Butterflies & Bikes: A Visit to the Nature Museum

Post date: Apr 29, 2012 2:15:43 PM

RAO students took a trip to The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum where they enjoyed the renowned Judy Istock Butterfly Haven and viewed an exhibit that honored Chicago's historical commitment to biking. In the Butterfly Haven, students were able to hear a presentation by the Nature Museum staff on the life cycle of butterflies and watch as a new group of the colorful creatures were released. As butterflies (and small birds) fluttered around them, students also engaged with the tropical surroundings, which included a range of exotic plants, a small waterfall and pond and butterfly feeding stands filled with fruit.

In the biking exhibit, students looked a bikes across history and reminisced about their own experiences riding in their neighborhoods as children. They were also able to climb on one of the older, grander bikes from the 1800s and take a simulated bike ride through various Chicago communities.

For most students, this was their first visit to the museum. And as they walked through the exhibits filled with wildlife native to Illinois and watched as scientists created "study skins" from the carcasses of birds, it was clear that this was a fascinating place they would visit again!