Chicago Tourism’s Museums

Chicago's museum collection focuses on 3 themes - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. The city is well-stocked with culturally diverse treasures with some of the finest museums and art galleries scattered around the city. Some of Chicago's best known Museums include:

(1) Adler Planetarium – Chicago’s only museum with two full-size planetarium theaters with its must-visit ‘Shoot for the Moon’ exhibit, starting a journey with Jim Lovell and featuring a fully-restored Gemini 12 Spacecraft.

(2) Art Institute of Chicago – one of Chicago’s classic museums and home to the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works outside of the Louvre Museum, including an extensive permanent collection of paintings, drawings, photography and textiles.

(3) Chicago Children’s Museum – Chicago's must-visit attraction for kids where hands-on exhibits make it very special. Exciting museum features include ‘Inventing Lab’ which provides gadgets and gizmos to inspire invention of amazing things, and ‘Dinosaur Expedition’ which recreates the site of the unearthed Suchomimus (fish-eating dinosaur) during the 1997 Sahara expedition.

(4) Chicago History Museum – this Chicago museum offering reflects the city’s growth from frontier outpost to a world-class city. Exhibits feature materials from the Great Chicago Fire, the Revolutionary War through Civil War and various objects associated with Abraham Lincoln. One of the more recent additions to this Chicago favorite is the ‘L’ car exhibit.

(5) DuSable Museum of African American History – this type of museum is the oldest in the US and the only independent institution in Chicago which was established to preserve and interpret the African-Americans’ historical experiences and achievements. Up to this day, this Chicago Tourism attraction remains a community institution which is dedicated to serving its members’ cultural and educational needs.

(6) The Field Museum – this is where Sue, the largest and most complete T. Rex is housed. In this Chicago attraction, you can trek through 4 billion years of life on Earth in Evolving Planet.

(7) Museum of Contemporary Art – visual arts from 1945 to present are highlighted in this museum. Focusing on surrealism, minimalism, and conceptual photography – this Chicago Tourism offering complements Chicago’s classic museums.

(8) Museum of Science and Industry – the largest museum in the Western hemisphere, this Chicago attraction offers entertainment for all ages. With more than 800 interactive exhibits to touch, create and explore including the U-505 submarine, a working coal mine and even a real Boeing 727 airplane, this is the only remaining building from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.

(9) Shedd Aquarium – one of Chicago Tourism’s thrilling attractions, it has more than 22,000 aquatic animals ranging from beluga whales, sea otters, penguins down to exotic fish. You must visit the Wild Reef exhibit where only 5 inches of glass separates you from sharks!

(10) Other fascinating Chicago museums include The McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, Loyola University Museum of Art, Notebaert Nature Museum, The Chicago Architecture Foundation, The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, International Museum of Surgical Science, The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, Oriental Institute, Freedom Museum, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Polish Museum of America, Hyde Park Art Center and The Renaissance Society.