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By Sara, December 21, 2009 4:49 pm

As many of you already know, the Burpee Museum is undergoing a great deal of construction right now. We’re not only expanding the museum, but we’re also doing some remodels and renovations of the building. Currently, the main focus of the remodel stage is taking place in our lower level. As I type this, walls are coming down in the former paleontology viewing lab.

When the last blog entry was posted at the beginning of the month, our museum’s biology and anthropology collection were just about ready to be moved. After many late nights for the lab staff, the move has finally been completed, and our collections has a new home. The entire process, from painting the floor in the new collections room to mounting specimens on the walls, took about three weeks to complete. While our paleontology and geology collection still isn’t ready yet, it was fun to see all of the new space that will be used for research in the future.

Let’s take a look….

We have more space in the new collections, as well as a new pattern of organization to the specimens, and a workspace so that visiting researchers will have room to examine the specimens.

It’s been a long month for our staff to get this major project finished, but they have done a great job, and we’re all very excited about our new home for collections!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Burpee Museum!

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By Sara, December 1, 2009 12:37 am

December is finally here, and with several months of winter on the way, I couldn’t help but to try to think warm for this month’s “Undiscovered Treasure.” While Rockford may find itself hitting a balmy 50 degrees on
December 1st, weather like that isn’t going to stick around. I personally can’t ever find myself enjoying cold weather, so I decided to fire up the electric blanket and keep my mind on tropical temps. But what sort of item reflects that?

The fan.

Imagine it being December and you’re in some type of climate where you need to physically move air around yourself to cool off.
Sound good enough to ward off the chilly weather? I thought so.

Burpee’s Oriental collection has an interesting set of fans; including ones made of wood, silk, and feathers. In China, the earliest hand-held fans were made as early as the 2nd century BC! We are not sure how old exactly our fans at the Burpee are, but we know that this implement certainly is long-standing. …or long waving.

We’ve chosen two different fans to display this month: a silk fan and a feather fan.

So when you’re visiting the Burpee this month and you’re checking out the Undiscovered Treasures exhibit on the 3rd floor, even if it’s snowing outside, think back to the 2nd century BC, back in China, and imagine a day hot enough where you might need one of these. Those winter blues won’t last!

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By Sara, November 1, 2009 12:01 am

The collections department of a museum is a fascinating place to explore. Imagine a giant room (or rooms!) filled with specimens of all kinds. Museum collections are often used by scientists for research, and due to limited exhibit space, many of these specimens never make it on display. Going through the collection of a museum isn’t something that most museums offer to all guests, so many items remain to be “undiscovered treasures.” You truly never know what you might find!

In the midst of the construction that the Burpee is currently going through, I still was able to take the time to look through the collections department of the museum. There are so many interesting pieces that have not been on display for a very long time, and some have never been featured in an exhibit at all. This isn’t uncommon for most museums, but I thought it would fascinating to give everyone a chance to see some of Burpee’s undiscovered treasures.

Every month, starting in November, we’ll launch a blog about a specimen that we’ve picked from collections to put on display for the month. You’ll be able to visit the museum and see in person the item that you may otherwise would not be able to see.

After spending lots of time in the collections department, and after plenty of research, we decided on ceremonial masks from Indonesia. These two were part of a collection of six.

Though we don’t know what these exact masks were used for, we do know that they came from Indonesia. We did a little bit of research of ceremonial masks from Indonesia to give you a basic idea of their history.

Indonesian tribes commonly used masks in ceremonies to either ward off evil spirits or to celebrate a particular occasion. It has been said that in Indonesia, the artist who created the mask would consult divine forces for guidance in the sculpting process. The result is a direct transmission of this divine force into the mask. The decor on the masks often included colorful paints as well as real animal hide or hair (the mask on the right, for example).

So come on into the museum to see our masks starting on November 2, and running through the end of the month. Tell us you saw this on the blog!

Keep checking back every month for our new Undiscovered Treasure!

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By Sara, October 18, 2009 1:01 am

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the museum after dark? With recent movies like the hit Night at the Museum and its sequel, it’s definitely something we get asked about at the Burpee.

Nighttime at the museum isn’t normally anything out of the ordinary. …except, that is, around this time of year. Things definitely become a little different, a little strange…maybe…even scary.

Do you dare to explore the Haunted Museum?
On October 23, for one night only, you will have the chance to!

The Burpee Museum staff has been working on ideas for our second annual haunted house since the summer. We have lots of scary surprises lurking this year, in what we’re calling the Museum of Terror.

This event is geared for children who are over 10 years old, and we’re sure it’s going to be a scary night!

For those who don’t want to be so scared, we’re also offering an event with the Discovery Center called Night Sounds and Spooky Science. It runs on October 24 and features non-scary activities at both museums. Kids can dress up in their costumes and trick-or-treat between both places.

