Spring Brochure 2020 Online_Spring 2020 Guide | Página 9

PLACES
of the Glenview Park District
Discover more about the Glenview Park District
facilities, parks and program sites for recreation,
preservation, nature, history and education.
THERE’S MORE TO EXPLORE AT THE
GROVE INTERPRETIVE CENTER
When Robert Kennicott left on his last science expedition to
Alaska 154 years ago, he couldn’t have known his Glenview
home would become a tribute to his life’s work as a naturalist,
scientist and explorer.
On February 22, The Grove, a 152-acre National Historic Landmark
and Illinois Nature Preserve, is reopening its 30-year-old Interpretive
Center after a complete renovation that honors the Glenview native.
Kennicott features prominently in the new interior, which serves
as a showcase for local history and nature exhibits and as an
educational programming space. More than 100,000 people—
including more than 900 student groups—visit The Grove each year.
Construction began last June after voters approved a $17
million Glenview Park District bond measure to fund Grove
improvements, renovation of the 44-year-old Glenview Ice
Center and the creation of a fund to purchase open space.
All the animal habitats in the main exhibit room have been
recreated. The main attraction, the four-ton “Turtle Island,”
is the new home of The Grove’s resident alligator snapping
turtle, Al. This multi-habitat structure also houses native
turtles and snakes and two kestrels named Tinker and Levi.
It includes embedded fossils, tunnels and a waterfall. A new
1,600-gallon aquarium filled with native fish species has
replaced five tanks on the east wall of the main room.
“We’re focusing on animals that Robert Kennicott described in
his work like garter snakes and American kestrels,” said
Ashley DeAngeles, the Glenview Park District’s supervisor
of customer service and operations. “Visitors will find
it’s like discovering nature in your own backyard.”
A 10-foot tall taxidermied Alaskan brown bear, part of The Grove’s
collections, was completely refurbished and now stands just
inside the Interpretive Center.
But Kennicott’s favorite display would likely be the Megatherium
exhibit which features the skeleton of an extinct giant ground
sloth that roamed Illinois following the last ice age. Funded by a
donation from the Glenview Park Foundation, the exhibit includes
a life-size illustration of this relative of the modern-day sloth.
Infrastructure upgrades to the Interpretive Center include new
lighting, HVAC and alarm systems, plumbing, a fire suppression
system and a new aquatic life support system for the animals.
A wall was removed to create a welcoming reception and retail area.
From his boyhood at The Grove, to his founding of the
Chicago Academy of Sciences, and from his accomplishments at
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to his discoveries
in Russian America, letters, artifacts, specimens and interactive
exhibits illustrate Kenniott’s amazing achievements and bring
his story to life.
Visitors will learn how Kennicott’s family settled the property
known as The Grove. A sickly child, Kennicott spent most of his
time at home and became familiar with the flora and fauna of
the area. As a result, he became Illinois’ first naturalist and sent
thousands of specimens he collected here to the Smithsonian.
At the age of 30, Kennicott died of cardiac arrest, partly
attributed to exhaustion, while exploring Alaska in 1866.
The Glenview Park District invites you to experience the
Interpretive Center and celebrate the life of a local man
whose passion for the natural world still inspires us today.
PLACES ▪ glenviewparks.org
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