Elgin Public Museum

Stuck in the winter doldrums? Come to EPM! Open Saturday and Sunday 12-4, adults just $3, kids and seniors $2, under 3 free. Our freshened-up Discovery Room has lots for kids to do and play with! Make Valentines, Black History Month Coloring Sheets, tornado bottles, microscopes!

As of Sunday, February 1st, we are open to the public for our regular Saturday-Sunday hours of 12-4. Come see all the new stuff!

In the midst of all our new exhibit madness, we are still doing programs! Yesterday we welcomed the PEO organization, and today we had a blast with kids from Algonquin Lakes Elementary! Meanwhile today, Jerry the Electrician fixed the broken light in the beaver den and installed a new outlet.

From all of us at EPM, from the living to the long extinct, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! -- Sharry, Abby, Mike, Steph, Adam, Judy, Amy B, Karin, Amy S, Gail, Linda, Lynda, Niki, Deb, and Sarah. 🎄❄️⛄️

Reasons to visit Elgin Public Museum this weekend -- open 12-4!

Cool last-minute Holiday gifts, like a beautiful downtown Elgin photo by Bruce Shipyor ... Ed Bates' colorful and comprehensive history of the Elgin Valley Fox Trot.

Stumped on what to get those unusual folks on your holiday shopping list? The museum gift shop has some unusual gifts! Heather Dorsch art, rock and mineral jewelry, fossils, Ed Bates' great new book about the history of the Fox Trot.

Open Saturday/Sunday 12-4.

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A big heartfelt Snoopy Dance Thank You to those who donated to Elgin Public Museum for Giving Tuesday! We so appreciate your generosity!

It's Giving Tuesday, this Tuesday. As a 501(c)3 non-profit we appreciates all the help we can get, both in monetary and in-kind donations.

Please consider Elgin Public Museum and its educational mission for your holiday season giving!

The museum will be CLOSED today, Sat. 29 November.

***WEATHER ALERT*** We may or may not be open the weekend of 29/30 November. 👇👇👇

Our third of 3 November Seniors programs was another big hit! Topic this week, Owls. We discussed the adaptations that make owls one of nature's most fearsome hunters, dissected pellets, and even explored a Whoooooodunnit murder case in which an owl may have been the real killer!

Thanks to Board Member Lynda Hayes for capturing these images of a really wonderful and informative program from Gerald Savage at Saturday's Indigenous Peoples Observation!

Teachers, this program complements curriculum needs for Native-American, exploration & trade, and biodiversity topics. Community groups, it's fun and informative! Get in touch with us at blazier_s@cityofelgin.org to book a program!

Our Indigenous Tech/The Encounter combo program adapts well to all age groups! Yesterday, Abby leads it for O'Neal Elementary; today, Sharry leads it for a Seniors Friday Field Trip!

Fun at this morning's Friday Field Trip for Seniors! Indigenous Tech showed the ingenious ways Indigenous Peoples developed technology from nature around them. The Encounter showed how their lifeways abruptly changed with the coming of Europeans. Thanks to all who attended!

Happy Birthday to US! 105 years ago today, the museum officially opened its doors, after sitting vacant for 13 years after construction. We aren't open today, but we are open Saturday/Sunday 12-4, and this SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th will be FREE admission.

Great time today as we presented our first "Seniors Friday Free Field Trip" -- The Lord Legacy. Great crowd, many of whom had lots to add to the show, too! Along with the story of George and Mary Lord's many contributions to Elgin, including Lords Park, the zoo, and museum itself.

A very fun session of Meet the Bison (and Elk!) yesterday, for the last time in 2025. Spike was looking especially dapper, and all enjoyed a special post-Halloween snack of smashed pumpkins. We resume Meet the Bison in February.

And if you bring one in with you and show it to us on a Saturday or Sunday through November 2nd, we'll give you free one-time admission to the museum!

Elgin Rocks have very kindly supplied us with some groovy painted Dia de los Muertos rocks! We'll be occasionally planting them OUTSIDE the museum through the coming week. They're yours to keep or re-hide if you find one -- but please take only one, so others can have a chance at them.

The museum is open to the public Saturday and Sunday, 12-4; or, to schedule a purchase/pickup on a weekday, email blazier_s@cityofelgin.org, or call the museum at (847) 741-6655.

It's already available at Elgin Public Museum, 225 Grand Blvd., inside Lords Park. The total with tax is $33.50, with all profits going to the Fox Trot, and Elgin Public Museum is one of the ten non-profit organizations that benefit.

It's here and it's fantastic! Ed Bates' epic history of the Elgin Valley Fox Trot is hot off the presses! Featuring 215 pages detailing the 48-year history, including dozens of photos and annual results, of Elgin's iconic 10-mile/5k race, Running 10 is the perfect holiday gift!

Please join us; the museum will be free admission on Saturday, November 15th.

It will take time to get them all filled up but although we're still open every weekend, mark your calendars for Sunday February 1st, when we'll debut the whole makeover project! Exciting times for EPM!

Hmmmm, what's arriving at Elgin Public Museum today? It's 8 more new exhibit cases, bringing our grand total to 17, thanks to a wonderful grant from the Seigle Foundation!

Are you a senior? Would you be interested in this program

Thanks to Mike Adams, Steph Wise Boyle (who has an uncanny sense of spatial relations, not to mention strength!), Russ Budzicz, Abby Rasmussen, and a very patient delivery driver who was probably amused watching Team Nerds figure it all out ...

What a morning here at EPM, as we look toward a week with numerous deliveries of new exhibit cases! The BIG ONES came just a bit ago, and after some heart-stopping moments of getting them into the building safely, they are now resting comfortably in the back hall!