Educational Resources

Broaden your knowledge and experiences with downloadable activities, educational videos, teacher workshops, classroom loan boxes and more. Discover how the Lake County Forest Preserve’s can help you and your classroom. Stay connected with our upcoming program calendar and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube @LCFPD.

School Programs

Teachers know the value of a good excursion. School programs give students experiences to learn, discover and apply what they know. We bring both nature and local history alive year-round with award winning programs and facilities.

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Education Loan Boxes

Check out an educator loan box and bring a fresh, interactive science lesson to the classroom. Each loan box comes complete with hands-on group learning activities, educational items, and reference materials. Illinois Science Standards are supported, making it easy to incorporate each box into an educator’s curriculum. Learn more »

With a two-week loan period, teachers and students have ample time to explore and repeat activities in each loan box. Activities are geared toward K–5 classrooms, but some items may be helpful to older classrooms. Loan boxes are available to classroom teachers and nonformal educators.

Themes include: Birds, Geology, Mammals, Insects, Ecosystems, and Plants, Seeds and Trees.

Loan Box	Resident	Nonresident
Rental Fee	$20	$40
Deposit	$25	$25
Late Fee	$10/day	$10/day

To book a box, please email [email protected]. Pick-up and return are available at Ryerson Woods in Riverwoods, or at our General Offices in Libertyville.

Reserve Loan Box

Beyond the Classroom

Our Beyond the Classroom program helps to cover the cost of these programs for Lake County public schools in low-income communities by providing bus transportation stipends and in-school programming fee waivers.

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Teacher Professional Development

Learn about programs and educational resources for your class by taking part in sessions with our education staff. View a full list of our educator programs or subscribe to our Teacher email list for updates.

The Dunn Museum, part of the Lake County Forest Preserves, is an ISBE and PD+ approved Professional Development Provider. Professional development hours will be awarded for each hour of the eligible programs. Custom professional development workshops on a variety of topics can be created for in-service trainings. Contact us at [email protected] for more information on creating your own professional development.

Upcoming Events

Digital Resources

Explore the education collection of digital resources ranging from videos to activity sheets. Use these ideas to help spark interest in nature and history in your classroom and help your students connect with local history and nature. Bring this content into your lessons.

Blogs: Visit the Lake County Nature Blog and Lake County History Blog to find information on local history and nature.
DunnTV: The Dunn Museum’s YouTube channel, DunnTV, provides content on local history and museum-related topics you can use in your classroom.
LCFPD YouTube: The Lake County Forest Preserve’s YouTube channel, allows you to learn about our local environment, see projects being completed by staff, and explore different career options.
Visit the Dunn Museum Virtually: See virtual highlights of special exhibitions.
Find Primary Sources: Check out the Dunn Museum on the Illinois Digital Archives website to find primary sources on local history from the Museum’s archives.
Podcast: Listen to our award-winning Words of the Woods podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you prefer: LCFPD.org/podcast. Hear interviews with experts discussing local nature and history.