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Field Museum
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Near Southside
1400 S Lake Shore Dr
(between Mcfretridge Dr & Waldron Dr)
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 922-9410
1400 S Lake Shore Dr
(between Mcfretridge Dr & Waldron Dr)
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 922-9410
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
181 reviews for Field Museum
ARGHHH....
I went to the field museum solo (i am a nerd) to see the Pirate Expo at the Field Museum 2 weeks ago. I TOTALLY got my moneys worth out of this trip. I bought 2 tickets one to the pirates and one to the underground expo.
First of all LOVED the pirates...it gave a great story throughout and fantastic artifacts from pirate life. Move over Jack Sparrow....those pirates were hotties --not really but it was awesome
The underground part was also super duper cool---probably would be cooler for a 6 year old but my 20-something year old brain loved all the bugs, dirt, and info!
Field Museum has something for everyone old, young, stupid, or smart!!! could spend a WHOLE day there
New York City's Natural History Museum does it better, sorry.
The place is literally a maze and so difficult to navigate through since a lot of the rooms in the individual exhibits don't connect to other rooms in the museum, so it doesn't really flow nicely. That's my main complaint.
The real life mummies were pretty legit though.
I attended the Pirate exhibit during one of the Field Museum's free admission days. It was nice being able to spend $23 total for two tickets vs. $23 per person for general admission when you include the $8 entrance fee for the exhibit. I didn't explore the rest of the museum as I was mostly interested in the pirates.
The exhibit itself isn't terribly flashy or over the top. Mostly the story of the ship is a sad one. I spent a lot of time reading the back story and admiring the old maps they had listed. Some of the artwork depicting what the slaves went through really disturbed me. I guess we become so inundated with the terrible things humanity does to each other that it starts to dull. This certainly put that back in sharp relief.
There is a small handmade replica of a large ship and it lists the changes the pirates would make to one they had overtaken, but as I'm a landlubber and don't speak pirate, it was nice to go with someone that knows about ships and could explain the different parts of one to me.
There is also a treasure chest with some real coins from a sunken ship and that was pretty neat. I did learn quite a few things, and whenever that happens I'm a happy camper. Only giving it three stars though as one of the employees was rude to my companion and that's just a no-no in my book.
2 1/2 stars pricey for stuffed animals
did not get tickets for the pirates exhibit, the egyptian exhibit was blah dinosaur in front was awesome, so many stuffed animals felt like I was in a toy store haha
price $$ 30 bucks I think
service ** not to friendly staff
ambiance **** clean but so quiet, the eskimo exhibit if not indian exhibit was awesome
I visited this museum in 2005. You have to spend the entire day there to see everything. If they had the "wax cavemen life displays" like they had back in 1968, I would have given 5 stars.
I'm going to be the first to person say that the new Real Pirates Exhibit is so not worth the $8.00 upgrade. I was expecting skeletons, human remains, tombs, or something spectacular. Instead, its an exhibit with wax figures (that don't move), artifacts recovered from a real sunken ship, slideshows, maps, and audio commentaries. I will give credit that there is a glass display of a real treasure chest with real silver coins. And another credit for having a piece of bone from a child's leg. Minus one star for this disappointment!
This should have been FREE in my opinion!
Four stars for getting to visiting an awesome museum again! This time I was able to spend a family day with my lovely and Kolten. =) First moments taking him to the museum and part of my "Dad In Training" program.
- Basic Admission is still $15.00 for adults.
- Toddlers are still free.
- Parking available at S. Lake Shore Drive (next to the Solider Field).
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/15/2007
Finally, the opportunity arrived for me to indulge myself to history - And what better place to do… Read more »
Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my.
Stegosaurus and Triceratops and T-Rex, OH MY!
And don't forget the Mummies.... Or the Neanderthal Skeleton. So much to see, so little time.
TIP 1: Before you go, watch the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" with Micheal Douglas & Val Kilmer. Then go see the real deal, the actual man-eating Lions of Tsavo that the movie is based on. A rare example of male Lions hunting together. Hunting what? They eat over 160 rail bridge workers in the late 1890s. Musing: Did they taste like Chicken?
