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Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History, River Forest, IL

Photo: Guerillaart, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Museums

Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History

A nature museum in Thatcher Woods showing live native animals, wildflower gardens, and local wildlife habitats.

738 Thatcher Ave, River Forest, IL 60305 · River Forest, IL

About Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History

Trailside is a nature center run by the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Visitors can see live native animals on display, explore colorful wildflower gardens, and learn about local wildlife and the habitats they depend on. Unpaved trails wind through the oak woodlands and floodplain forest of Thatcher Woods, and Thatcher Pond beside the parking lot is a former river oxbow that is popular for fishing. The museum building is a historic 1876 mansion that has been a residence, a school site, and the Preserves' headquarters before becoming a public nature museum in 1932. The site also hosts a steady calendar of family programs, guided walks, habitat restoration workdays, and educator programs.

  • #nature center
  • #natural history
  • #live animals
  • #wildflowers
  • #hiking trails

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