See trees from an animal’s point of view! Explore the 11 human-scale animal homes installed in three different habitats: the wetland, woodland and prairie. Hop on the anmial tram, vote for your favorite animal house, listen to a free auido tour of each of the animal houses habitats on your cell phone, find cool animal gifts in the Arboretum Store.

The Guest House (left) welcomes you and will give you a taste of the intriguing animal houses in the woodland, wetland, and prairie habitats.

Come on in and get your free “Walk on the Wild Side” Adventure Guide, packed with all sorts of activities to start the fun. Check out our latest gallery of photos. You might also enjoy a clip from Channel 7 featuring our Animal Houses.

See what they’re saying at Windy City Guide.

The Sara Lee Foundation is the Healthy Lifestyles supporting sponsor of Animal Houses.

Deadline for the #4 contest entry is Tuesday, August 25 at noon. The next question will post on Wednesday, August 26. All you have to do is post the correct a, b, c or d answer. The next winner will be selected at random on August 25 from all correct entries submitted. We will notify the winner via his or her email immediately following the drawing.

And what can you win? We think it’s pretty cool: an Arboretum apple green insulated logo picnic tote AND one of our Arboretum signature logo blankets. That’s a $125 value!

This week, we have two questions! Just give us the correct letter response to each question - in order. Example d; a

Question #4A:   Many species of spiders become homeless daily because:

a. The wind destroys their web    b. The spider eats the web

c. Their spouse kicked them out  d. The web went into foreclosure

Question #4B:   Spiders have as many as _____ eyes:

a. One                                           b. Two

c. Four                                          d. Eight

See who won the first, second and third contests!

The Sara Lee Foundation is the Healthy Lifestyles supporting sponsor of Animal Houses.

Josette was selected at random from the correct reponses submitted. She won an Arboretum apple green insulated logo picnic tote AND one of our Arboretum signature logo blankets – a $125 value! See who won the first and second contests!

When she came to the Visitor Center to pick up her goodies, Josette told us about the most memorable thing she had experienced at The Morton Arboretum. 

“I have always hated winters, so I signed up for a class on Mosses and Lichens. I enjoyed it so much that I continued with more classes and completed all the courses required for a Naturalist Certificate. It’s normally a 2-year undertaking, but I doubled up on the courses and I was able to complete the program in only one year. I received my certificate in 2008. Now I’m taking classes at COD towards a Horticulture degree. The courses I have taken at The Morton Arboretum have made it a lot easier to get through the curriculum at COD. Some day I’d even like to work at the Arboretum!” JOsette also told us that the arboretum is her favorite place – after Disney World, that is! She’s planning a trip in December and told us she will take her Arboretum gifts with her.

Andrea Casula from Glen Ellyn and a brand new member in July 2009, posted the correct response to this question:

Even without thumbs a raccoon can easily:
a. open a pop-top soda can
b. button a shirt
c. unlock doors
d. hitchhike

Andrea and a number of other participants correctly selected answer c, unlock doors. Many tree talk respondents answered “a,” open a pop-top soda can. It’s a debatable option! There is little doubt that a raccoon, properly motivated, would be able to rip open a typical soda can with it’s extremely sharp claws. Because of the ongoing discussion and the firmly-held convictions of so many or our readers, we included all correct “a” and “c” answers in the drawing.

Andrea won an Arboretum apple green insulated logo picnic tote AND one of our Arboretum signature logo blankets - a $125 value! Make sure you try your luck at quiz #3.

Andrea told us: “I am so excited to have won! I took some of my grandchildren to the Arboretum and we so enjoyed looking at all the animal houses and taking pictures of them.  One of my granddaughters and I were looking at the website, and we entered the contest and wow, we won! I can’t wait to tell her! She’ll be thrilled. We are excited to be members and looking forward to many more visits. The Animal House exhibition was wonderful! I enjoyed it as much as my grandchildren. My husband and I are looking forward to walking the many trails at the Arboretum.”

We thank Andrea and her husband Chris for their continued support of The Morton Arboretum

The Sara Lee Foundation is the Healthy Lifestyles supporting sponsor of Animal Houses.

Robin Jozaitis, a Family Plus member from Woodridge and a member since 2006, posted the correct response to this question:

A squirrel’s home usually consists of two rooms and a
a. bathrooom
b. nursery
c. media room
d. porch
Extra Credit: What is a squirrel’s home called?

Robin and a number of other participants correctly selected answer b, nursery. In addition, Robin knew that the squirrel’s home is called a “drey.” Robin was selected at random from all the correct responses received.

Robin won an Arboretum apple green insulated logo picnic tote AND one of our Arboretum signature logo blankets - a $125 value! Make sure you try your luck at the second quiz #2! She’s pictured at right with husband Dave and daughter Jackie picking up her picnic tote in the Visitor Center’s Orientation Hall.

Robin told us: “I am so thankful for The Morton Arboretum as it provides a year round opportunity to connect with nature and the seasons in a real sense. I bring my children to learn and appreciate that our world is a much bigger place than our paved streets and brick buildings where we spend so much of our time. In light of this goal (to re-connect with nature), I especially love the Animal Houses exhibits because they not only educate but help me and my children to gain a new perspective and appreciation for our animal neighbors, their organic rituals and the ways that they instinctively live and protect their families. My favorite is the Guest House because I am truly a guest in their animal world.”

We thank Robin, and the Jozaitis family, for their continued support of The Morton Arboretum!

The Sara Lee Foundation is the Healthy Lifestyles supporting sponsor of Animal Houses.