Entertaining Attractions & Getaways In Rockford, Illinois, By Melody Schubert

Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History -With fun and entertaining attraction and affordable getaway packages you can plan a great getaway to fit any budget. And, speaking of attractions, Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History has a new kid in town; the juvenile T. rex, Jane! This T-Rex is special to the folks at the Burpee Museum because their researchers were directly involved in her discovery!

Burpee’s award-winning exhibit, Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur, explores the history of the young T. rex skeleton found by Burpee researchers in the badlands of Montana, called one of the ten most important dinosaur discoveries in the past 100 years. Also included in their dinosaur collection is the juvenile Triceratops Homer, who was also found in the Montana Badlands by Burpee volunteers. Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History is very affordable; admission for non-residents is $7 for adults and $6 for children, with parking offered absolutely free. This means a family of four can visit the Burpee Museum for less than $30! With such a difference in pricing, a trip to the Burpee Museum is a natural alternative for the budget-conscious family.

Rockford Art Museum -There's more than prehistoric creatures to explore in Rockford, which is also home to the Rockford Art Museum, which is Illinois' largest art museum outside of Chicago. Featuring more than 1,200 works of art, Rockford Art Museum is noted for its permanent collection of 19th and 20th century American art, plus dynamic and changing exhibitions featuring regional and national artists. The Rockford Art Museum has hosted many prominent exhibitions, from HE & SHE: Vallien & Hydman-Vallien by internationally renowned glass artists Bertil Vallien and Ulrica Hydman-Vallien to Expect the Unexpected by Chicago artist Hollis Sigler. Rockford Art Museum is part of the Riverfront Museum Park arts and humanities complex, with plenty of free parking in the museum’s parking lot, and admission is a mere $6 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.

Rockford’s Discovery Center Museum -Voted as one of the nation’s top ten children’s museums by The National Geographic Society, Rockford’s Discovery Center Museum has more than 250 hands-on art and science exhibits. The Discovery Center also boasts the nation’s first community-built outdoor science park, with 8,000 square feet of wooden fun, including a two-story maze, water play area and dinosaur fossil dig pit. Featuring a planetarium, TV studio, robotics lab, as well as special events and traveling exhibits, the Discovery Center is recognized as one of the top ten science museums in the country by Child Magazine, and was designated as a Good to Grow! Museum by the Association of Children’s Museums. Admission to Rockford’s Discovery Center Museum is only $6 for adults and $5 for children, so a family of four can visit the Discovery Center for only $22.

Located in northern Illinois in the stateline area, Rockford is just a short drive away from most major Midwestern cities!