Here’s the facts you need for both events:

Burpee Museum Presents: Museum of Terror
October 23, 7-10 PM.
Located at Burpee Museum, 737 N. Main, St. Rockford, IL.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Admission: $6 per person. Bring a non-perishable food item for $1 off admission.

Night Sounds and Spooky Science
October 24, 6-9 PM.
Located at both Burpee Museum and the Discovery Center Museum.
Non-scary event, suitable for all ages.
Public admission: $6 per person, Museum Members: $3 per person. Admission includes activities at both museums.

Happy Halloween!

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By Sara, October 16, 2009 3:01 pm

The Burpee Museum now has its own Facebook fan page!

Check it out for continuous news updates, photos, and videos! Meet other Burpee fans, or post a discussion on our forum!

Burpee Museum of Natural History

Promote Your Page Too

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By Scott Williams, September 27, 2009 8:26 pm

The 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has come to an end. Presentations are now finished. The days were spent attending talks; most of which were at the University of Bristol Wills Memorial Hall, and the afternoons were spent at the University of Bristol Victoria Rooms.

On Friday, I, along with two of my co-authors presented on late Cretaceous lizard skull bones that we collected in Montana. We think it may be a previously undescribed species.

On Saturday, Josh presented on the Hanksville-Burpee Quarry, which is our late Jurassic bonebed from Utah. You can read about our summer adventures out there in our previous blog entries. Both presentations were well-received and there was a lot of interest from our colleagues.

Once all the presentations were done, we did a lot of networking. The Burpee Museum has many potential projects in the works with many well known paleontologists. Some of these projects may be presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of SVP in 2010, which will be in Pittsburgh, PA.
All and all it was a very successful conference, and the Burpee has been “introduced” to the U.K. and European scientific communities. I know I’m already looking forward to next year! …of course, Josh and I still have more time in the UK to enjoy before heading home. Just because SVP has ended doesn’t mean our trip has!

After everything was wrapped up for SVP, Josh and I spent Sunday visiting more of Bristol and the town of Bath.
We visited the St. Mary’s Redcliff Cathedral, which has been a place of worship for about 800 years. We also walked the Christmas Steps, a street which was built in the mid 1600’s. Another highlight of the day was the Foster House. It was built in 1483, and later belonged to a physician to Henry VIII!

Dr. Matt Bonnan and Josh at Christmas Steps.

At the end of the day we took the train to the town of Bath. Bath has a lot of history as well. It was given city status in 1590, and is known for its antiquity. Located near the center is the Roman Bath house. It was constructed around 50-60 AD!
Next to the bathhouse is the Bath Abbey. This cathedral was originally built in 973, and was where Edgar was crowned King of England. Over the centuries it has been nearly destroyed, caught on fire, and rebuilt by the late 1400’s. Bath is another amazing English town where the past comes alive.

Bath Abbey

Tomorrow we travel to Stonehenge! Josh and I are really looking forward to seeing one of the Seven Greatest Wonders of the Medieval World.

Cheers,
Scott

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By Sara, September 13, 2009 4:37 pm

The first lecture featured ferrets and hedgehogs, and Critter Camp brought the animals to the museum!

"Tonto" the Ferret

Each animal was walked around the room so all the of the guests were able to pet and get close to each one. It was a great opportunity for community members to learn about different animals as pets! Guests also received information packets about the animals featured in the presentation.

We’re all now looking forward to the next presentation in the series; “Creepy Crawlies for Halloween,” which will feature bearded dragons, turtles, tortoises, and other reptiles and insects.

All presentations will be held on the second Sunday of each month at the Burpee Museum from 3:00-4:30. It’s free to attend the lectures and registration is not required.

To learn more about Critter Camp, visit their website at www.crittercamp.biz

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By Sara, September 20, 2009 5:12 pm

The Burpee Museum is getting some international representation this week.

Scott Williams, the museum’s Collections and Exhibits manager, and Josh Mathews, fossil preparator, are headed to Bristol, England for the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP). The meeting goes from October 23-26 and is being held at the University of Bristol. To learn more about SVP and the annual meeting, visit the SVP website.

Josh will be presenting a poster at the conference on the topic of our Utah site, the Hanksville-Burpee Quarry. This is the second time that he will be presenting at an SVP annual meeting. His first poster was about the “Homer” triceratops bonebed of Montana’s Hell Creek Formation, which was presented at the 2007 meeting in Austin, Texas.

This is the first time overseas for both Scott and Josh, and they’re looking forward to promoting the Burpee during the meeting, as well as taking in some of the local culture of Bristol and the rest of the UK. After the meeting ends, the two will embark on a sightseeing tour that will hopefully include major sites in London and Scotland.

Josh and Scott are ready to go!

Check back regularly for updates from Scott and Josh as they “cross the pond!”