Insect Safari

Sunday September 15, 12:00pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Join us for our next Insect Safari with naturalist guides Michael Rush, Jim Rowan and Larry Godson.

Using nets provided by Save The Prairie Society, participants will be able to catch, identify and study a variety of insects. In the end, we will release them back onto the prairie. Note: please wear sturdy shoes and long pants!

The Annual Old Fashioned Prairie Fest

Saturday, September 7, 10:00am to 4:00pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Save the Prairie Society invites you to a free community event: The Annual Old Fashioned Prairie Fest! at the parkway of the Prairie House. Rain date September 14.

FREE Event! Something for everyone:

  • Vendors will offer Arts and Crafts
  • Prairie Society experts will offer Prairie Walking Tours
  • STPS local historian will give tours of the 1870s farmhouse and the historic 1853 Schoolhouse Museum within
  • Meet Special Guest Rick Schoenfield, author of The Soldiers Fell Like Autumn Leaves (on the Battle of the Wabash)
  • Ledo’s Pizza will offer Food and Beverages
  • Wool Spinning Demonstration
  • Dulcimer Players will perform music on the front porch
  • Lovely Handmade Quilts will be on display
  • Our Information Booth will have more details on Prairie Events, Restoration Efforts and other Save the Prairie Society Volunteer Opportunities

Insect Safari

Saturday, July 13, 10:00am
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Join us for our summer Insect Safari with naturalist guides Michael Rush, Jim Rowan and Larry Godson.

Using nets provided by Save The Prairie Society, participants will be able to catch, identify and study a variety of insects. In the end, we will release them back onto the prairie. Note: please wear sturdy shoes and long pants!

World National Parks

Sunday, June 9th @ 1-3pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Join us as the Prairie House welcomes photographer and naturalist James Rowan for another of his popular, slide presentations.

This time, Jim is featuring memorable views and stories gathered on decades of adventures abroad from the Natural Parks of the World.

U.S. National Parks

Sunday, May 5th @ 1-3pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Join us as the Prairie House welcomes the return of photographer and naturalist James Rowan. This coming Sunday, Jim will present the first of two talks on the World’s National Parks.

This first presentation will feature his wildlife and landscape photography taken over several decades exploring the premier and lesser-known National Parks of the United States.

Louis Joliett: A One-Act Play

Sunday, April 14th @ 1-3pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


2023 was the 350th anniversary of the expedition of Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette down the Mississippi.

Their journey dramatically affected the lives of both those coming to America and those already here. It’s an exciting story of exploration but also encounter.

Author and performer Jim Healy’s Louis Jolliet: A Solid Path Through Water will offer a connection between our past and questions which still confront us today.

Daring flight of WRP’S male woodcocks at dusk

Saturday, March 23rd @ 7pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Join our Woodcock experts at dusk to see the male woodcocks perform their daring courtship flight.

Every spring, our male Woodcocks return to an area a little north of the Prairie House deck. From that vantage point, one can watch their dramatic and dangerous flights. It is their way of attracting a female. They are showing off their courage. Just before the male takes off, he makes loud nasal peent calls that are preceded by soft throaty notes. Periodically, the male launches into flight flying higher and higher, about a hundred feet from the ground.

No other bird performs a more dangerous courtship flight. Join us and see and hear this unique and daring courtship flight from the deck of the Prairie house.

The Hummingbird Effect – PBS Nature Film (55m.)

Sunday, February 25, 1:00pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


See how the tiny hummingbird plays an extraordinary role in supporting the thriving rainforests of Costa Rica.

Learn how these amazing birds, the only able to fly backwards, evolved as pollinators to a diverse ecosystem of flowering plants, supporting other animals like monkeys and macaws featured here in their native habitats.

 

Genealogical Workshop

Sunday, January 28, 1:00 – 5:00pm (drop-ins welcome!)
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester


Explore your family history with research sources, aids and guidance provided by genealogist and historian, Patricia Reaves.

  • Local History
  • Passenger Lists
  • Historical and Local Plat Maps
  • Property Histories
  • Township Information
  • German Script Translations
  • Local Census Information (Starting 1850)
  • Genealogical Project Ideas

Share with other family historians! Beverages and treats provided. Rain date: Sunday February 4, same times.