The Field Museum

Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Field Museum is part of Chicago's museum campus, along with the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. The Field Museum is a natural history museum. It contains a large collection of real stuffed animals, a gemstone exhibit, an Egyptian exhibit (with uncovered mummies), Sue - the world's most complete T-Rex skeleton, and many more exhibits.

We were fortunate to discover a "Highlights of the Museum" tour that was available soon after we arrived at the museum - this tour was excellent. The tour guide took us around to a few of the most popular exhibits at the museum, and talked for a bit about each piece we visited. He was extremely informative - everyone in the group was quite glad we were able to attend the free tour.

The Evolving Planet

The main hall in the Field Museum is quite large - it's the size of a football field. It contains Sue the Dinosaur, and two large elephants. There are also occasionally shows that take place here - there was a salsa dancing show that occurred while we were visiting.

My favorite exhibit in the Field Museum was "The Evolving Planet" - it was a historical exhibit that started with the beginning of life, and walked through each time period, discussing how life evolved along the way. It was quite informative, and taught me a number of things I didn't know.

The Underground Adventure

A view inside The Underground Adventure exhibit

The Underground Adventure is one of the "bonus attractions" that is included with the purchase of a Chicago CityPass. Since it is not included in the standard admission, I was assuming it would be something important or exciting, but it was just a typical exhibit. The premise is that you are shrunk down to 1/100 of your usual size. The exhibit has large bug models that may be frightening to some young children (and loved by other children).

Cost

The Main Hall

The cost of admission is $12 for adults. If you're in the area for a few days and want to see other attractions, it may be beneficial to purchase the Chicago CityPass.

Food

Hall of Dinosaurs inside the Evolving Planet

The Field Museum contains two food choices - a McDonald's, and a Corner Bakery. We ate at the Corner Bakery.

Estimated Visiting Time

There were really quite a few exhibits in The Field Museum - the museum could easily take up a full day, and you would still not see everything. Allow a full day for this attraction.