DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center

Hours

The animal admittance area and the visitor center are open Wednesdays 9 a.m. – noon and Thursday – Tuesday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. They're closed on Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

The center accepts most wildlife patients, but please call 630-942-6200 before arriving.

There's a suggested admission donation of $5 per person ages 3 and up.

The surrounding Willowbrook Forest Preserve is open daily from one hour after sunrise to one hour after sunset.

Wildlife Rescue Advice

If you find a wild animal exhibiting signs it needs help, first call the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center at 630-942-6200 to determine if the animal truly needs assistance. Recordings provide after-hours guidance, and additional information is available on this webpage.

If you see an injured animal in a DuPage forest preserve or notice a situation that could harm wildlife, use our Citizen Reporter to share details and photos. This online tool helps staff locate and assess injured animals and other concerns within the preserves. The Forest Preserve District does not pick up animals on private property.

The center may have species-specific admission criteria. If an animal doesn’t meet those criteria and cannot be treated at the center, staff can help rescuers or other agencies connect with licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

Plan Your Visit

The DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at wildlife rehabilitation while fostering a greater understanding of the native animals it serves.

Opened in January 2026, the 27,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility includes animal treatment and rehabilitation areas, educational exhibits, a classroom, an interpretive trail, and outdoor activity spaces.

Inside the visitor center, guests can explore exhibits to learn about local wildlife and how to peacefully coexist with them. The east wall features six large windows, where guests can get a glimpse into the rehabilitation process. Guests can see staff perform surgical operations, examine injured animals, and feed baby wildlife. Each year the wildlife center treats approximately 11,000 injured and orphaned animals.

Down the hall a classroom hosts educational programs. Guests can also borrow binoculars and backpacks filled with tools to learn more about finding signs of wildlife and collecting data from different onsite ecosystems.

Outside the classroom, don’t miss The Release, a large mural by local artist Joel Sheesley depicting the moment a rehabilitated owl returns to the wild.

Behind the net-zero-designed building — constructed to produce as much energy as it consumes — are hiking trails and natural areas within the surrounding Willowbrook Forest Preserve. The half mile-long Coyote Loop features six interpretive nodes featuring local flora and fauna. Other buildings on the campus house additional rehabilitation enclosures, including a raptor barn and pools for waterfowl. These are closed to the public to minimize interaction and to give the animals their best chance of survival during the rehabilitation process.

History

In the mid 1900s Al and Audrie Chase bought this land as a weekend and summer retreat from their work at the Chicago Tribune. In 1956 Audrie Chase donated 45 acres to the Forest Preserve District, the first donation of its kind in District history. The Chases asked that the land be named Willow Brook, a nod to the name they had given the creek that flows through the property, and that a portion remain a sanctuary for birds.

In 1976 after years of growth and a gradual shift to a professional animal-care staff, the site gained the name Willowbrook Wildlife Haven. In 1981 the District added a new education and treatment center and outdoor exhibit area, and in 1993 it renamed the site Willowbrook Wildlife Center.

Finally in 2024, in recognition of the newly built center’s renewed emphasis on conservation and its range of wildlife-related activities, including rehabilitation and the propagation of endangered and threatened species, the Forest Preserve District gave it its current name, the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center at Willowbrook Forest Preserve.