The Grove: Visiting the Historical Home of Robert Kennicott

For two Februaries in a row we visited the historic home of Dr. John Kennicott, horticulturist and educator, and his son, naturalist and explorer Robert Kennicott, founder of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. 

I'm always looking for a new place to explore, and in came across a social media post for The Grove in Glenview, IL. It felt very serendipitous to stumble upon a post from The Grove, as in 2015 I had the great privilege of touring the Chicago Academy of Sciences Peggy Notebaert Herbarium, and in 2016 I read a book about Kennicott and his tragic fate.

The first year was really nice, as the pandemic hadn't taken off, and as such the Interpretive Center was still open. The second year we had a lot of snow on the ground and only the outdoor areas were accessible.

Ari and Sandy had a blast looking at all the critters in the nature center.

There were fish, turtles, snakes, salamanders, and so much more. The preserved animal specimens were especially interesting. Overall we enjoyed the exhibits and learned a lot!

I felt a sense of awe wandering the ground of the Kennicott home, and solemnity at the graves.

Steve, Ari, and Sandy explored the trails. It was a great way for the kids to get some exercise and fresh air! 

I highly recommend visiting this place if you are in the area, especially if you have kids! Parking and admission is free for this gem of a place.

The Grove also has volunteer workdays for ecological restoration. Hopefully I can join them sometime soon! What a neat experience that would be. There are also other volunteer opportunities there.

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Click here for more photos.

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I definitely fell in love with The Grove, and wish I had learned of it sooner! I have lived in Lake County for most of my life and can't believe I did not know about this place!

I think I'm pretty much caught up with my backlog of posts. Next up will be posts about the NC roadtrip!