The Field Museum

Top notch museum of natural history! I’ve been to the one in NY, and the Smithsonian, but this was just as interesting. Excellent dinosaur, and Egyptian areas. We didn’t have time to visit the whole place, but what we saw was unparalleled. The building itself is worth seeing. The architecture is beautiful!

This museum is fantastic. I’ve been coming here since I was a child and even still go as an adult! It had something for everyone and their rotating exhibits are always fun. I’m not much of a science person but find the interactive exhibits so interesting and easy to understand. Always my number one museum recommendation!

In most cities, I would rate the Field Museum as a top attraction. However, in Chicago it was our 3^rd favorite out of the 3 museums we visited. That is by no means a slam against the Field; it is more of a testament to Chicago.
First, some advice. If you are taking public transport to the museum, you will likely exit at the Roosevelt subway station. Your options at that point are a 4 — 5 block walk or taking a bus that stops just outside the station and deposits you at the doorstep of the museum. Depending on the weather (it was snowing when we went) you may want to opt for the comfort of the bus. If not, and you opt to walk, your best bet is to follow Roosevelt Road until just before Lakeshore Drive, and then cross to the park on your left. There is a pedestrian tunnel under Lakeshore that is your safes (and really, only) option. It leads to the north entrance of the museum.
The museum itself has enough exhibits to interest multiple age-​ranges for several hours. Elementary school kids will probably enjoy it the most, though our late-​teen was not bored. One exhibit, the Egyptian Temple, was deceptive in that it appears small at first but then forces you down a 1-​way stair into a much larger exhibit on the lower level. It was interesting, but hard to plan for, time-​wise. The exhibits about Dinosaurs and China upstairs were both interesting and extensive. When we were there, they also had one (or two?) special exhibits about the Xian terra cotta warrior army and also ancient Greek culture. We were getting tired by later in the day and only briefly checked out their Native American wing.
The ticket-​pricing and options are somewhat confusing. We thought we had access to an IMAX film, but it turned out we didn’t. It wasn’t a huge disappointment, but it would have been nice to get that clarified more at the outset.
Lunch options at the café seemed a bit more limited here vs. the other major museums in town.
We opted for the bus back to the subway station at the end of our day.
For natural history, this is definitely a great museum.

If you’re wondering, the Field Museum is a museum of natural history and is home to some pretty impressive taxidermies. I came here because of all the advertisements for the Chinese Terra Cotta Soldiers. I was psyched since I had been wanting to see them since I was young kid. Never made it to China but this was pretty neat. So anyways, I bought the extra pass to go in and see it. I learned a lot but I felt that it was overhyped. There weren’t very many terra cotta soldiers displayed. There were a few to give you an idea but insufficient to really satisfy me. I guess pretty neat nonetheless.
Sue the T Rex is here and one of the first taxidermied elephants are prominently displayed in the lobby. Since I was on a schedule, I skipped to the other part of the museum I was eager to see and that was the gem collection. It’s nothing like the Smithsonian but pretty impressive enough that it kept me entertained for at least 15 min!
A good stop if you have nothing else to do but there are so many art museums around and I don’t know if the Field Museum really will make you more excited that your local natural museum would.

Used the divvy bikes to get to this place. The architecture is simply beautiful. If the weathers noce you should definitely try and click some photos outside. Walking into the building and you immediately can see the dinosaur and elephant statues and fossils on display. I loved the dinosaur exhibit. It’s definitely a history lovers dream place with so much to grasp in one visit. I would definitely recommend coming to this museum if your in Chicago. It’s also a great tourist place because soldier field is right next door.

Our whole family has been coming here since we were kids. In fact my husband’s mother use to work here until she retired. The collections have always been great! The programs they have are wonderful and that’s why we bought a membership this year. Parking this time was $ 22 and there’s no discounted parking for members. We get discounts on movies and some exhibitions, while others are free. If you go a lot a membership is worth it!

Thoroughly enjoyed the members night, the administrator’s did a good job with the crowd control and organizing the whole event, Best part was having complimentary bottles of water and pop. My kids enjoyed many of the behind the scenes workshops which were spread out in the museum.

Awesome place!
So much to see, great place for kids. The outside architecture is amazing! Easily spend all day here.
I went when the terra cotta warriors exhibit was in town, super neat to learn about. I would recommend anyone buying the city pass as you get so many other attractions.

I was looking forward to the Egypt and Dinosaur exhibits the most but in a sense I was disappointed. I was hoping they would be a little more interesting and things to see.
Overall, it wasnt a bad experience, there are a lot of exhibits which is nice and the ones I least expected were the more interesting ones.
I would say if you have time this isnt bad to check out just to experience it but if not go do something else, maybe the Chicago river tour or something else.

Make sure you have at least a couple of hours to spend here. I’ve been to plenty of museums but this place is mind boggling huge. This museum is part of the Chicago city pass, which is a great deal. There are a variety of exhibits but just the permanent displays of plants and animals can take hours to go through. Both adults and kids will be in awe. I went on a weekday and it was busy not too crowded. Great place to see at the same time as the aquarium.

