Upcoming Museum Closures

Tinker Swiss Cottage will be closed on November 21-23 and on December 22-January 1. 
We apologize for any inconvenience. 

#You Belong in a Museum

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In 2018, Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens continues our You Belong in a Museum campaign!
 
Throughout the year, we will have lectures, workshops, open houses, family game days, members only night tours, and free admission dates for you to explore what is it like to be a part of the Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum!

Join us for these upcoming free admission dates:

​September: Every Tuesday
​October: 2nd, 9th, 16th
​November: 6th, 13th
​December: 5th, 12th
 
Don’t miss out! Keep your eyes peeled for announcements for these events and so much more on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtags #youbelonginamuseum and #ibelonginamuseum

Paranormal Tour with
Midwest Ghost Investigators 
​October 5th         7:00-10:00pm

Tinker Swiss Cottage is excited to kick-off our October Season with Midwest Ghost Investigators! 

Join us for scintillating tales from paranormal experts, listen to audio clips found in the Tinker Cottage, and enjoy a tour with the chance to have your own paranormal encounter. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own equipment (cameras, camcorders, audio recorders, emf). Each event begins in the Barn.

For more information on MGI, please visit their WEBSITE! 

Trunk or Treat at Tinker Cottage!
October 6th               1:00-3:00pm

Calling all monsters, princesses, super heroes, and cartoon characters! 

Join Tinker Swiss Cottage as we partner with the Rockford Area Realtors to bring you our first Trunk or Treat event! 

Enjoy trunk or treating in the historic Tinker Gardens, along with crafts in the Barn and free first floor tours of the Cottage! 

You won't want to miss out on this spook-tacular *FREE* event!! 

*Trunk or Treating available while supplies last*

Paranormal Tour with 
Ghost Research Society
October 12th             7:00-10:00pm

​Tinker Swiss Cottage is excited to have Ghost Research Society join us this season! 

Join us for scintillating tales from paranormal experts, listen to audio clips found in the Tinker Cottage, and enjoy a tour with the chance to have your own paranormal encounter. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own equipment (cameras, camcorders, audio recorders, emf). Each event begins in the Barn.

For more information on GRS, please visit their WEBSITE! 

Paranormal Tour with 
Ghost Head Soup
October 26th            7:00-10:00pm

Tinker Swiss Cottage is excited to wrap-up our October Season with Ghost Head Soup! 

Join us for scintillating tales from paranormal experts, listen to audio clips found in the Tinker Cottage, and enjoy a tour with the chance to have your own paranormal encounter. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own equipment (cameras, camcorders, audio recorders, emf). Each event begins in the Barn.

For more information on GHS, please visit their WEBSITE! ​

Tinker's Shadow
​New Documentary of Tinker Swiss Cottage Now Available!

Looking for a fun way to take Tinker home with you? Director Michael Kleen has put together a wonderful new documentary on Tinker Swiss Cottage, titled Tinker's Shadow: The Hidden History of Tinker Swiss Cottage.

​The documentary is available to purchase through Amazon, or you can get your DVD copy in our gift shop! Proceeds will go towards helping us to maintain the Cottage. 

​*Reminder: Please select "Tinker Swiss Cottage" as the benefactor when you shop at smile.amazon.com

Check out the trailer HERE!
​Watch the documentary HERE!

Annual Illinois
Paranormal Conference at
​Veteran's Memorial Hall
September 29th, 2018    11:00am-6:00pm

Haunted Rockford and Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum are excited to host our annual Illinois Paranormal Conference! This event will be held at Veteran's Memorial Hall, located at 211 North Main Street, Rockford, IL. 

The doors will open at 10:30 a.m. to allow guests to visit with the many vendors.

Headline Speaker for 2018 will be Historian and Folklorist Ursula Bielski. Ursula Bielski is a Chicago historian and folklorist specializing in cemetery history and the folklore of the preternatural. A respected paranormal researcher, she is the author of nine books on Chicago ghost lore and cemetery history and has been studying the settlement, folklore, and culture of Bachelors Grove for nearly three decades.

Also speaking at the Conference in 2018:
Film maker and serial killer researcher, John Borowski will be back by popular demand, with a new presentation: Dahmer and Me: Why I became interested in Serial Killers.

Renowned ghost investigator Dale Kaczmarek from Ghost Research Society is also returning to the Conference in 2018 and will share evidence from his most exciting recent investigations.

Also returning for the 2018 Conference will be Paranormal Investigator and author Sylvia Shults.

Other speakers include author and storyteller Amelia Cotter; Ami and Mark Orava from the Society for Anomalous Studies; Dean Thompson of the paranormal group Ghost Head Soup; and Dan Norvell, author and Paranormal Investigator.

The cost for this event is $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at the door! Get your tickets HERE! 

Interested in being a VENDOR? Visit Haunted Rockford's website for more information at www.hauntedrockford.com.

Paranormal Tour with
Haunted Rockford and Terri Reid
​October 19th             7:00-10:00pm

Celebrate Halloween with Tinker Swiss Cottage and Haunted Rockford!  Local authors Terri Reid and Kathi Kresol will be joining us for this special evening of spine-tingling and bone-chilling stories!


Terri Reid, best-selling author of the Mary O’Reilly paranormal series and Kathi Kresol, founder of Haunted Rockford Paranormal Events will share their favorite tales of their own paranormal encounters and other local legends.  After the presentation, Samantha Hochmann, Interim Executive Director of Tinker Swiss Cottage, will share the history of this unique home and a tour will be included in the admission price.

For Tickets, please click HERE! 
For more information on Terri Reid, please click HERE! 
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum            411 Kent St. Rockford, IL 61102              P: (815)964-2424              info@tinkercottage.com 
*All header images provided by © Rockford Park District - Photo by Jesse Fox

Contact Us

Have questions? Want to check in before you arrive? Ask us here!