Field Trips
at the Jurica Nature Museum
Call 630-829-6546 for more information.
Field trips are scheduled by contacting Mary Mickus, education
coordinator, at 630-829-6546 or by email at mmickus@ben.edu. A
two-week advance notice is usually advised although if you know
the date you want, it is best to make arrangements as soon as
possible.
We ask that one chaperone accompany every 6-8 students. Each
visit is planned specifically for your class. In general, a short
tour is led by the chaperones with a guide sheet we have developed.
Each small group also participates in a hands-on activity with
museum staff or a museum volunteer. The students pass around several
specimens that vary from a red-tail hawk to a porcupine quill.
Depending on the reading ability of your group and what you are
studying, your students will also become museum detectives. They
are given an activity sheet and work in pairs to find the answers
to questions from counting dinosaur eggs to figuring out which
object does not belong in an exhibit and why or how it got there.
There are several detective sheets and we work with the teacher
to decide which one is appropriate for the class. The visit ends
with a question and answer session, which the students like because
they are able to ask where we get the animals, what are they stuffed
with, what do we do with the bones, etc.
The museum has accommodated 60 students but we prefer to work
with smaller groups. We recognize that many school trips times
are dictated by busing needs and times are adjusted to your schedule.
Some schools like to visit two sites in one day and we have developed
a program with the Lisle Depot Museum for such groups. Some teachers
have assigned museum visits and activity sheets as extra credit
opportunities.
The Jurica Nature Museum has many excellent exhibits designed
for visitors to appreciate the diversity of animal life and the
necessity of being good stewards of our earth. We hope that you
will consider a visit to the Jurica Nature Museum to enhance your
class presentations.
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