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Dunn Museum opens with tour of Lake County history

Taking advantage of spring break, parents and their children experienced Lake County history with the opening of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum at the Lake County Forest Preserve headquarters in Libertyville.

Museum educator Sarah Salto led a tour beginning with the highlight of the museum, a 20-foot-long model of a Dryptosaurus dinosaur thought to have lived in Lake County millions of years ago.

"There has been a very positive, welcoming attitude. People who might have been nervous at first about us moving to the new space are seeing all the new artifacts and the wonderful interactives," Salto said. "I think it is a really fun experience with something for all ages to enjoy."

Visitors on the tour took a walk through Lake County history with more than 200 artifacts on display, including a replica lotus boat that was a favorite at the old Discovery Museum at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda.

"We looked in the newspaper article that showed that the boat was still here, and Kiera had to come find the boat," said June Stelter of Waukegan, who brought grandchildren Kiera and Dominic to visit the new museum. "I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the museum and finding out interesting artifacts."

Other highlights include bones and skulls of prehistoric animals, a full-scale wigwam with artifacts re-created by Native Americans and a reproduction of a one-room classroom of early settlers.

  Jerry Patterson, 7, of Lake Villa, front, and Edward Day, 4, of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, dig for dinosaur bones Wednesday at the new Dunn Museum in Libertyville. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Museum educator Sarah Salto talks about the lotus boat during a tour of the new Dunn Museum Wednesday afternoon. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Katie Lauer of Volo reads a book to her daughter, Abby, 5, in the one-room schoolhouse during a tour of the new Dunn Museum in Libertyville Wednesday. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
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