When it comes to museums, Chicago hogs all the attention in Illinois with its world-famous collections of art and antiquities. But there are hundreds of museums in just about every community across the state. Although the hours may be limited and the mannequins can be kind of spooky, little museums are local treasures.
For this month’s Under Rocks podcast, we visited a few of our local history centers. First stop for Dan Libman and Spencer Tritt: The Byron Museum of History with our guide Dan Wykes.
Next stop, the DeKalb County History Center in Sycamore. Director Michelle Donahoe even lets Sam Naftzger and Susan Stephens check out the storage room.
And the last stop on our Under Rocks tour? The Kishwaukee Valley Heritage Society museum in Genoa, where director Kat Smith takes our crew through the depot, the waterworks, and (squeal!) a caboose.
What's your favorite neighborhood museum? Let us know at rocks@niu.edu. We also need to hear what unusual places, people, and events you'd like us to explore next in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Under Rocks is produced by WNIJ at Northern Illinois University.
