While driving thru Illinois, I searched for a place where we could stretch our legs and Asher could fish. I found two museums in Rockford which share a good-sized parking lot along the Rock River! Perfect! Our first stop was the Burpee Museum of Natural History where we stood face to face with the cast) fossilized skull of a Dunkleosteus! (Pictured above and below.) These prehistoric fish were somewhere between 16-27ft long and with jaws like a snapping turtle, their bite force was likely on par with giant crocodiles! Remains were first discovered in Ohio's Lake Erie shore in 1867. As massive as these are, consider it's size was estimated to be 1-4 tons, while a megalodon was 65 tons!
Next we met Jane, a juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex, rebuilt with bones found in Montana. We learned you can tell the age of a dinosaur much like a tree. When you look at a slice of bone under a microscope, you can count the growth rings. It turns out Jane was around 11 years old when she died.
Their skull collection was impressive. It's amazing to see the armor these beasts wore.
Here we saw the comparison between prehistoric species and their modern-day ancestors. From left to right, see the white skulls of today's Black Bear, Cougar and Gray Wolf compared to the Short-Faced Bear, Smilodon, and Dire Wolf!
This area was my favorite part. There were live animals and deceased specimens to check out.
Insects and nests
Next door is the Discovery Center, which is also part of our ASTC membership. We spent time learning about our bodies and organs, participating in challenges and testing our athletic abilities.
Asher went thru a really crazy growth spurt while we were in the center!
Afterwards Asher was able to throw a line in to fish in Illinois' Rock River.
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