I love the Field Museum. Just love it. I’m a continuous member because they always have an exhibit that I want to see. The member’s nights are crazy (better to do on a Thursday than Friday) but they offer some great opportunities depending on the exhibit. Additionally, I love bringing out of town guests and to see their reaction when they walk in; utterly amazed.

No matter what state I am in, if there’s a natural history museum, I am THERE. Why, you ask? DINOSAURS.
The Field Museum does NOT disappoint in this regard, either. Not only is this place huge, beautiful, and amazing, but it has a great exhibit showing evolution, which includes tons of dinosaur skeletons. Pteradactyls, ceratopsians, parasaurolophus, brachiosaurus, «early dinosaur» (velociraptor), and tons more. In addition, there are sabertooth tigers and woolly mammoth skeletons! *heart explodes*
Of course, the minute you walk inside, Sue knocks your socks off. I mean, she’s just so awesome. A T-​Rex skeleton named SUE! It was really interesting to read about her and her excavation story. Poor thing had multiple rib fractures in her life, and when her remains were found, she had a crushed nose! Poor thing.
Got to experience a special exhibit called «Underground Adventure,» which detailed everything related to soil. You «shrink» down to a fraction of your size to experience the world of prehistoric and current insects, arachnids, etc. There were several times that I had the heebie jeebies, but I thought the presentation was excellent.
As if the exhibits alone are not worth the visit, the architecture is gorgeous. All of Chicago’s museums excel in this area.
I spent a few hours here and didn’t get to see everything, so I will definitely be back. I want to hit up the mammals, Native American exhibits, and any other special things they’ve got going on. Can’t wait!

If you’re in to Anthropology and Natural History you will really enjoy this museum. Home to «Sue» the largest T. Rex in it’s entirety is prominently displayed in the main hall as you walk in. We watched a film (as part of our ticket) on African wildlife which was fun and interesting. The museum itself is a beautiful structure. From the outside, the long tall white stoned pillars evoke feelings of the Halls of Justice or the Supreme Court. The inside has the feel of an older dusted up place but it’s just as fine as par for the course to display ancient natural things.

First, purchase your tickets online!!! I cannot stress this enough! Online! The lines are huge, they do not move quickly and this isn’t due to the employees, there are just choices people need to make when choosing the tickets that work for them. Next, give yourself time and get there early for the most choices of what you wish to visit.
Then, enjoy! We have a great museum and it’s a great place to visit with family and definitely with people visiting from a different country. We should be proud to show off Chicago’s museum!
They had China, Greece and the underground world (bugs, insects) when I visited and all were fun and informative. Also crowded, so be patient!

A Chicago must see! I may live in Florida but I’m Illinois born and was made aware at an early age that the Chicago museums are a must. Well I finally had an opportunity and I can see what all the fuss is about. Walking through the doors was awe inspiring. I was so excited I felt like a kid on Christmas. The Viking exhibit was a true highlight, these are my people!
I also had a nerdgasm in the Egyptian exhibit. I loved the temple to Bast, the vibe in this exhibit is truly eerie, but just so cool.
Go! Go right now. You’ll learn things and have a great time doing it!

/*AMY & BETO TAKE OVER CHICAGO */
/*Bay Area to Chi town */​
In a nutshell, if you have extra time to kill, go to the field museum, else skip it. If it weren’t part of my city pass deal, I probably wouldn’t have gone.
First of all, Chicagos architecture is just gorgeous and this building is no different. Just stunning!
As the field museum was next on my to do list, my city pass let us take the VIP entrance, which is on the south side of the building), and watch a 3D movie. The movie is whatever they are playing next at the time you arrived.
Once you enter, you’re greeted by Sue, the T-​Rex. Obviously Sue’s a dinosaur, so she’s awesome! Great photo opp!
There is three levels to the museum, which will take someone a good 2 hours to visit. My favorite exhibit was the Egyptian tomb. Art history and history were some of my favorite subjects back in high school, so seeing the mummies and the tombs artwork was really cool.
Unfortunately, after the movie, which lasted 30 minutes, I was pretty bored. There’s a floor dedicated to animals and taxidermy, and meh. I rather see live ones. The excitement of the museum sort of dies here.
I wouldn’t recommend the field museum if you have kids, just because it’s really time consuming to go through the museum and it’s not very interactive.

The Field Museum is a very comprehensive museum filled with all types of natural and imperial history. You can get lost in here for a day.
I was most impressed with the new Cyrus Tang Hall of Chinese historic artifacts. It was very impressive selection and collection of ancient Chinese artifacts. There weren’t too many works to where it all just became a blurb, but there was a slower pace and a lot of facts to read.
There are also a lot of kid-​friendly areas with dinosaurs in natural history areas. Lots of hands-​on stuff that can distract and educate kids.
Overall, there’s a pretty wide variety of things to do here no matter your interest, so I definitely recommend a visit if you are in Chicago. Greta walk around outside, as well.

