Burpee Museum of Natural History
The Burpee Museum of Natural History, with the Solem Wing on the left and the Manny Mansion on the right.
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| Established | 1942 |
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| Location | 737 North Main St. Rockford, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 42°16′38″N 89°05′18″W / 42.2773°N 89.0882°W |
| Type | Natural history |
| Website | www |
The Burpee Museum of Natural History is located along the Rock River in downtown Rockford, Illinois, United States, at 737 North Main Street.
The museum was created as a Works Progress Administration project. It was established in 1941 and opened on May 24, 1942. The complex is made up of four buildings — the Manny Mansion, the Barnes Mansion, the Solem Wing, and the Water Lab.
The Solem Wing is the public portion of Burpee Museum. Built in the winter of 1998, the Solem Wing houses the museum's exhibits, meeting rooms, laboratories, gift shop, and the Mahlburg Auditorium. It is named after Robert H. Solem who was a major benefactor, patron, and friend of the museum.
The Manny Mansion was owned by John P. Manny and was built in 1852. Formerly the Burpee Art Museum, it is now attached to the south side of the Solem Wing and houses museum classrooms and offices.
Prior to the expansion, the museum was housed entirely in the Barnes Mansion. Built in 1893, the mansion was owned by industrialist William Fletcher Barnes. Today, the Barnes Mansion houses meeting rooms and the administrative offices.
The Water Lab (funded by Aqua Aerobic) is a lab facility along the Rock River in which students in grades 6 through high school collect water samples from the river and analyze them for physical, chemical and biological parameters.
Jane (BMRP 2002.4.1) is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex or Nanotyrannus lancensis discovered in the Hell Creek Formation in southeastern Montana during the summer of 2001 by Carol Tuck and Bill Harrison, team members of an expedition led by Burpee Museum curator Michael Henderson,"She" is named after Burpee Museum benefactor Jane Solem. After four years of preparation, Jane is on display as the centerpiece of the exhibit at Burpee Museum, "Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur". Visitors can discover what happened during the 66 million years she lay buried, visit a re-creation of the expedition’s Montana base camp, and view her fully restored 21-foot skeleton. She was 11 years old at death, and is half as big as her adult counterpart "Sue," who is 43 feet long and resides at Chicago's Field Museum. Jane's weight was probably nearly 1,500 lbs. Her big feet and long powerful legs indicate she was built for speed. Her lower jaw has 17 finely curved, serrated, razor-sharp teeth designed to tear into flesh.
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