TIP 2: Watch "Jurassic Park" again. Then go visit Sue, the largest most complete T-Rex anywhere. Imagine her chasing your Jeep. "Must go faster".
TIP 3: Watch Boris Karloff's "The Mummy" (skip the cgi generation adaptations) then walk through the two story Egyptian Tomb. See the glyphs. See the empty sarcophagus. Wait... what's that sound from around the next corner? Sounds like someone dragging a foot...
TIP 4: Save the $8.00 and skip the Pirates exhibit. Other that the submerged treasure chest where you see contents with x-ray like imaging, it's a weak exhibit. Spend the money, instead and watch Johnny Depp play Captain Jack Sparrow. No real history here, but it's hard not to smile when Depp is on a roll.
This museum is huge! They connect all the rooms together, so it really seems that the exhibits never end. I paid the extra $8 to see the pirate exhibit. I didn't think it was laid out too well, there were a lot of parts that got clogged up with people (walking through the ship), but I think that it wasn't as bad as paying $18 to see harry potter costumes (at the Science & Industry Museum). I think $5 would have been more reasonable.
They have a quite a lot of "stuffed animals" in the biology permanent exhibit. I think the animals is probably one half of the museum. The Egyptian and Native American exhibits were very interesting and thorough. It definitely took me longer to go through this museum than the other Chicago ones.
Best museum in the country. Hands-down! Have I been to all the museum, no. But it's hard to imagine better than this place. It's huge, has a great stand-in collections, and constantly bring in world-class exhibits. The only complaints...well, an improvement in parking option would be great. But that's small potatoes for a great museum. Still lamenting not coming here for a company cocktail function a few years ago to see what it's like for private events. Guess that I just have to keep imagining!
Scored some free passes from a friend so we jumped at the chance to check this place out again. I haven't been in like 7 years and my boyfriend even longer than that.
Great experience. It wasn't very crowded so we had full run of the place for a while before stroller brigades and day camps showed up.
So much to see that I honestly feel like you can't see it all in a few hours. PLUS if you're like me then after a couple hours adult ADD starts to kick in and you know it's time to go.
One of the guides talked with us for a nice long while about a period in history we weren't familiar with and we really appreciated the free lesson. We didn't see any of the shows but at around $8 each I wouldn't mind checking something out next time.
So check it out...even if you went with your class in 2nd grade. I promise you'll learn something new.
As a tourist the Field Museum wasn't too bad an experience, and was very similar to natural history museums I've seen in Philadelphia and Washington. They don't need a plant section, and stuffed animal section, but the Extinct Animal section is one to see.
AWESOME! Quickly shot up the list of my favorite museums
Spent about 5 hours walking around and still felt like I missed out on a lot
absolutely incredible
Picked up the Museum Passport for the Field at our local library. Was glad I did; even with the Passport for general admission, adding Real Pirates and the Aztec exhibit added about $25 for two people. But seeing my son hoist the Jolly Roger in the Pirates exhibit and really enjoying a museum was worth it! We got there around 9:30a.m. Crazy right? But parking is discounted before 10, and the place was virtually devoid of annoying people from the suburbs and only a few hale and hearty tourists dared arrive that early!
We did a lot of reading about the Real Pirates exhibit and the ship the Whydah the day before we went. There's a ton of information on the Field website, and do yourself a favor and read ahead. There's way too much to read when you're elbowing with tourists trying to learn about Spanish dubloons, the West Indie slave trade, and signing the Articles to become a Pirate! (Or should I say ARGHticles!) This is a really good exhibit. The kids will love it, of course. But there was a good deal of focus on the Slave Trade which made it interesting for adults, since the ship they discovered was built to transport slaves from West Africa to the Carribean.
The Azetc exhibit is closing, but it was nice to see what an indigenous culture could do before the Spaniards came and ruined it all. A city of 200,000 people that farmed on the Lake, had respect for the Arts and its Artisans, and also sacrificed their enemies to make sure the sun would rise and set? The Aztecs were way cool. I can only hope part of these people made it into my Mexican DNA!