Get there before 11 because the ticket line gets pretty long! There’s lots to do so make sure you give adequate time to see all the exhibits. The museum is well kept and all the employees are extremely helpful. There is a military discount and also student discounts ! We got two ticket and a movie for a little over $ 50. My boyfriend and I did 6 hours however we are pretty dorky and enjoy reading and taking our time. We were able to see all the exhibits and also a 3D movie. We could have stayed longer if the museum wasn’t closing at 5pm on a Sunday as well. So for the average visitor I would at least allocate 3 hours to enjoy the museum and not rush.
This is definitely a go to attraction when visiting Chicago! Plus who doesn’t love a real T. rex !

The field museum is filled situ interesting and informative exhibits. The newer exhibits of course have special tickets for purchase. Although I’ve always enjoyed visiting it was sad to see some of the older exhibits kind of fall through the cracks and some of the changes to the layouts of the exhibits made things seemed cluttered. The price for one person to visit and have an amazing experience is ridiculous! About 40 – 60 a person and an additional 19 – 22 for parking! Smh. If you are an Illinois resident please utilize free dats. It wasn’t a bad experience — it just wasn’t great either

After stumbling across a documentary of SUE the T-​Rex it revealed she was at the field museum in Chicago. I’ve been to Chicago over 8 times this past couple years and never stopped by, well today I did was amazed that something so large and so in tact was founded in the beautiful country in South Dakota! I was amazed something like this roamed the earth over 67 million years ago! A must see when visiting Chicago wish my kids were here to see it one day I’ll bring them!

Just wanted to share a funny story about my trip to Field Museum.
I came at 3:20, a little under 2 hours before closing time of the museum. When I asked the lady at the ticket desk if that would be enough time to view the whole entire museum, she said it would take me 4 hours. My boyfriend and I were so bummed out because we paid for an Über ride just to get there after lunch.
So we decided to just walk to the store that was to the right of the entrance before the coat check to make a little of our time worth it here. After walking through the store, I got a little anxious to use the bathroom and saw a door in the back left side assuming I could access one there. Me and my boyfriend then realized we found ourselves in one of the exhibits (the Native American one).
So end of story short, me and my boyfriend pretty much walked through the whole museum (minus the special exhibits) for free (no we aren’t Illinois residents and I do understand it was free admission for them this month). But I definitely thought this museum a great! I loved the dinosaurs exhibit and evolution of our planet exhibit the best.
I’m sorry Field Museum for cheating the system and pretending to be a Chicago resident. I promise I’ll pay for admissions when I’m here in the future (:

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of museums. I just don’t have the patience to walk through hours of exhibits and read all the cards.
I think that some museums out there are very interactive and have a ton of shows, or interactive exhibits that capture the audience. The Smithsonian museums in DC come to mind.
I think unfortunately the Field is more traditional in it’s approach. The big highlight is Sue definitely. I think it’s pretty remarkable that it’s mostly her actual bones on display rather than castings.
There were several special exhibits, namely China, Greeks, and Soil (or something like that). Both China and Greeks were interesting, but honestly could have had more explanatory videos or interactive stuff that made them more engaging. Mostly you just gawk at old pottery bits or gold stuff. The Soil exhibit was a bit weird and probably geared for children. The regular exhibits were likely quite old and mostly comprised of stuffed animals in various poses. There was a Egypt exhibit too that had interesting mummies but again lacked interactive engagement.
The biggest disappointment was the 4D movie, played in a small decrepit theater with a tiny screen. I’m more used to the giant IMAX screens at Jordan’s Furniture in Mass, or the incredible Mugal Omnimax at the Museum of Science in Boston. This screen looked like an IPhone screen.
Overall I think it’s most worth going to for Sue, but unless you love museums, it’s a bit tedious, and I think places like the Smithsonian do a better job at capturing the interests of the layman. The crappy theater has no excuse. It needs to be upgraded or shut down.

I’d gone to the Field Museum years ago but hadn’t been since moving back to Chicago. Some friends came into town and we decided to go one of the resident discount days.
Price: During the month of February, general admission is free with proof if IL residency. Unfortunately, they don’t tell you that the special exhibits cost extra, as does parking. I paid $ 20 to see both the Ancient Greek and China exhibits in addition to everything else. I’d advise coming during the resident discount days because the «general admission» really doesn’t get you into many exhibits.
Exhibits: In terms of exhibits, the Field Museum was very underwhelming. Some of the exhibits haven’t been updated in years and are somewhat outdated and/​or showing signs of wear. Also, I found that a lot of the placards explaining what the exhibits are weren’t placed very well. ie: When the museum is crowded, it’s hard for more than one person to read item descriptions. The Greek exhibit was interesting. In my opinion, the China exhibit needed some improvements; for a «special exhibit» they didn’t really have anything special compared to any other China exhibit. I would’ve liked more explanations of the history/​culture at the time of the objects and more recent exhibits as well.
Overall: The last museums I went to were the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, so I’m comparing the Field Museum to those. The Field Museum could definitely use some updating and some fresh exhibits. I probably won’t be back unless there’s some special exhibition that I’m just /​/​dying/​/​to see, but after my disappointment with the China exhibit, I’m hesitant.
Fun Fact: Their bathrooms won awards in 2011. Random, huh?

