Make Your Visit EXTRA Special!
Enhance your experience at Burpee Museum with special encounters with live animals or behind the scenes tours! Are you looking to dig deeper with something a little more special, up close, and personal? Whether its a turtle feeding, private fossil collection tours, or a chance to meet our snakes, grab your camera because we have experiences you will want to capture! These experiences are booked in advance and are private for your small group of 15 or less. Participating children must be accompanied by adult companions.
Rates: $30 Adults/$25 Youth (Admission to the museum is included with the purchase of an Encounter.)
Bringing a large group? Contact us for assistance and packages: nicole.hayes@burpee.org
Fossils & Collections
Must See Fossil Experience
Explore the best of Burpee’s fossils in this 45 min must see behind the scenes tour for any dinosaur and fossil lover! This tour will go as in-depth as you are interested and is led by an enthusiastic guide! You encounter the prehistoric creatures that call Burpee home, learn about fossil preparation into the paleo lab, how fossils are uncovered in the field, and enjoy private viewing of the prehistoric world!
Recommended Age: 10 & Up
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details.
Note: on busy tour days, small parties of similar ages and goals may be combined for a single tour.
Animal Encounter
MOST POPULAR ENCOUNTER!
Grab your camera!
Meet Burpee reptiles and amphibians! During this 45 min up-close encounter, you will interact with these dynamic cold blooded friends, get behind the scenes, and learn about their anatomy, diet, and unique behaviors. Grab your camera for photos you won’t want to miss!
Recommended Age: All
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details
Large Group? Contact Burpee for special options
Private Tour & Dino Encounter
Dinos Come Alive
Forget Night at the Museum…our enthusiastic guide makes the museum come alive for you! Unlock secrets to all the exhibits. From special models and touchable fossils just for your group, to bonus information not found in exhibit signage, to a wealth of knowledge to answer your questions, this is truly a VIP way to experience Burpee Museum!
Includes an optional photo op in the Paleo Lab with your young, future paleontologist!
Recommended Age: All
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details
Large Group? Contact Burpee for special options
Cryptid Curiosities
They are out there!?!
A cryptid is a creature rumored to exist—whether through folklore, eyewitness accounts, or superstition—but without scientific proof. So, what evidence is out there? Some claims are so compelling they fuel major beliefs and traditions. Are these creatures real?
From Bigfoot to the Loch Ness Monster, join our educators as we explore the science behind these fascinating mysteries. In this quick, special experience, you will explore the mystery and enhance your visit with something to remember! During this 45 min private session we bring out real taxidermy and bones and you will decide… real, fabrication, or pure fantasy?
Recommended Age: 6 & Up
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details.
Note: on busy tour days, small parties of similar ages and goals may be combined for a single tour.
Rockford’s Roaring Past
I’m not scared, you?
Noted as one of the top 3 most haunted locations in Rockford, let us reveal the splendor of the Barnes Mansion for you! Filled with the history of a prominent family and their friends, the early Rockford Park District, a post WW II federally funded museum project, and Burpee’s birthplace…this mansion is steeped in Rockford history.
From the finest woodworking in the Midwest, to curiosities of family and community history, you won’t be disappointed!
During this 45 min private tour, you will explore the 1800’s mansion as it transitions to the modern age. Grab your camera for photos that probably have orbs. Seriously.
Recommended Age: All
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details!
Large Group? Contact Burpee for special options
Reimagining Prehistory
New Research, New Ideas!
How does current science shape our view of Ancient Life?
Scientific breakthroughs continually transform our understanding of prehistoric creatures! Remember the big scaly dogs with long, hanging tails of the earliest discoveries?! Shifting perceptions of dinosaurs, and even the Illinois state fossil: the Tully Monster, show how far we have come. Lets go behind the scenes into Burpee collections to explore fossils that challenged old ideas and check out modern animals that offer clues to the past. During this 45 min private family workshop, get hands-on with specimens not on exhibit and see how science continues to evolve! Super Fun!
Recommended Age: 12 & Up
Max Group Size: 15
Cost: $30 Adults $25 Children (includes museum admission)
After Hours Options Available contact Burpee for details