My favorite part of the main collection is the African animal dioramas. It harkens back to a simpler time and I just find the animals to be majestic and beautiful. Check out the Greater Kudu and you'll see what I mean!
Given that this place is huge, you just can't see it all in one day. We caught a snack at the Corner Bakery in the Museum. Grab a banana, a muffin, a chocolate milk for sustenance. Avoid the long lines of people dumb enough to actually eat lunch here, it's expensive. I found the museum help super pleasant right from the ticket desk, to ticket takers at the special exhibits, to the coat check. It's truly a Chicago gem!
Dear Field Museum,
I love you.
Love,
Allison E.
P.S. You are a nerd child's paradise; mummies AND dinosaures, holy cow!. I am not a big fan of stuffed animals, especially when I am pressed for time. Really, the zoo is better. Their animals move and do stuff. I am, however, a big fan of all the bronze status of people from various parts of the world in traditional dress, or undress as the case may be. I love how every 8-year-old boy that has walked by a loincloth-clad statue has felt the need to touch the butt checks so now they are polished shiney compared to the rest of the statue. Classy, Field Museum, really classy.
Had the pirate exhibit not been LAME, it would've been four stars. But no, it's not that cool - in the current featured exhibit, the promised "pirate ship" is some dumb recreation that is so disappointing that there is no way to find it exciting.
Being as I lured my sister here with the gem room, I was way disappointed that the gem room was closed - I did not see any info on the website that the gem room was closed or on any signs prior to walking into the museum.
If their next feature exhibit is cool (and their gem room is opened), the Field Museum will receive 5 stars.
Really what can I say compared to the rest to convince more people to check this place out?
DINOSAURS. MUMMIES. need I say more? I think not.
We had some family in from Europe, and all they wanted to do was see Dinosaurs. Score. I'm all about Dinosaurs. They're pretty much the coolest thing before sliced bread was created. Ok, they're wayyyy cooler than bread. We spent about 2 hours alone looking around at all the fossils. Su-weet. The nerd in me came out full force.
Then we headed to Ancient Egypt. I love the mummies. Every time I'm there, I head that way. Doing all of this took 3 hours alone. Besides those areas, there's plenty more to do and see.
It's easy to spend all day here. Last ticket availability is at 4 p.m. because it closes at 5. Best bet is to get here early. We didn't pay extra for the Pirate exhibition, but we didn't miss out. There's plenty to look at without spending all of the extra money. Plus, if you have a college I.D. you can get $3 off admission. Which is way cool! Definitely a must see if you're heading to Chicago, or heck, even if you live in Chicago.
We thought there was nothing better to do after seeing a bunch of living things at the Shedd Aquarium for most of the day than to go see a bunch of dead things at Field Museum for a few hours. We toured around the entire first floor of the museum and didn't find a lot that was interesting to us. There are a lot of displays. They are well designed. There are many artifacts of days long gone. There is a somewhat interesting exhibit on Africa, and of course there is the Egyptian tomb. I think that problem is that there is virtually nothing that is interactive. I think that I would have liked it much more if there had been.
I had one complaint: It is effing HUGE. And as far as complaints go, that's a good one to have. My feet hated me after this one.
So we got here early in the morning, right around opening time. I was pumped, I knew I'd love it. Plus, it was a dreary Monday morning...who goes to a museum on a winter Monday morning. But then I saw it...it loomed ahead of me....a school bus filled with TEENAGERS!!! I swore, I'll go ahead and admit it. I swore profusely and told my wife that the day was ruined.
Well, OK it wasn't RUINED....but we did run into the kids a few times during our trip through the museum, and it ended up scaring me even more about our future. They couldn't care less about any of it, and all they wanted to do was be obnoxious and loud. Wonderful field trip choice, teachers.
Anyhow..the museum itself is great. The Egyptian exhibit is awesome, with tons of mummified humans and animals...and many different caskets. The amount of artifiacts is astounding.
