The simple answer is, baby squirrels don't leave the nest until they are fully furred and can survive on their own so, without seeing the mother right next to the babies, they all look about the same size. 

Most babies leave the nest in April or May.  At this point the babies are fluffy and fat but the parents have exhausted their winter fat and are beginning to shed their winter fur, so look relatively small.  A second litter of babies may leave the nest around September.  At this point the parents have begun putting on fat and winter fur, so the apparent size difference can be greater.  Because of this, it may be easier to identify babies born late in the year. 

Although baby squirrels have been recorded in almost every month of the year, these two litters, early spring and late summer, are the norm.  Typically the early spring babies have the highest survival rate, especially in areas where it snows, since a small squirrel has to expend more energy than a large one to stay warm and find food.

I managed to take a few pictures of a baby and a young adult male that were foraging near each other in the same park.  Unfortunately, tree squirrels aren’t very social so I couldn’t get any useful pictures of them near each other, but they found my pen interesting so there is some scale.  The pen is about 16cm long.

Even with the specimens in-hand, assessing age can be somewhat qualitative but when the babies are very young, they are simply more cute than the rest of the population.

If you're a squirrel watcher, like me, I hope you take the time to record your observations at projectsquirrel.org . Your data, combined with that of others around the country, helps us understand more about squirrels and about the nature in your neighborhood!

One of my fondest childhood memories is of visiting museums with my mother. It was a great girls' day out; riding the train together, having lunch and exploring every corner of whichever Chicago institution we chose to visit for the day. The choice might be made based on the featured exhibits or whatever my interests were at the time.  During one of these outings, we saw an exhibit about Pompeii. My mother prepared me with some facts the night before so that I could better understand the exhibit the next day. I arrived with a connection to the subject matter before I even saw the exhibit.

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a wonderful institution for families with children of all ages. Between my museum experiences with mother and my employment here, I have learned some great tips to maximize a family museum experience and would love to share them with your family.

• Discuss general nature subjects with your children before your visit to the museum- animals, ecosystems, green living, etc -- this will help develop a connection with the content you’re about to see.
• Check out the calendar of events at the museum for the day of your visit. The museum often has extra activities in which your family can participate- many for free. These include crafts, animal interactions and story times.
• Read the signs in the exhibits. Let the children operate the interactive components. Share the information you learn as a family. There is relatable content for every age in every exhibit.
•  Give your family enough time to enjoy the exhibits at a comfortable pace and keep the focus on your museum experience the entire time you are here.

A day at the museum can build memories of family fun and learning experiences for the rest our lives. (Thanks Mom!)

Chicago is a birding hotspot especially in spring and fall during migration. The Chicago Ornithological Society lead morning bird walks around North Pond every Wednesday which start and finish here at the Museum. The list of species they have observed right outside our windows is very impressive. We are always looking for new ideas for public and school programs so a few years ago when the idea of a bird watching program was suggested we installed some bird feeders at the north east corner of the building.
Even we couldn’t have imagined just how successful they would be. We have recorded the first ever sighting for Lincoln Park of a Yellow-headed Blackbird and when an extremely unusual Cinnamon Teal blew in one winter it too paid a visit to our feeders.

Last winter we had a regular Red-headed Woodpecker adding a splash of colour outside our window.



And this spring we were inundated with Baltimore Oriole’s draining the nectar from the hummingbird feeders.



Now fall migration is upon us again and the Red-breasted Nuthatches are making the most of the peanut feeder.



And of course there is always that endearing year round favourite, the Downy Woodpecker.



Depending on the time of year we have a constant parade of colourful species so next time you are at the Museum be sure to visit the North Terrace, you never know what you might see.




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The education department at the Nature Museum logged in just over 67,500 contact hours last year. Here is a breakdown of some of those hours:

Sharing our knowledge about science at 137 Science on the Go! classrooms.....

Conducting 627 student workshops for visiting school groups right here in the Nature Museum science labs.....

Visiting over 100 schools with in class workshops to 124 classrooms.....

Leading camps both on site and off that included over 375 children in the Chicago area.....

Supporting teachers while conducting 19 teacher professional development workshops that featured activities and strategies for hands on, inquiry based learning.....

And having fun the whole time we are doing it!

We are lucky to have this opportunity and are working very hard to make this year memorable for another 67,500+ students, teachers, parents, and others. Thanks for stopping by and letting us visit you at school!

Barbara Powell
Associate Director of Education Operations

1. You’ll become a nerd. This is a good thing! In this day and age, nerds reign supreme. Volunteering allows you to immerse yourself in a cause and learn everything there is to know about it. Here at the Museum, our volunteers are always delving deeper into their interests. We have all kinds of nerds – types you never knew existed. Butterfly nerds. Vermicompost nerds. Taxidermy nerds, for goodness sake. They’re all here, and our lunchtime discussions are often just an opportunity to see who can out-nerd the others.

2. People will find you intriguing. Those cocktail parties you always dreaded? Now you’ll have cute stories, fun facts, and sage philosophies on life to fill the awkward pauses.  It’s endearing when someone gives their time to a cause they believe in without the expectation of a paycheck. Who knows, it may even score you a phone number or two.

3. Mom and Dad will be proud. So you didn’t become a doctor or a lawyer like they always dreamed.  Next time they call, tell them you’re volunteering for a Nature Museum. They’ll be dying to get off the phone so they can call their friends to brag.

4. Your network will broaden and deepen. You’ll meet friends with similar interests. You’ll meet experts in the field. You may even meet someone who will hire you one day. They say that most people get jobs through personal connections. Volunteering is a genuine and effective way to cultivate those connections.

5. You’ll start to fill the void. You know the one I’m talking about. After work or school, when you come home, flip on the tv, and just zone out. What if, instead, you spent time talking to kids about nature and science? You could teach them, for example, that a turtle’s shell is made of the same stuff our fingernails are made from. It will blow their little minds and spark a lifetime of scientific curiosity. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in a three-hour volunteer gig. And it’s not just about the kids either. It’s about you, and how you make the most out of the time you have.

6. Food and praise will be lavished upon you. This is not an exaggeration. Volunteers are major contributors to an organization’s bottom line. Here at the Museum, volunteers put in over 10,000 hours each year. In purely financial terms, that time equates to a little over $250,000. That’s huge! It’s the least we can do to keep the snack drawer stocked and the thank-yous flowing. And every April, we gather for a delicious catered dinner and awards ceremony. Seriously - how thrilled would you be to win something called the Tiger Salamander Award?!

7. Social change will start to happen. When you volunteer, you help your community. Not just in the obvious quantifiable ways – like you taught 82 kids how to recycle, or you fed 14 turtles a salad. There’s something immeasurable, but very real, that happens in a community when its members are engaged.  Others see the volunteer efforts and feel glad. They start to do a little volunteer work of their own. And pretty soon, things are getting done that we never thought we had the resources to do. Warm fuzzies (and vibrant communities) all over the place!