Welcome to the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum!

The museum is temporarily CLOSED.
We plan to reopen with the main campus on Monday, June 1, 2020. 
See the museum Facebook page for details, updates, and educational information.
For more information, please see the BenU Coronavirus Updates page.

If you currently have a Discovery Box on loan, please keep it safe until the museum reopens.
Museum staff will contact you with details.

Any questions, please contact us at JuricaSuchyMuseum@ben.edu!
We are still working diligently on our initiatives and the museum's IMLS grant project.
We are here for any questions or inquiries! 

Regular Semester Open Hours  

Monday - Thursday  1:00pm - 5:00pm
Friday - Sunday        2:00pm - 4:00pm

Summer Open Hours

June  -  July
Tuesday - Thursday  1:00pm - 4:00pm


All group tours are by appointment only (please see details below).

During the August, December/January, and May Intersessions we offer open hours by appointment only. Please call at least 2 business days in advance to schedule your visit. 

The museum and museum office are closed the week of Christmas and the week of New Years. 

We request you check our website or call ahead as our hours do change seasonally: (630) 829-6546 or (630) 829-6531

We are closed on most holidays. We are open during spring break!

Scheduling an Educational Group Tour

About Museum Tours:

School, Homeschool, Daycare, Families, and Scout Troops

The museum offers educational tours with customizable activities that can be used to reinforce classroom curriculum. These interactive tours are led by our museum educators. We specialize in tours for school groups, homeschool individuals or alliances, and scout troops.

Our tours are tailored for your group's age range, and we offer engaging scavenger hunts, guided tour, and interactive specimen programs in our Learning circle for all age groups: Pre-K through College. We generally accommodate up to 30 students per museum tour. However, we can split larger groups (up to 50 students total) between the museum tour and the museum activity room to watch an educational movie. Groups of 50+ students may need to be split into three groups with a tour, a movie, and a hands-on lab activity. Extra time and fees may apply. 

Educators/parents are responsible for maintaining their group while in the museum. One chaperone is requested for every 10 children for ages 6 years and older. One chaperone is requested for every 3 children for ages 3 years to 6 years. Parents and siblings are welcome to accompany tours, but please include them in your total guest count when signing up. Chaperones must stay with their group and assist the tour leaders in facilitating a safe and enjoyable tour experience.  

Tours typically last for 1 hour. 

Free and open to all. Donations are kindly accepted.

Senior Groups, Artists, and Nature Guilds

We also offer free, private tours for senior groups, artists, photographers, nature guilds, and other environmental enthusiasts. Any group can schedule a private tour of the museum. Individual artists are also welcome to request special access to the museum.

Tours typically last 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Artists can schedule up to 4 hour blocks of time.

Birthday Parties
We do offer special tour programs for children's birthday celebrations. Guided tours, scavenger hunts, learning circle, and movie are included. Space to set up your snack and party decor available in our museum activity room (you bring your own party supplies and light refreshments). No lighted candles permitted. Limited to 12 children. We request a suggested $100 donation per party. Reservations must be made at least 6 weeks in advance.
 

Availability and scheduling:

All guided and private tours are available by appointment only. Please read the following carefully:

To request a tour date, please complete our visit request form. We will contact you within 2 business days with a tour confirmation. If you do not hear from us, please call (630) 829-6546.

For all general inquires, questions, or concerns, please feel free to e-mail us at JuricaSuchyMuseum@ben.edu or call (630) 829-6531.

Tours are typically scheduled during morning hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. Special accommodations may be made for afternoon or weekend tours, depending on the availability of our staff. Tours can be scheduled up to four months in advance.

All of our tours and educational programs are offered free of charge. Donations are kindly accepted! All donations help to continue our educational offerings!

All tour reservations will receive a confirmation email. If you are new to your facility, or you do not receive a confirmation for a tour you believe is scheduled with us, please call (630) 829-6546 to confirm ahead of time. We also provide a map of campus, parking information, and directions to the 2nd floor of Birck Hall.

If your group intends to eat lunch on campus, this must be arranged with the Museum Education Coordinator when you book your tour. Lunches are available for purchase during most times of the year from the University cafeteria. We can also make arrangements if your class needs space to eat brown bag lunches. No food or drink is allowed in the museum.
 

*Please note: during the summer months we host the Benedictine University Summer Fun Day Camps on Wednesdays. We are not able to schedule other tours on those days. Please send in your requests your tours as early as possible so that we can work with your group to find a good date for you to visit. 

Rules in the Museum:

Please familiarize your group with the rules of the museum prior to your visit. 

In order to ensure everyone's safety and enjoyment of their trip to the museum, we ask that all visitors:
   1) Use walking feet when in the museum  (no running)
   2) Be respectful  (no shouting or yelling in the hallways or the museum)
   3) Keep hands to yourself  (no touching the museum specimens or cases)

There is a coat rack available in the hallway for jackets and backpacks. Food and drink is prohibited in the museum and may be left with the front desk attendant during your visit. Please help us keep the museum clean by not touching the museum case fronts. 

Please let your tour leaders know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your cooperation. 

Directions to Benedictine University campus

Please follow this link for a campus map: http://www.ben.edu/about/location.cfm
The museum is located on the 2nd floor of the Birck Hall of Science.

Parking

Free visitor parking is available in the Parking Garage, in the Krasa parking lot, and in the Visitor Parking spaces near the Neff Center. Parking for buses or vans is available in the Krasa parking lot and in the Neuzil parking lot. 

Handicap parking is available in the student parking lot located to the south of Birck Hall. A handicap accessible entrance to Birck Hall is located at the north end of the sidewalk between Birck Hall and Kindlon Hall. Elevators are located at the north end of Birck Hall. 

After 7 wonderful years, we share the bittersweet news that our Museum Education Coordinator, Laura Hall, is no longer with Benedictine University and is pursuing a new career opportunity. We wish her all the best.

During the Spring 2020 semester, our tours and programs will be led by our student workers and museum director. We will work diligently to uphold the high-quality life science education programming we have developed over the years and provide the best hands-on learning environment possible for your engagement needs. During this transition, we may not be able to accomodate large tours of more than 50 children per visit. We will work with you to the best of our ability to accomodate tour reservation requests. 

Please note: Due to the small size of our staff and the number of outreach events we participate in, we are not always on campus and available to take your phone call or email. We are happy to hear from you and we will contact you as soon as possible, but please be patient and allow at least 48 hours for our response. Thank you!