Of course, the T. Rex skeleton was a highlight, and I LOVED all the totem poles they had in the Native American area.
This place was heaven for a taxidermist, as they had stuffed animals of just about any major species of animal you can name.
The best part though was the fossil area, which was in the "Evolution" exhibit. I know fundamentalist Christians will probably despise this since it goes against what they believe, but a museum isn't really the place for the Bible anyway. The amount of fossils, large and small, was fantastic. But the dinosaur room...that just took the cake....you really have to see it.
Maybe this gets overshadowed by the Aquarium next door, I don't know, but this is the class of the museum campus in Chicago.
I am totally okay with coming here and geeking out about dinosaurs for hours.
And I fully mean just standing in the dinosaur room and saying, "SO AWESOME" over and over and over.
ALSO! They have those plastic dino mold machines in the lower level. And when I was little my parents would NEVER let me blow money on them. My new plastic mold stegosaurus disagrees with my parents.
The museum campus in Chicago is world-famous, and this is one of the reasons why. Every single time I go in here, I'm amazed at how incredible it is. Everybody should get the chance to explore this place at least once in their life. Say "hi" to Sue, stop by the Egyptian exhibit, and explore some cool Roman artifacts... All without leaving Chicago... AWESOME!
Man I love this place. It's so easy to get distracted in this place. You start off one way and then you end up heading in a completely different direction. I just realized that they have the two man eating lions from the Ghost and the Darkness. I always love coming back hear I'm just so amazed by everything.
This time around I was disappointed with the Pirate exhibit. It was good but not great and I didn't think it was worth the extra money to go see it. I wonder what they'll have on next for the special exhibits.
Visited this museum years ago (2000?) and was actually disappointed with the exhibits I was able to see. I was surprised to have been so letdown since I was so eager to visit one of the top 10 museums in the world, according to Discover magazine. I'd just had the opportunities to walk through NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art AND Museo del Prado (both of which also made the list) a few months before this, so perhaps the Met's and Prado's greatness overshadowed that of Field's. Another reason for my misfortune is that many of the exhibits were closed off while I was there. It didn't help I had driven through heavy snow (it was smack in the middle of winter season), I was freezing, and then to find that the museum was not up to snuff...
I do recall thinking that my second visit was a much better experience. I hope I'm able to pay another visit sometime soon...
This place is big and overwhelming and full of awesome little taxidermied creatures, thus I shall write this review in nice, orderly bullet points.
°Taxidermy!!!!
They have everything from cute little cuties like dik diks to crazy magical narwhals. I'm only sad that the narwhals are obscured by a lunch table and tucked into a small alcove in the basement.
°Mold-A-Rama
This lovely museum has no less than four, FOUR dinosaur Mold-A-Rama machines. Some really good ones too.
°Bushman
Technically this great ape belongs under the taxidermy heading, but he is a favorite of my dad and is pretty amazing, so I will give him his own bullet point.
°Food
Corner Bakery is a good place to stop for a familiar lunch option where you can manage not to spend $15 on a burnt cheeseburger.
°All the other exhibits
Some are kind of dull, some I've seen a million times, plus the Hall of Gems was missing some gems due to upcoming renovations about to happen. I also hate that the "diamonds" in the collection are all replicas. Some of the special exhibits are cool too including the Jackie Kennedy one and the upcoming pirates exhibit which sounds good.
°Shop
This is where I will come to buy my future children's toys. I want them to have nothing but obscure/uglyish stuffed animals. I also bought a b-day gift for a friend here that is perfect for her offbeat tastes.
Only four stars because on non-free days the cost is high and some of the exhibits are booorrrrring.
Sue.
Close your mouth. Slowly walk towards it. Think about what your pupils are letting into your brain. Sue. That's all there really is to say. A nearly complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton fossil. Take a few moments to absorb this. It's difficult to get your mind around. Not a movie. Not a composite. Not a fake cast at a zoo or an amusement park. This is the REAL deal. What was dug from the ground and walked around about 67 million years ago. 42 feet long. What would it have sounded like? What did it look like? Study the teeth. Lions look very tame after this. You must stand next to it. Take pictures of it. Walk around it slowly. Have your family take pictures of you with Sue. Point at it and describe it to your children. Smile.