I’ve always considered myself to be curious person. As a kid I would dutifully pluck my parents’ dusty and outdated Funk and Wagnells Encyclopedia off of the shelves and read about wonders far and wide. I devoted my youth to scouring for artifacts in my quest to be an archaeologist, most often not finding more than a penny or a coke can. I liked to spin my globe and see where I landed-​often in a country which has been renamed-​is it Burma or Myanmar?
The Field Museum was a natural first major tourist stop during my trip to Chicago. Pack your comfy shoes, because this place is huuuuuuuuuuuuge, and full of so many curiosities. Where to start? At the ticket counter, of course. By the time we added some special exhibitions and a 3D film to our admission, I was a bit sticker shocked at $ 60+ for two, but once I saw even a fraction of what the Field holds, I realized its value. Sue, the cast of the TRex, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Don’t miss her real skull upstairs, as it’s too heavy for the model. The Egyptian section is worthy of a full day visit-​the mummies, sarcophagi, jewelry, etc are all so intricate. The Mammoths and Mastodons exhibition we caught was so cool-​dinosaurs get all of the cred, but these other creatures are pretty epic as well. Did you know that male woolly mammoths who had longer and curvier tusks were able to mate with more females? Once they did, they could make it over to one of my other favorite parts of the museum: The Hall of Gems. A small but mighty room with so much beautiful bling. After almost a full day here I was exhausted, and when I consulted the map, I saw that we barely saw a fraction. I’m curious to see more to see next time.
The Field will satisfy any curious cat. C.S. Lewis said that, «The love of knowledge is a kind of madness.» If that is so then you will be stark raving mad here at the Field. Enjoy!

Ok, not as interesting as I was really thinking it would be! The underground program was not all that, good thing entrance was included with our hop on hop off ticket. The only things I found exciting was the elephants at the entrance and the dinosaur! Never seen one, so it was cool. The reason why I give them 2 stars, is because they have a sponsorship from Monsanto! And they are the worse, so I probably would never stop here again!

The Egyptian exhibit and Sue the T-​Rex were my two favorite parts of this museum. The Egyptian exhibit included a 3 story tomb replica for you to walk through in addition to additional displays. The Africa exhibit, the Pacific Island exhibit, and the Native American exhibit are also worth checking out. The downside of this museum to me is that there are number of additional paid exhibits, which bumps the price of admission from fairly reasonable to a little pricey, even if the paid exhibits sounded pretty cool. When I was there some of the exhibits included the Vikings and a Chinese hall, but I didn’t have time to check them out before the museum closed as I came here in the afternoon.

I think this is the one of the best museums around. Lots to do and see.

I always enjoy coming to the Field Museum. In my opinion it’s not as fun as the Museum of Science and Industry, but there’s so much to view and learn.
My favorite exhibit is the gems. I could spend hours looking at the incredible pieces. I also love looking at all of the native American artifacts, and the Egyptian exhibit. So much to look at, read about, and admire.
The only bummer is the fact that it’s constantly busy, and it can be hard to see the more popular exhibits as a result. I can’t seem to find a good time to come.
Great fun for the whole family.

Had a great time with my husband and parents last week. Be sure to follow the signs to the soldier field parking if there are any activities going on– there was a half marathon that blocked the southbound entrance to the parking lot coming from the museum campus, we had to drop off my parents and go back out to LSD to 18^th to park. Not the museum’s fault, but heads up.
The Greeks exhibit was awesome, so was the Galapagos 3d movie. My mom often has problems with 3d, but this was subtle and more like extreme high def, which was very cool. Try to buy your tickets ahead of time, as movies sell out. We didn’t get to the China exhibit, we were too tired. The other permanent ones were very good, my dad loved the evolution one as well.
The new bistro is overpriced, but still good. I felt it was expected pricing for the city -$ 7 – 10 per person. They have a special Sue the dinosaur beer, try it –it’s good

One late spring evening many years ago, I put on my best dress and danced with the dinosaurs. There were chocolate-​covered strawberries, fancy silverware, and a DJ playing the latest tunes. This was prom, my senior year of high school. Probably the best memory I have of the Field Museum. And really, how cool is that!??
Otherwise, I’ve only been here a handful of times with my parents and for field trips; every time we go, I have to see the dinosaurs — including Sue, the most complete T-​Rex skeleton — and the unwrapped mummy in the Ancient Egypt exhibit. That unwrapped mummy has haunted my dreams but fascinates me so much! There’s also an exhibit with the lions of Tsavo (I think they’re the real lions). Otherwise, well… it’s kind of boring. There’s a lot of neat artifacts here for the public but none of it appeals to me. I look at something quickly and walk on. I’m not one for looking at objects from the past. But those dinosaurs? Very cool. There are exhibits that come and go but they all cost extra and I’ve never paid extra to see a certain exhibit.
Parking is pretty much nonexistent. You can park in the garage at Soldier Field and come over but even that is a bit of a hassle. I’d like to come back again one day (I may have a better appreciation of the exhibits) but only when it’s warm with plenty of time to allow walking to the museum campus from the downtown area.
Regardless, this museum is a classic. If you can make the trek at least once while you’re in the city, it might just be worth it for you.

