Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center

Note: To encourage social distancing and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center is closed until further notice. The surrounding forest preserve is open. The opening of the Graue Mill & Museum has been tentatively postponed until May 10. Please visit dupageforest.org/coronavirus for the latest updates.

***To alleviate congestion and large crowds parking lot access will be limited to only DuPage County residents until further notice***

Take a walk, jog with your dog, ride your bike or cross-country ski at Fullersburg Woods Nature Education at Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve in Oak Brook. Whether you prefer to study wildlife through a picture window or head out for your own excursion with a nature backpack, the education center offers something for every nature lover.   

Nature Education Center

The nature education center provides an engaging, interactive introduction to the local environment. There, visitors can explore the world of Salt Creek and its inhabitants and learn how to identify common birds and animal tracks. They can get up close and personal with the 13,000-year-old skeleton of a woolly mammoth or use microscopes and spotting scopes to examine creatures that call DuPage County home today. Visitors can also find answers to nature-related questions from the center’s staff of expert naturalists, who love talking about native plants and animals almost as much as they love learning about nature themselves!

Modern restrooms, a drinking fountain, and information on other DuPage County forest preserves complement the visitor center’s exhibits.

Photography

Commercial, portrait and hobbyist photography in DuPage forest preserves requires a valid still portrait photography permit in the photographer's possession. Please see the photography page or call Visitor Services at 630-871-6421 for more information.

Driving Directions

Nature Programs 

Scheduled programs for individuals, families and groups focus on natural resources and feature activities from tapping maple trees, identifying spring wildflowers to tracking resident and migrant wildlife.

Kids entering kindergarten through 4th grade can enjoy hands-on experiences with summer camp opportunities at Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center. Visit our summer camps page for more information. 

For Teachers and Students

Connect your students to the natural sciences and DuPage County's cultural history with forest preserve field trips and classroom programs designed to meet national learning standards, including Common Core and Next Generation Science.

Our highly educated, professional program leaders offer hands-on experiences that spark students' natural curiosity and initiate a desire to dig deeper into rich age-appropriate content. Many programs are rooted in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and each is tailored to one of six learning levels: pre-K, grades 2 - 3, grades 4 - 5, grades 6 - 8, high school and college.

We offer programs throughout the academic year (Sept. 1 – June 1), and most are available Monday – Friday by request at least 3 weeks in advance.

For more information about programs — including reservation requirements and other opportunities — see our Frequently Asked Questions.

We also offer professional-development opportunities and resources for use in and away from the classroom.

For Scout Leaders and Scouts

Learn more about opportunities for Scouts and other youth groups at our Scout programs page.

Graue Mill and Museum & Frederick Graue House

Located in the southern corner of Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, Graue Mill and Museum is one of the area’s remaining authenticated Underground Railroad “stations” and the only operating waterwheel gristmill in Illinois. Programs on milling, spinning and weaving illustrate life between 1850 and 1890 and the effect mills had on the area’s culture. The restored Frederick Graue House, the 1850s Victorian home of the Graue family, is a perfect venue for small private functions.

Both facilities are owned by the Forest Preserve District and operated by the nonprofit DuPage Graue Mill Corporation. The mill is open mid-April to mid-November. House rental information is available by request. For details, visit Graue Mill (link) or contact 630-920-9720 or info@grauemill.org. 

Ben Fuller House

The area that is now Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve emerged in 1833 as one of the first settlements along Salt Creek. Benjamin Fuller platted much of the land along the waterway and built his home, which now stands on the east side of York Road, sometime near 1840.