This has nothing to do with all of the other dinosaur fossils on the third floor -where we head first on every visit. Or the mummies, or the human evolution, or the insect life, etc... This place is the bomb. A trove of science and art housed in massive structure of gorgeous Greco-Roman architecture at the foot of Grant park. Any educated person would be happy spending 4 hours in the place.
Warning, it may be difficult to explain evolution to your children if you don't believe in evolution. In this case I recommend Branson, Mo. where dinosaurs were placed here by the devil to trick us. Not passing judgment either way, this is just something as a parent you may be confronted with.
Tip: teachers get in free. GO!
I'm still in love with this place for realz. I saw the Aztec exhibit because the (butt) Pirate exhibit was done for the day. As one person put it "you're getting some culture on your day off?" Yeah. It's the kind of place where you're not ashamed to get cultured.
I just wish the damn museum was open later for lazy asses like me who get to downtown by 2 p.m. or later. Some of us aren't morning glories!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/13/2008
How could a Chicagoan not be a fan of the Field Museum?? We pass it by to get to Soldier Field and… Read more »
Wow.
I think at some point in my twenties, I got museum-ed out. After years of school field trips, followed by the obligatory European backpacking jaunt, I'd pretty much had my fill of dead things encased in glass and overrated paintings.
The Field Museum brought me back to life. We went because they had an exhibit on natural disasters, which have fascinated me since I was a wee one. We stayed because this is the COOLEST MUSEUM EVER*! I felt like I was a kid again, albeit better dressed, less fidgety and more in control of my bladder and emotional life.
A fabulous museum, in a gorgeous building. The natural disasters exhibit was flawlessly executed, and well-worth the extra admission, but the regular museum displays were just as fun. Five stars, no question.
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* Obviously excepting the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which truly is the GREATEST (kid-oriented) MUSEUM EVER. Review to come.
Wow, just wow. We spent most of the day here and only had time to see 60% of the museum. We spent time in the Egyptian, Aztec, Ancient Americas and Evolution exhibits. We were just there and I can't wait to go back.
Every time we said, "all right, let's go", we found another exhibit or area that just blew our minds. The wife was ready to roll until she saw Lucy, the Australopithecus fossil, which lead to another hour in that area.
Seriously can't wait to go again!
One note: Unless you're TRULY amped about Aztec culture (or you're a regular at the museum), skip the Aztec exhibit and just go through the Ancient Americas exhibit (especially if you're crunched for time). The Ancient Americas exhibit as a significant number of Aztec pieces and it also covers so many other aspects of North and South American history.
In opposition to everyone else (it seems), I really didn't enjoy this museum.
Sue was definitely worth seeing along with the rest of the dinosaur fossils, and the ancient Egypt exhibit was plenty interesting, but everything else seemed to fall flat.
We got passes to the pirate exhibit and the underground exhibit the Field is offering right now, and both were lackluster.
The underground exhibit in particular was a big let down... Basically 3 or 4 very clunky animatronic bugs spread out throughout an exhibit designed to simulate being underground. I really felt this exhibit didn't offer a whole lot at all. Maybe enjoyable for younger kids, but that might even be a stretch.
The pirate exhibit was also not very impressive. There were some artifacts, but not as many as I was hoping for. Also, all of the literature provided along the way needs to be carefully read to piece together the story of the exhibit... The story made the exhibit marginally more interesting.
Overall, I feel that the two special exhibits were a huge waste of money . The permanent collection would have been okay on it's own, but I feel kind of like an idiot for paying $60ish (for two adults) to see the the special exhibits as well.
My brother was in town and we headed down to Museum Campus for a little visit to the aquarium. We saw the line for the aquarium and decided we were too impatient to stand in that long-ass line; plus, we're from California so standing outside in twenty degree weather is not our thing.
