The Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has opened its vault to share rare specimens and debut pop-up exhibit, Chicago’s Explorers, to highlight the legacy of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and our region’s rich natural history. Founders Week (Jan. 11-16) marks the beginning of the Nature Museum’s 160th anniversary celebration. The special vault, which opened January 14th, features a number of specimens including a Southern Rock Vole, a small rodent resembling a mouse, and Prairie Chicken. This particular Vole specimen is the “type specimen.” This means that it was the first of its kind recognized by biologists and it became the basis for the scientific description of this subspecies. Most specimens in scientific collections are collected in the wild, since they are intended to be physical records of a particular place and time. The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is located at 2430 N. Cannon Drive. The new exhibit is free with Nature Museum admission.