCKFORD NOW HEAVILY
DEVELOPED.
THIRD FLOOR CONTAINS ARTIFACTS AND EXHIBITS RELATIVE TO THE FIRST PEOPLE LIVING IN THIS AREA
AS WELL AS THE LANDSCAPE THEY
FACED.
SOON THE BIOLOGICAL COLLECTION
WILL BE USED TO ENHANCE SEVERAL
WALK THROUGH DIE RAM MAS THAT
WILL RECREATE VARIOUS ECO
SYSTEMS, FROM WETLANDS TO
PRAIRIES.
IN ADDITION TO ALL THE EXHIBITS,
THE MUSEUM ALSO OFFERS A LARGE
VARIETY OF PROGRAMS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE CLASSES
FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS,
GUEST LECTURERS, FOSSIL HUNTS
AND OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS.
THEN THERE IS THE EVER POPULAR
OVERNIGHT STAY WHERE THE KIDS
BUNK IN THIS WIGWAM AND LISTEN
TO TALES TOLD BY NATIVE AMERICAN
STORYTELLERS.
WHAT BEGAN AS A SMALL COLLECTION
THAT CREPT INTO EVERY CORNER OF
OLD VICTORIAN MANSION HAS NOW
BECOME A FIRST-RATE FACILITY.
BUT IT DOESN'T STAND ALONE.
THE BURPEE IS CONNECTED BY
UNDERGROUND TUNNEL TO ROCKFORD'S
RIVER FRONT MUSEUM COMPLEX WHICH
CONSISTS OF THE ART MUSEUM AND
THE CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTER.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
PROGRAMS OFFERED AT THE BURPEE
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, LOG
ON TO THEIR WEB SITE AT WWWW DOT
BURPEE DOT.ORG 815.
ON TO THEIR WEB SITE AT WWWW DOT BURPEE DOT.ORG OR CALL 815-965-3433