Illinois State Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1877 |
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| Location | 502 South Spring Street Springfield, Illinois, United States |
| Type | Art museum, history museum, natural history/anthropology museum |
| Public transit access |  SMTD |
The Illinois State Museum helps you discover the exciting story of Illinois. It shows you about the land, people, and art of the state. The main museum is in Springfield. It has exhibits on natural history, like fossils, and also shows off Illinois's cultural and artistic past. You can see things like old tools, displays of homes from different times, and dioramas showing Native American life. There are also interesting archaeological finds and a collection of glass paperweights.
The main museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets in Springfield. This is just one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol. The museum also has two other locations: Dickson Mounds in Lewistown and the Lockport Gallery in Lockport.
Contents
Museum History: A Look Back
The Illinois State Museum first opened on May 25, 1877. It was originally inside the sixth Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. Amos Henry Worthen was its first leader, called a curator. As the state government grew, the museum's collections needed more space. So, in 1923, the museum moved to the new Centennial Building. This building is now known as the Michael Howlett building.
The museum's collections kept growing! To give visitors and school groups a special place, the state started building a new museum just for them in 1961. This building was finished in 1962. It is the same Illinois State Museum building you can visit today.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Illinois State Museum added more locations. The Dickson Mounds Museum, near Lewistown, Illinois, focuses on the history of Native Americans who lived in the Illinois River valley. The Lockport Gallery often shows art and crafts made by Illinois artists.
The Illinois State Museum was closed for a while from October 2015 to June 2016. This was due to money problems in Illinois. It reopened on July 2, 2016. Now, there is a small fee to enter, but children and veterans can visit for free.
Returning Ancient Objects
In October 2019, the Illinois State Museum helped return some very old and important items. These items belonged to Indigenous Australians. They were sent back to their home in Australia. This was the first step in a bigger project to return many sacred objects.
The museum also has many Native American human remains. These remains have not yet been returned to their tribes. This is an ongoing process.
Dickson Mounds: Exploring Ancient Cultures
The Dickson Mounds Museum is located in Lewistown. It is a special museum that teaches about the Native American history of Illinois. The museum has hands-on displays, dioramas, photos, and old objects. These show what life was like from the Ice Age all the way up to the 1800s. The museum grounds are huge, covering about 230 acres (0.93 km²). They include the Eveland Village, where you can see the remains of three old Native American buildings.
Lockport Gallery: Illinois Art Showcase
The Lockport Gallery is in Lockport. It shows different art exhibits by Illinois artists, both from the past and today. The gallery is inside the old Norton Building, which was built in 1850. This building used to store grain and supplies. It also had rooms for canal workers. The building was used for processing grain until the 1950s. The Lockport Gallery was temporarily closed in October 2015.
Museum Management: Who Runs It?
In 1995, Illinois Governor Jim Edgar made the State Museum part of a new group called the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
As of 2019, the Illinois State Museum is still part of the IDNR. It includes the main museum and Research and Collections Center in Springfield, Dickson Mounds in Lewistown, and the Lockport Gallery in Lockport. The museum has its own board of 11 members. These members are chosen by the Governor of Illinois.
Illinois law says that the Illinois State Museum must "collect and preserve objects of scientific and artistic value." This includes plants, animals, human life and work, geological history, natural resources, and art. The museum also has a job to teach the public about all these things!
Images for kids
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The main Illinois State Museum building in Springfield.