Had an excellent visit to the Field Museum last week while visiting Chicago for X-​Mas. We took the little guy for a visit, as his favorite museum here in LA is the La Brea Tar Pits, followed closely by the Natural History Museum, both of which we are members.
Nothing I can say that has not already been said, but get there early and, if you can, get dropped off. We took an Über from a friend’s condo. This will drop you off at the front steps.

There’s a lot to love here and as a regional museum its top notch because of the excellent research and funding. I’d give you 5 stars apart from 2 things:
1) Too many ticket only exhibits which aren’t that special and
2) Too few of the amazing, one-​off Field Museum collections are actually accessible
The evolution aka Dinosaur exhibit, birds and mammals are world class. The process of evolution and the pieces that support the narrative are explained in a way that appeals to both adults and children. The proof is complete, well organized and presented chronologically with the major extinction phases used as the backbone. There’s the incredible Tiktaalik marking the evolutionary transition from fish to amphibians but it’s almost an afterthought exhibit but it’s one of the most important pieces and deserves more prominence.
Love the tetrapods and dinosaur displays, some incredible pieces with fish and plants and always informative displays.
I thoroughly enjoyed the meteorite section, fabulous minerals but was underwhelmed by the gems and precious minerals section which seemed to feature more advertising by local companies presenting jewelry pieces than unique, examples which inspire further investigation.

The Field Museum absolutely blew me away — honestly the best museum I have ever been to, if you are anywhere even close to Chicago you can’t miss this. I started my experience by parking at the Solider Field North Garage — $ 22 (ouch) but very empty at 9AM and right across the street. Purchased the $ 31 ticket to get into all the special exhibits. You also get a 3D movie — you get to pick but you might want to make sure the one you choose is offered at a convenient time for you or consider another one — I didn’t realize exactly how it worked. All the staff throughout the museum were extremely friendly and helpful. My visit was about 4.5 hours, including lunch and the movie. The Bistro on the main floor was good, and not even as expensive as I expected.
The building is SO beautiful. I can’t possibly comment on all the exhibits but some of my favorites were all the animals, the Evolving Planet, and Inside Ancient Egypt. I actually liked the main collection more than any of the ticketed exhibitions. I went by myself, but it was awesome to see how much stuff there was for kids, even in the more adult oriented exhibits. There were so many interactive pieces. They are very clear about what can and can’t be touched, and pretty much everything can be photographed. Overall, my visit was amazing and worth every penny!

It been a long time since I’ve been to the Field Museum, however as soon as we showed up, the memories came flooding back! This place really is the standard against which all of the museums are based, at least in my mind.
Upon entering, you are greeted by a number of folks who would love to sell you a family membership. We may actually consider this if we were here more than once every 3 or 4 years. For anybody who frequents the place, it seems like it would actually be a good deal if you go more than twice per year.
The cost of admission was $ 25 for a basic admission, or $ 31 for admission to everything with a movie. We got the full package with the movie and it was well worth it. We ended up bumming around for about 3 hours and finished with a movie about the Galapagos Islands. Are three year old was particularly excited about seeing the different types of tortoises.
Anybody who’s been there, or anybody who’s ever heard about it, you know that this place is gigantic. One of the main attractions, sue the Tyrannosaurus, is right in the middle of the place and the great meeting spot if you ever get separated from your loved ones! There’s also a couple elephants that are on display in the main area as well. While the exhibits do rotate a bit, there are a number of staples that have been there as long as we can remember. This includes the animal exhibit where you can find any animal you can shake a stick at!
Our favorite area was the large animal section where there was tons to look at and even more for a 3 year old to ask questions about. The exhibit on Africa was particularly nice, with the favorite spot for a 3 year old being a small exhibiton hyena poop– it’s the little things!
The huge find for the day was the children’s lab downstairs. It seems like its open it fairly random times, but it was open while we were there so we made use of it. It was akin to a children’s museum with a ton of interactive areas including a science area, music area, and in our area with crafts. Overall an absolute must hit area if you have kiddos that like to interact with their surroundings!
All in all, this is similar to what I remember when I went as a kid and an absolute must for anybody who is in the area. We’re looking forward to going back sometime when the kids are at home and we can look around at the exhibits a bit more. That said, we certainly didn’t leave empty handed or with less information in our minds when we went with the kiddos.

Tip: Free for military.
The main attraction is Sue, the T-​rex dinosaur, located in the main hall. I recommend seeing the 3D movie on Sue, it’s an extra $ 8, but you get to actually appreciate the history involved in bringing Sue at the Field museum and the theory of how Sue lived and died.
But other than that, everything else is very educational, though more kid friendly. So you’ll see a lot more families here as compared to the Art Institute. So if you’re expecting a more quiet experience, this is not the place for you.
Other honorable mentions at the Field museum are the Egyptian exhibit with mummys, DNA lab, the mass extinctions exhibits with the dinosaur skeletons and the travels through the Pacific atolls.
I like coming back to the Field because I always find something new to learn. And the fact that it’s free for military folks, it’s a no brainer.

