Experience wildlife in the middle of Chicago!

• Lincoln Park

Did you know there’s a zoo in Illinois that’s always free? Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is a free attraction that’s open 365 days a year. Not only is it the oldest zoo in the country, dating back to 1868, it’s also one of only a handful of zoos in the U.S. that offers free admission.

The zoo has animals from every climate and is dedicated to conservation and science, with one of the largest kids’ educational programs in the country – Zoo Explorers.

While visiting Lincoln Park Zoo, you can see all different kinds of animals as well as a whole house reserved for birds of prey. For children, there is a petting zoo with fun interactive exhibits dedicated to education.

Read more …

The nation’s best female baseball team is located right here in Illinois

In 1943, when young men were drafted overseas in WWII, the need for new baseball players emerged. This led Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley to form the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Illinois was home to the most successful team in the league, the Rockford Peaches, who won the championships in 1945, 1948, 1949 and 1950. The Rockford Peaches were so notable that a movie and a television show, both called A League of their Own, were written depicting their story.

In the beginning, the league started off with a 12-inch ball because it was assumed that women should be playing softball. By the league’s end, the women were playing the same game as the men’s league with a 9-inch ball and distance between bases at 85 feet.

Read more …

Discovering Lincoln’s Roots: The Lincoln New Salem Historic Site

• Abraham Lincoln
• New Salem

Nestled in the rolling hills of central Illinois lies a remarkable destination that brings history to life: the Lincoln New Salem State Historic Site. Located two miles south of Petersburg and 20 miles northwest of Springfield, this reconstructed pioneer village offers visitors an immersive experience into the formative years of Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s most revered presidents.

Lincoln New Salem is not just a museum – it is a vivid recreation of the village where a young Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. During these six years, Lincoln worked as a store clerk, a postmaster, a surveyor, and eventually launched his legal and political career.

Read more …

Celebrate spring by enjoying some of Illinois’ native flowers

Spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner – making it the perfect time to see all of the flowers that are native to our beautiful state.

The sweet coneflower – which can be found statewide – is known for its faintly sweet, anise-scented flowers. It puts out bright yellow flowers with dark centers and blooms from mid-summer until the first frost. The sweet coneflower’s seeds and blossoms are nutritious to goldfinches and other songbirds as well as butterflies and bees.

A popular flower in the northern part of Illinois is the white heath aster, which get its name from the Greek and Latin words for star. It is characterized by its lilting, fine-leaved stems with small white flowers with yellow centers. This flower blooms from July through September and is great for the bees. The white health aster grows throughout the state in prairies, old fields and pastures.

The dooryard violet is a part of the violet species, which is the Illinois state flower. It blooms in early spring and can be found in many backyards throughout central Illinois. Dooryard violet is a lovely groundcover, known to be medicinal, edible and good for pollinators.

White trillium is characterized by its three green leaves and three white petals with a small yellow center. It flowers from late April through June and is usually found in large patches in the forests of southern Illinois.

Make sure to put on your sunscreen and get outside while flowers are in full bloom. Click here for a list of flower farms across the state.