Ooh, I do love those Eighties’ hair bands, don’t you? Come on, sing it with me! “Eeee-very rose has its thorn. Just like eeee-very night has its daw-aw-awn. Just like eeee-very cowboy sings his sad, sad song…” Wow, we are really off key! We’d better move along to something even better than Eighties’ hair bands and their ballads that just reach in and wrap themselves around your heart…oh, where was I? Oh, yes…things that rock more than Eighties’ hair bands.
Let me introduce, to you, actual rocks! I’ll pause here to let you collect yourself…
Who would have thought that at a library named after a nut, you could get a pass to see a bunch of rocks! Well, we at Acorn Public Library are here to rock your world in all kinds of nutty ways. All you need to do is drop everything you’re doing and stop by the Reference desk and say, “Hey, can you rock my world!?” They love that! Or, if you’d like to go the plain, old easy route just ask about our Museum Adventure Pass.
The newest museum to join the program is the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art located in Elmhurst. But, wait, she said this was about rocks, why is she talking about lizards now? (And, she doesn’t seem to be a very good speller either!) No, my dear friends, Lizzadro is simply the family who created the museum…a museum of rocks! But, not just any old rocks. These are rocks that are transformed into beautiful works of art, some of which will leave you breathless and scratching your head at the fact that these were once like those grayish lumps you use to decorate your yard.
The museum has two floors. The impressive carved rock art is upstairs and the scientific introduction to rocks and minerals, along with a huge, petrified tree stump, is downstairs…right next to the awesome rock-hound’s delight of a gift shop! And, as if that weren’t enough, the museum is located in Wilder Park, a huge, beautiful park where there is something for young (play ground and snacks) and old (other museums and a conservatory) alike. The Museum Adventure Pass grants you half-price entry Tuesday through Sunday (it’s free on Fridays!), so get a picnic together on one of these beautiful Autumn weekends and head on out for a day of rocks and museums and nature at its finest. I’ll probably see you there. I’ll be the one looking in awe at the giant, petrified stump!
