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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Share with other family historians! Beverages and treats provided. Rain date: Sunday February 4, same times.
Sunday, December 3, 1:00pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester
Come celebrate the holiday season with a presentation on the “History of Holiday Songs & Carols” from STPS Director Patricia Reaves. Open house and holiday treats to follow!
Sunday, November 12, 2:00pm
Free event @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester
The Power of One – 45min · Documentary
Come see and discuss the early 1960s network TV documentary reacting to the firestorm unleashed by one marine biologist’s unrelenting struggle to halt the widespread use of pesticides and the danger to wildlife and humans that her studies revealed.
Our weekly open house to follow at 3pm.
Sunday, October 8, 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm
Adults $10, Seniors (62+) $8, Children under 12 $5
@ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester
Chris Vallillo is a folk artist like no other who shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of Illinois and the heritage of the Midwest from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Hear the songs, stories, and vintage instruments of the pioneers and farmers and the time of Abraham Lincoln. Clap your hands and sing along while you learn and have fun at the same time! (Lawn chairs are also welcome.)
Chris will be performing two sets, one from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm, and a second from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Separate tickets for each performance can be purchased ahead of time (at the Prairie House during Open House on Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 pm) or at the door, starting at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 8, 2023.
Refreshments will be available. Please bring your lawn chairs with you if you’d like. This event will be held outdoors, if weather permits. If not, the performance will be held indoors, with smaller capacity limits.
Sunday, September 17, 1:00pm
$5 for adults, children are free @ the Historic Prairie House, 11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester
Join in the fun with Professor Michael Rush. Using the nets provided by Save The Prairie Society, participants will be able to catch a variety of insects. We will then identify and study them. In the end, we will release them back onto the Prairie. Two guides will be leading the Safari.
Note: wear sturdy shoes and long pants.