Not the largest museum, but super well kept and high quality exhibits. Sue has a large presence right from the beginning. My mom and I who aren’t super big museum people happily spent two hours walking all over the different rooms. We had the City Pass, so if you have that, definitely make the trip down to see the Museum Park and hit up Field and Shedd. It’s also very kid friendly, with multiple options for 3D movies.
Other thing to note: Chicago’s tourist swag game is on point: all the goods at the gift stores were very high quality and well designed, unlike a lot of other cities’ paraphernalia.

Given that I’m a researcher and am fascinated by all things sciencey, I knew I wanted to visit the Field Museum when I was in town for a conference a week ago. Having read the reviews, I wasn’t sure whether to get my hopes up or not, but I’m certainly glad I spent an afternoon here, as it was quite fun and informative.
Needless to say, the first thing I saw upon entering the building was Sue the giant T-​Rex – the focal point of the collection. Sue’s skeleton is the most complete T-​Rex skeleton in the world, and left me awed despite being accustomed to the amazing dinosaur skeletons at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History. After becoming acquainted with Sue, I next visited the evolution exhibit, a very interesting exhibit that charts the timeline of evolutionary history from single-​celled organisms to modern homo sapiens. The highlights of this exhibit include the largest collection of paintings by Charles Knight, a well-​known artist specializing in dinosaur paintings, in the world, as well as a sizable collection of other dinosaur skeletons. I’ve been to the Carnegie and Smithsonian Museums of Natural History, and though both boast impressive dinosaur bone collections, neither has an evolution exhibit like the one here.
Next, I went upstairs to check out the mineral and gem collection. For me, this was the least impressive part of the Field Museum, given that both the Carnegie and Smithsonian boast much more comprehensive and impressive mineral and gem collections, whereas the collection at the Field Museum took up a (rather small) room. I then took a guided tour of the Egyptian mummy collection. I really enjoyed the layout of this exhibit, which was built to resemble a burial site in a pyramid, including a 50 (though it should have been 70) step descent. The tour wasn’t the most informative, but given that it was free, I can’t complain too much. The mummies were surprisingly well preserved, and encompass many different ages, sexes, etc., with some inside sarcophogi (sp?) and some exposed. I’d definitely say that this was one of the best Egyptian mummy exhibits I’ve seen in a similar museum.
I spent the rest of my time seeing the native American and taxonomy exhibits, which are both quite extensive. I’m told that the native American collection is one of the best of its kind, and it certainly seemed that way. The highlight for me was the replica of the dwelling, which was fun to experience, and had a docent to answer any questions. Awkwardly, at the time of writing, the very last room of the exhibit hasn’t been updated, and still contains outdated information. Though I’m not a big fan of taxonomy, the sheer size and scope of the exhibit commands respect. If I had to choose a highlight, it would be the African elephant, which, ironically, was created to raise awareness of elephant hunting in Africa.
Despite many of the comments, I didn’t find the regular admission price of $ 18 to be unreasonable ($ 20 seems to be the going non-​member price for museum admission at present). Please note that there is an extra charge to see certain special exhibits; however, as a first time visitor, the main exhibit provided enough to see to fill up an entire afternoon easily. One word of caution for first time visitors – to avoid becoming turned around, be sure to pay attention to which side of the building you enter from, as they both look similar. Overall, I’m glad I decided to visit the Field Museum – I definitely think it’s at least as good as the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and while of course it doesn’t rise to the standard of the Smithsonian museum of Natural History, what other natural history museum does? If you appreciate science, definitely be sure to check out the Field Museum – if you’re like me, you’ll be glad that you did! 4.5 stars.

I N C R E D I B L E E X H I B I T S
I went here mostly to see the Viking Exhibit, but was amazed by how immense this place is.
Even though I was not enthralled with the SUE exhibit, I don’t care for the whole dinosaur thing, it seemed to be quite impressive. a special gift shop just for her.
So, this Viking deal was f-​ing amazing. Apparently there is something called «georadar» and that has revealed a whole new treasure trove of viking era goodies.
What I learned that I didn’t know:
They put spikes on their horses feet in winter, like studded snow tires.
Some dead people were cremated, some buried, not consistent.
People were buried/​cremated with all their personal items.
Only wealthy people that could afford to lose a ship were cremated in them.
Men carried a comb with them all the time to comb their beards.
Women ruled the home and farms.
Children were very very low on the totem pole, almost considered useless.
Women carried little wooden needle holders, looked like toothpick holders.
Brooches seemed to be both ornamental & functional.
Some of the jewelry was TINY.
And that is just off the top of my head.
This exhibit was on loan from a museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
Besides The Vikings, there is a ton of things to see here. The American Indian area has the most beautiful, high quality items imaginable. Even a giant Buffalo. Everything throughout the entire museum is top shelf.
I saw the 3-​D movie about Egypt, and it was short. Real short. Tiny theater, kinda cheesy.
In the basement, there are the Egyptian Mummys. Holy Shit, talk about CREEPY. It was really dark, and easy to get turned around in and disoriented. Help… get me out of here…
W O R T H G O I N G B A C K A G A I N & A G A I N

