Date/Time
18 Mar 2025
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Location
Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup, 5257 Old Route 66, Shirley, Illinois
*
WE HAVE EXCEEDED THE LIMIT OF PARTICIPANTS FOR THIS EVENT. THE EVENT IS FULL AND NO MORE SIGN UPS CAN BE MADE. WE WILL LIKELY ARRANGE ANOTHER EVENT TO ACCOMODATE THE OVERFLOW OF SIGN UPS.
Join IFI in exploring the attractions of Funks Grove, Illinois! As a special Spring Break celebration, this event will be free! Transportation will be provided. You must sign up quickly to be sure of being able to join this tour, but please only sign up if you are sure that you will attend.
Isaac Funk settled in this scenic area, just south of Bloomington, Illinois, in 1820. The 25,000 acres that the Funk family developed now offer many opportunities for a very unique day trip! See how maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees at Funks Grove Maple Sirup store! Enjoy a picnic lunch in the midst of acres of original uncut forest dotted with huge oak and sugar maple trees. Tour an historic Funk farmstead built in 1864. Their original barn showcases farming implements of the 1800’s when horsepower was truly that – horses! The corn field by this farmstead is the oldest known cultivated corn field in the world! But farming was not their only interest. Adjacent to the farm is the Funk’s Gem and Mineral Museum. On the tour of this museum you will discover rare treasures from all around the world. The museum has items that not even the Smithsonian Institute has been able to obtain! View rare gems and minerals, first people’s artifacts, and dinosaur bones. Their multi-million dollar display even includes two moon rocks donated to the Funk family by President Richard Nixon!
See the questions on the sign up form in regards to the picnic lunch. A sandwich, chips and fruit lunch, along with bottled water, will be provided according to your dietary requests in the sign-up. Bring some money for any shopping that you wish to do. Transportation is provided, but you must provide your own car seats for any small children who require them. All attendees must be signed up. We ask that you please refrain from attending if you are not feeling well.
The tremendous influence of the Funk family in Central Illinois, over the past two centuries, is attested to by their roles in the birthing of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, as well as Wesleyan University and Illinois State University in Bloomington. Their most recent contribution at the U of I was the 2001 construction of the Aces Library in the agricultural area of the UIUC campus. We hope that you can join this special Spring Break exploration of Funks Grove and the Funk family’s amazing legacy! You will be notified of transportation details the day before the event. We urge you to sign up quickly to be able to join this event!
*
WE HAVE EXCEEDED THE LIMIT OF PARTICIPANTS FOR THIS EVENT. THE EVENT IS FULL AND NO MORE SIGN UPS CAN BE MADE. WE WILL LIKELY ARRANGE ANOTHER EVENT TO ACCOMODATE THE OVERFLOW OF SIGN UPS.
*