Read our Lake County, IL Blogs

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Lake County Discovery Museum
Tucked away in the southwest corner of Lake County is a hidden gem - the Lake County Discovery Museum. Located on Rt 176 just west of Hwys 83 and 60 you’ll find this wonderful museum of Lake County.
What I noticed first was the wonderful grounds and lovely scenery. My daughter and I sat by the pond for a few minutes. We watched the geese and listened to the birds before we even entered museum. I could spend the afternoon just walking the grounds and looking at the interesting sculptures and landscape, it’s just beautiful.
When entering the building you will be in the gift shop, to the left is the Lake County Museum. Special exhibits are to the right. You’ll be fascinated by the nations largest permanent exhibit of postcards which is to the right of the gift shop.
Honestly, I never really knew much about the history of Lake County, even though I’ve lived and worked here for over 10 years and have family in the area. Before Six Flags and Gurnee Mills, Lake County was a very popular tourist destination for the outdoors and natural resources. There are many displays and items to look at, our favorites were the boat ride and the roller coaster film.

You can take a “boat ride” through the lotus fields on Grass Lake. Until the 1980’s the lotus fields had been almost eradicated due to mainly harvesting and tourism. These fields were widely popular tourist destinations and are now being cared for to make a comeback.
Another great exhibit is the “roller coater” ride through history. This was really neat, entertaining and informative. Everyone has their own roller coaster seat in the theater and three screens offer plenty of visual effects. Go all the way back to the Ice Age and time travel through time to modern day in Lake County. And you’ll find out what’s with the funky tree sculpture in front of the museum!
The museum does a wonderful job of bringing together all the elements that make Lake County special within the exhibits.

Our journey through the museum had come to an end and we found ourselves back in the gift shop. One of my purchases was some of the Audubon Birds for my sons collection. The Discovery Museum also has a wide selection of history books about the different areas in Lake County. These are a great gift for the difficult-to-buy-for-person on your list. The gift shop isn’t huge, but they do have a very nice selection. The staff is great too. If you visit on Tuesdays, the admission is only $3.00 and free for those 17 and under! Parking is free everyday. Go to the web site and get a $1.00 off admission coupon too.

Overall, we really enjoyed our visit to the Lake County Discovery Museum. If you live in or are just visiting Lake County, this is a must see. What a discovery it is!

[+/-] click to show/hide this post

1 Comments:

Blogger happy said...

Just had a wedding at the Lake County Discovery Museum and it was the perfect venue. The staff couldn't be more helpful and the place is great. The exhibits are wonderful and first class. What a hidden find. Kuddos to Debbie King for all her hard work and caring.

April 12, 2008 at 8:08 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home