Kenosha Museums

#MineralMonday Feature: Black Tourmaline
Also called schorl, this Brazilian tourmaline forms dramatic, glossy black crystals with vertical grooves running along their sides. It’s one of the most recognizable varieties of tourmaline 🖤

It's Fossil Fun Fact Friday! The heaviest dinosaur was Argentinosaurus at 77 tonnes. It was the equivalent to 17 African Elephants!

However, in January I did see two mammoth displays at @kenoshamuseums.bsky.social depicting two mammoths found in southeastern Wisconsin. The Schaefer and Hebior mammoths.

#mammoth #museum #Wisconsin

A-Z of the Kenosha Museums Collection: N-Notebook

Every great dig begins with a notebook. This well-worn field book from the Kenosha mammoth excavation records the clues, questions, and breakthroughs that brought a prehistoric giant back into the light.

Did you know capybaras are often called “nature’s ottoman”? That’s because they’re so calm and friendly that birds, monkeys, and even other mammals love to sit or rest on them and they don’t seem to mind one bit

In her woven portraits, artist Mary Burns honors the Water Walkers - women who have carried the message of protecting our most precious resource.

See their stories in Ancestral Women and Women and Water: before the exhibits close on November 30 at the Kenosha Public Museum.

#HiddenTreasures | Healing Hands

This 1554 book page is from Commentaries on the Books of Dioscorides on Medical Matter by Pietro Andrea Matthioli.

He expanded on the work of ancient Greek physician Dioscorides, creating one of the Renaissance’s go-to guides for medicinal plants and remedies!

🦊❤️ Despite their name, red pandas aren’t actually related to giant pandas! They’re closer cousins to raccoons and weasels, which explains their ringed tails, love of climbing trees, and playful personalities. 🌳

Small, shy, and incredibly cute 🐾

#MineralMonday: This rugged-looking specimen of diopside from Otter Lake, Thunder Bay, Ontario, shows the mineral in its natural form. While gem-quality diopside can appear bright green and glassy, most samples form as rough, dull crystals deep within metamorphic rocks.

🦜💀 Halloween Highlight: The Dracula Parrot!
With its dark feathers and bright red chest, this striking bird looks straight out of a vampire movie, but it’s 100% real! Native to the mountain forests of Papua New Guinea, the Dracula Parrot doesn’t drink blood… it snacks on figs!

Happy Birthday to paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh (born Oct 29, 1831)!

He helped shape our understanding of the Age of Dinosaurs, naming icons like Triceratops, Stegosaurus, & Apatosaurus.

Here’s to one of the great fossil hunters of the 19th c., who still inspires dino fans today!

A-Z of the Kenosha Museums Collections:

M-Molas; Textiles made by the Indigenous Kuna people of Panama and Colombia in Central and South America. Mola means “clothing” in the Kuna language.

Meet the Red-Lipped Batfish!

This stylish swimmer doesn’t actually swim much at all; it walks! Found near the Galápagos Islands, the Red-Lipped Batfish uses its fins like legs to stroll along the ocean floor.
It’s one of the ocean’s most delightfully strange creatures.

💎 #MineralMonday: Chrysocolla from Arizona

This bright blue-green mineral looks like it was plucked straight from a tropical lagoon, but it actually forms in some pretty dry places! This copper-rich mineral is often found in the oxidized zones of copper deposits, giving it that striking color.

#HiddenTreasures: Made to Munch!

This ration pack, with crackers, candy, and jam, was part of a “B-unit” meal included in US military field rations from the 1950s-80s. Designed for portability and long shelf life, they provided a quick boost of energy for soldiers in the field.

Would you try it?

🌿 The oldest elder in Mary Burns’ Ancestral Women series, Polly (Moore) DeGroat of the Brothertown Indian Nation, embodies endurance and reconnection. Woven with rare touches of red, her portrait honors a journey of heritage, strength, and belonging.

On view now at KPM. ✨

Today we honor & celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognizing the histories, cultures, & contributions of Native peoples across North America.

At the Kenosha Public Museum, we’re proud to share exhibitions & collections that highlight the deep & lasting connections between people & the land.

Take a cross-country trip with a twist! 🚗💨
Bill Reid: 50 States of Mind reimagines America with wit, wordplay, and colorful steel sculptures. Now on view at the Kenosha Public Museum.

🦈 Meet the goblin shark, a true living fossil!
This deep-sea shark’s lineage dates back around 125 million years, meaning its ancestors were swimming the oceans while dinosaurs roamed the land.

Mineral Monday: Fluorite with Galena

This striking specimen is from the Denton Mine in Hardin Co, Illinois - part of the famous Southern Illinois fluorspar district. Purple fluorite crystals sparkle alongside metallic cubes of galena, creating a beautiful contrast between glassy & metallic textures

Fun Fossil Fact Friday! The word theropod means “beast foot.” That’s because these dinosaurs walked on three clawed toes, built for running, gripping, and sometimes even slashing.

🦋 Did you know? Monarch butterflies taste with their feet!
When a female lands on a plant, tiny sensors on her legs let her know if it’s milkweed, the only plant she’ll lay her eggs on. Caterpillars depend on it to survive. These monarchs in our collection are from the 1930s!

The name's Dik. Dik-Dik. Kirk's Dik-Dik, to be exact. An odd choice for this small antelope from Eastern Africa, but it actually gets its name from the sound it makes when running away from predators. That's your Kenosha Museums Collection A-Z letter K 💫

The shoebill stork has a massive beak it uses to catch big prey—like African lungfish (which can grow over 6 feet long!) and even baby crocodiles. With their towering stance and prehistoric look, it’s no surprise shoebills are descended from dinosaurs.

Today we celebrate the birthday of Victoria Woodhull (1838–1927.) Trailblazer, activist, & 1st woman to run for US President in 1872.

A champion for women’s rights, labor reform, & social justice, Woodhull challenged the norms of her time & paved the way for future generations of women leaders.

✨ #MineralMonday ✨
This striking specimen of fluorite with calcite crystals comes from Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, Illinois.

Known for producing some of the world’s most beautiful fluorite, the Cave-in-Rock area has yielded crystals in a rainbow of purples, blues, yellows, and more.

Join the Kenosha Public Library Saturday, Sept 20 at the Dinosaur Discovery Museum for drop-in fun and a storytime celebrating all things prehistoric. KPL will be on-site with new limited edition dinosaur library cards. Get yours before they go extinct!

The Claude Weil Inuit Art exhibition in our Treasures Gallery closes next week.

Donated to the Museum by Claude before his passing, this remarkable collection is now part of our permanent collection and will return in future exhibitions.

A-Z Kenosha Museum Collection:

J-Jumping Shoes. These shoeplates with attached strings combined fun and fitness! Activities promoting a 'healthy life' were part of a growing trend in the late 19th century - one that included new things like cereal and bicycling.

Fun Fossil Fact Friday! Diplodocus had tiny, peg-like teeth perfect for stripping leaves. But they wore out fast, these dinos grew back a brand-new set every 35 days!