The Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois, is the state’s official museum of the natural history. Founded in 1877, the museum was originally located inside the sixth Illinois State Capitol but moved as the state government expanded. Between 1961 and 1963, the state built the museum’s current building, the first purpose-built state museum. Exhibits include local fossils, dioramas of Native American life, a collection of glass paperweights and archaeological and ethnographic artifacts.
Illinois State Museum
A view inside the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Ill., on Sept. 3, 2015. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)