THE FIELD MUSEUM
Went to see Sue the other day and say hello. The main entrance to the Field Museum presents an awesome sight of SUE and some other nasty looking fellows, Mammoths I believe, who roamed the Earth a long time ago. (1.8 million to 10,000 years ago)
Lots to see at the Field Museum. One such sight was a video presentation called «Waking the T. Rex 3D: The story of SUE»… and the Dinosaurs (like SUE)…
What a presentation that was. It is in 3-​D so you have to wear the glasses to grasp the full impact of the Video. The 3-​D was AWESOME.
I don’t want to give it away but there are added features to create a sense of realism in this Video presentation. It is a MUST SEE in my opinion.
There are many exhibits on display which characterize various cultures and peoples around the world. There is the Egyptian exhibit, the exhibit on Islam, Africa, North and South American Indians, etc. The history of the Glacial epoch and the gradual warming of the planet over the last 14,000 years and how man survived and migrated from place to place to survive and prosper. The story if life and the will to live.
One could spend all day in the Field Museum and still not see everything.
Like every where else, prices are high. Look for a free day on the Internet. Parking is another rip off. Chicago’s motto used to be …
«The City that works»
The new motto is … «The City that robs»
Not only is General Admission high but special exhibits also charge a hefty price. Add the cost of parking and dinning and wow, what a rip off.
Still, worth visiting if you have children and want them to learn something. Or, if you yourself enjoy learning, then go for it.

Up until my visit in February, I had not been to the Field Museum in at least 15 years. I am more of a MSCI or Art Institute kind of gal. It just so happened that my day off coincided with a free admission day, plus I really wanted to check out the special Vodou exhibit.
If you do plan on going, check the museum’s web site for days they have free general admission. (This year, the entire month of February was free to all Illinois residents.) All the extra exhibits, movies, and attractions all have additional fees, so it helps not to have to pay the general admission!
This place is gigantic, with almost endless amounts of artifacts, bones, (Sue, the T-​rex being the most famous, but be sure to check out the entire hall of dinosaur bones.) education dioramas, and informative displays. My personal favorites have always been the Egyptian mummies, and the information on display that gives a very in-​depth look at Egyptian mythology and burial practices.
There is a small café with counter service tucked in the corner of the main hall, offering basic sandwiches, salads, grill items, along with beer and wine. Oddly enough, the prices are affordable, as they also are in the seemingly never-​ending gift shop near the main entrance.

The Field Museum feels like a classic museum from the movies. One would expect Indiana Jones to be roaming the halls. The primary concept of the Field Museum is a natural history museum with lots of exhibits on fossils and ancient civilizations. It has a prime location at the south end of Grant Park near the other museums and Soldier Field and is easily accessed by car or transit.
You can choose a basic admission or pay a premium for special exhibits. First time visitors can easily see most of the museum with a basic ticket, but the special exhibits are usually pretty interesting as well. On my recent visit, they had a special Vikings exhibit which was very impressive. I have Scandinavian ancestry, so it was nice to see some of my ancestors on display and to learn about their daily activities — which unfortunately did not include much opera singing or pillaging villages wearing horned helmets!
The museum is pretty kid friendly with lots of cool stuff to touch and see, but some kids may become bored in some of the more historical exhibits. As always, check the website for special kids activities to help break up the visit. The basement has a snack bar and café plus a bunch of cool old school machines that make plastic models of dinosaurs for a really special souvenir.
Part of the fun of visiting Chicago is all the great museums. If you are visiting, look into a Citypass which gets you discounted admissions. Even locals can appreciate the rotating exhibits and special events. Plus, the old building is just fun to walk through and pretend you are off to find the grail.

I love Dinosaurs and my wife thinks I spend too much time reading all of the information posted by them. Seeing Sue was awesome and I loved the Evolution Exhibit, which had a ton of Dinosaur Fossils.
We have three complaints about the museum: 1) The hours. Not enough time to see everything. 2) The 3-​D film is really short and not really worth the extra cost. 3) A lot of the interactive exhibits were broken.
We saw most of the exhibits, but had to rush through most of the ones located on the top floor (The China exhibit). One of our favorite ones currently being shown was the Viking exhibit. We were shocked that they didn’t have more information on the Vlfberht sword that they had on display despite PBS having an entire documentary dedicated to the reforging techniques.
Also, we’re curious how popular the two Man-​Eater exhibits are with the current MN Lion safari that is all over the news.

