John Ripley Forbes was an American naturalist and conservationist who founded hundreds of nature museums for children in over 200 communities and thirty states. His museums were noted for noted their interactivity as children could often even borrow animals. In 1937, Forbes founded the William T. Hornaday foundation for children's museums. He was instrumental in the establishment of many prominent museums including the Kansas City Museum of History and Science. Later in his career, worried about rampant real-estate development he shifted his attention towards conservation and he founded the Southeast Land Preservation Trust in 1976. He would subsequently establish several forest preserves.

External links

• http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/obituaries/05forbes.html
• http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890847,00.html
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1016/is_n1-2_v97/ai_9348352