Acknowledgments and funding

Purple coneflower

Development of the Web exhibit was funded in part by grants to the Illinois State Museum Society from the Openlands Project, Chicago, Illinois, and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (Grant Number 17-60-97018). The Illinois State Museum acknowledges the leadership and sponsorship of Gerald W. Adelmann of the Openlands Project and the cooperation of the Chicago Academy of Sciences in the planning and development of this exhibit. Special thanks goes to the staff of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, especially Francis Harty and William D. Glass (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) and Eric Ulaszek (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service).

The Museum also thanks all of the individuals who provided photographs and assisted with the editing of the text. Special thanks go to: Joe B. Milosevich, Art Instructor and Gallery Director, Joliet Junior College, for his photographs of prairie and wetland birds; John and Gloria Tveten, of Houston, Texas, for some of the mammal photographs. John and Gloria Tveten are long-time authors of a weekly column, "Nature Trails," in the Houston Chronicle, and have authored several books, including: The Birds of Texas, Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas, and Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas. James R. Wicker contributed photographs of Papaipema species, and Vernon L. LaGesse, of the Nature Conservancy contributed photographs of prairie fires. Lawrence M. Page, of the Illinois Natural History Survey, contributed photographs of fish and of a prairie kingsnake. Robert Church provided photographs of surveying equipment and survey re-enactment. John Deere and Company generously granted permission to use images of John Deere and plows.

The helpful comments and assistance of William E. McClain and Vern Kleen of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are gratefully acknowledged.

Project staff:

Project Directors:

Dr. Eric Grimm
Curator of Botany, Illinois State Museum

Dr. Bonnie Styles
Associate Director-Science and Education, Illinois State Museum

Content Development and Image Selection:

Pietra Gardetto Mueller
Research Associate in Botany, Illinois State Museum

Exhibit Design:

Dr. Erich Schroeder
Curator for Information Technology, Illinois State Museum

Jason Arnold
Internet Specialist, Illinois State Museum

Photograph Credits:

Introductory collage: (l to r): Prairie Fire, Vernon L. LaGesse; Big bluestem and Gray-headed coneflower, Pietra Mueller; Henslow's Sparrow, Joe B. Milosevich, Eastern Black Swallowtail on Blazing Star, Pietra Mueller; Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, John L. Tveten.

Credits of photographs taken by staff outside of the Illinois State Museum are provided with the image.

Exhibit Technical Requirements:

Java(TM) and Javascript(TM) enabled Web browser (e.g., Netscape version 3.0 or higher or Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher; Quicktime Virtual Reality (QTVR) Plug-in (https://www.quicktime.apple.com/)

Contacts:

Send inquiries to webmaster@museum.state.il.us