The Field Museum of Natural History is a great museum and it has a lot to offer its visitors.
The name of the museum comes from Marshall Field who started the famous Marshal’s Department Store in Chicago. Today it is now called Macy’s. This museum used to be named the Columbia Museum, but it was changed to the Field Museum of Natural History after a $ 8 million dollar donation from Marshall Field.
My only two complaints with this museum is that a lot of the exhibits do cost extra, so if you do want to see the entire museum, you will need to purchase the all access pass to see the special exhibits, my second complaint is that their hours stink. Seriously, it is July and you close at 5pm? This is Chicago, not Atlanta. A lot of people come visit this museum in the summer, school is out and the sun is out till 9pm, it would be nice if the museum was open till at least 7pm.
[Prices]
Kid’s under 3 are free.
General Admission:
Adult (12+) $ 18.00
Child (3 – 11) $ 13.00
Senior (65+) $ 15.00
Student $ 15.00
All-​Access Pass:
Adult (12+) All-​Access Pass $ 31.00
Child (3 – 11) All-​Access Pass $ 21.00
Senior (65+) All-​Access Pass $ 25.00
Student All-​Access Pass $ 25.00
[Hours]
9AM-​5PM
[Parking]
You can park directly next to the museum (right side of the museum), they charge about $ 20 for parking there. Otherwise, you can park across the street at the Soldier Field Parking lot, they charge $ 19 for 4 hours, and $ 22 for beyond, up till 12 hours.
[Review]
My boys love the dinosaur hall exhibit on the top floor (upper level). The Evolving Planet exhibit branches into the dinosaur hall. Here visitors go back into the beginning of life on earth 4 billion years ago and learn about cells and how natural selection takes place in nature. Here you can see exactly what Lucy would look like; they have a reconstruction her in whole as well as the cast of her skeleton.
My favourite exhibit is the Inside of Ancient Egypt, as I have always been fascinated with the rich history and culture. Here you can see all sorts of mummies (20 of them), artifacts and read a few stories from grave robbers. If you love Egyptian history, you will love this exhibit. Even though it has not changed much over the years, it is still fantastic. Make sure to visit the pyramid and walk down stairs using the circle staircase into the tomb to explore the whole exhibit.
[Summary]
Plan ahead of time before coming here, you will want at least 4 – 5 hours if you want to see the entire museum and enjoy yourself. I would suggest eating before coming here as well, as the food can be a bit pricey. If you do get hungry, they have a nice café upstairs by the entrance.
[Review #310] (Seventieth Review of 2015)

The Field Museum is a gorgeous piece of architecture and definitely worth visiting. First, I would suggest the CityPass cause you save a good amount of money on all the tourist attractions. It’s like 50% off on all attractions if I remember correctly. Also, the CityPass is good for like 5 – 6 spots.
Secondly, this place is filled with screaming kids like the Shedd Museum. I should have expected it cause they’re right next to each other. I left the Shedd and headed to the Field to get away from the screaming kids. However, I started to hear the same screaming kids I knocked out with an elbow to the face at the Shedd.
The only thing different this time is he brought his whole hobbit crew and they’re all dressed up like the Goonies and carrying baseball bats. We made eye contact in the main hall where the Mammoth and T-​Rex was displayed. Me and my buddy were on one side and they were on the other side. We started to circle each other, cracking our knuckles, pointing and yelling obscenities. It was like the parking lot scene in Michael Jackson’s Beat It video. The only thing different is my buddy and I ran for our lives.
Now, the exhibits are a little underwhelming cause of two things:
1) I wasn’t allowed to touch any paintings, sculptures, old viking weapons or take pictures on any stuff animals.
2) The exhibits didn’t come alive like the movie A Night at the Museum.
Apparently, they didn’t find it very funny when I whacked my buddy in the face with the T-​Rex bone or when I started to dry hump the Willy Mammoth. The Museum Director especially didn’t find it very funny when we both grabbed the viking artifacts and acted like we were in the movie Braveheart. So what if we made a dent in the helmet and broke the wooden boat?!? Have you never heard of Super Glue? Some people don’t know how to have fun at all. Geez… I swear.
Anyway, the Field Museum is pretty cool if you’re into history and sh*t. I wouldn’t expect to have any fun here since they don’t let you play with the props. I guess they never seen the meme about how growing up is a trap. Can a guy pretend to be Peter Pan for one day?

Watch out boy, they’ll chew you up– they’re maaaaaneaters ~
Three and a half stars for a decent natural history museum that requires more than two hours to explore fully. The cost adds up quickly if you’re interested in their special exhibits. As for the rest of the museum, the most interesting items of note were the Man-​eating lions of Tsavo and Mfuwe, Bushman, and Pacific Spirits. Posing of the stuffies is nice. Unfortunately, much of the Reptiles & Amphibians section had been vacated for maintenance. The organization and overall layout weren’t very sensible, though I’m sure they’d argue that it helps to disperse the crowds; you frequently have to double back on yourself in order to explore every hallway. Information desk staff are moderately friendly. Not too hard to public transit to.

Interessante Tier– und Naturausstellung (Nachts im Museum lässt grüßen ;-)). Wenn man 3 oder mehr Tage in Chicago hat, absolut lohnenswert. Mit Kindern Pflicht.