A natural history museum anchored by SUE, the largest, most complete, and best-preserved T. rex skeleton ever discovered, now displayed in a private suite on the second floor with the gravity and drama the specimen deserves. The Field Museum has occupied its Beaux-Arts temple on the Museum Campus since 1921, and the collections — 40 million artifacts spanning anthropology, botany, geology, and zoology — make it one of the most important research institutions in the world disguised as a place where children can gawk at dinosaur bones. The Hall of Gems, the Ancient Egypt exhibit with actual mummies, and the Maori Meeting House are each worth separate visits. The building's columned facade, facing the lake across the museum campus lawn, is one of Chicago's great architectural compositions.
Location
Museum Campus, Chicago
Map
Insider Intel
SUE the T. rex on the second floor — the skeleton is 67 million years old and the display contextualizes the discovery, the science, and the sheer improbability of this specimen surviving intact. The Evolving Planet exhibit for the full timeline from the Precambrian to the present. The Ancient Egypt collection for the mummies and artifacts. The Hall of Gems for the precious-stone collection. The Maori Meeting House for one of the most important Polynesian artifacts outside New Zealand.
Weekday morning for the quietest galleries. The Museum Campus location means you can combine the Field Museum with the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium in a single day, though two of the three is more realistic. Free days for Illinois residents occur periodically — check the calendar.
General admission is $26 for adults; some exhibits require additional tickets. The Museum Campus is on the lakefront south of the Loop, accessible by the CTA bus 146 or a 20-minute walk from the Roosevelt Red/Green/Orange Line station. The campus has parking but it fills on weekends and the rate is steep ($25+). The building is massive and requires prioritization. The museum shop is one of the best in the city for science-minded gifts. Combine with a walk along the museum campus lakefront for the skyline view back toward the Loop.