Grand Opening Set For Bess Bower Dunn Museum

The Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County invites visitors of all ages to attend its grand opening event on Saturday, March 24 from 10am to 5pm at 1899 West Winchester Road in Libertyville. The family-friendly event includes free admission, guided tours of brand-new exhibitions, drop-in activities and the opportunity to meet paleoartist Tyler Keillor who created the world's first scientifically accurate, life-sized Dryptosaurus for the new Dunn Museum.

The Dunn Museum provides a chronological walk through Lake County's history from prehistoric times to the present, as well as directs visitors to explore the land on which the history took place. The Museum is named for Bess Bower Dunn (1877-1959), Lake County's first official historian who traveled throughout the county photographing historic sites and meeting with residents to record their stories. She personally acquired many of the artifacts and documents that are now part of the Dunn Museum's priceless collections.

Operated by the Lake County Forest Preserves, the Dunn Museum is among only five percent of museums nationally to have earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, an industry mark of distinction. In fall 2016, the former Lake County Discovery Museum closed its doors at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda after 40 years of operation and began relocating to its new home in Libertyville. The process of packing and moving the vast historic collections, which comprise nearly 20,000 artifacts and 1,000 linear feet of archival materials, took over a year to complete. The new central location at the Lake County Forest Preserve General Offices in Libertyville provides more than twice the gallery space for exhibitions about Lake County's past, dedicated teaching areas, a public research center, as well as convenient access for all Lake County residents and other visitors.

For more information, visit DunnMuseum.org or call 847-968-3400.