The line for the Field Museum was five people long and indoors. Perfect. We bought our Gold Passes plus one special exhibit. I flashed my UC Davis student ID and he flashed his SF State ID - a quick $6 off the total. Hot.
We purchased the "Nature Unleashed" special exhibit, since I felt like I was such a pro at natural disasters. Earthquakes: Was in San Francisco during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Volcanos: Climbed an active volcano and roasted marshmallows over the lava. The latter wasn't really a disaster, I supposed. It just had disaster potential. The "Nature Unleashed" exhibit was pretty bad-ass. Lots of footage of awful things like Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean Tsunami. They give a lot of scientific background on all these types of disasters, which is very interesting. Overall, depressing, but educational.
Looking back at my visit, we probably should not have done the natural disasters exhibit first. After you walk out of the exhibit, the next part of the museum is some sort of ancient pottery ehxibit. Volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes are kind of a hard act to follow. When you look at the pottery, your first thought is, "How'd this shit get destroyed?" since for the last hour you've been smothered with mass destruction.
I must say, the dinosaur exhibit, ftw. The Giant Sloth is my favorite. So cute.
The Field Museum is awesome if you genuinely want to learn or even if you just want to take immature pictures (http://www.flickr.com/...). It's a good time for everyone.
Nice museum!! Great for the kids...and myself also.
It's a sight to see..when you see funding being spend for education.
Unlike some museums.
Take the whole family and get that knowledge!!
Enjoy
Funny little fact about Pam B: My major in college was health ecology. Basically, it was pre-med, but with a little more flexibility than a biology or chemistry major. What it also meant is that I didn't have to take ALL the upper division biology classes, but only a few of my choosing. To fulfil this requirement, I took museology which is the study of MUSEUMS. Shocking, I know. Before I took this class, I wasn't a huge fan of museums, because when you're a kid and have to make dioramas for one project or another, seeing larger ones up close aren't that exciting. Or maybe it was just that Nevada history was boring.
After this class (and the field trip we got to go on to L.A. for this class to see a bunch of museums), I became a huge fan of museums. Learning the inner workings of museums, as well as seeing the pile of animals waiting to be taxidermied for exhibit on said field trip, gave me a unique perspective. So much so that I try to seek museums out when I travel, although sadly I don't go to ones as often as I should in the cities I actually LIVE in.
I had the opportunity to visit the Field Museum 6 years ago when I was in town, and I knew I had to make a repeat visit during my recent trip. As I'm a big fan of all things Ancient Egyptian, I'm impressed with that exhibit. It's also really neat to see Sue, although it's hard to figure out what to buy your manly 9 and 10 year old nephews when everything has "Sue" on it. Somehow, even though she's a formidible T-Rex, they won't care because it's a girl's name. I also doubt they'd be impressed with the Hall of Gems, but I certainly liked looking at the sparkly things. The crowd wasn't bad (and it was a Saturday afternoon), and crowded areas flowed relatively easily.
What I will mention that's great about this place is that it is large and there are a lot of exhibits, but there are plenty of places to sit down and rest. This is especially important to me recently because of my injured foot.
I STRONGLY suggest coming here, and not just because I got an "A-" in museology.
Obviously the Field Museum does not need my approval, but there are several reasons I love it.
Their standing exhibits are excellent. The Evolving Planet is amazing. I've been through several times. To see the development of life on Earth done in such informative and appealing presentations is almost touching. Plus their dinosaur fossil collection is GREAT!
The Ancient Americas exhibit is amazing, but it's probably too much for one visit. You can enter in either end. I'd try hitting the mesoamerican portion, the South American portion, and the North American portions on separate visits.
The traveling exhibits they've snagged can vary. Sometimes they're great, sometimes they're just ok. They're almost always a little more expensive than I'd like.
Five Stars!
It's a nice place to take younger kids. Their North American Indian exhibit is put together flawlessly as well as their geology exhibit with natural minerals and space rocks. Of course, Sue the largest T-Rex skeleton to be on display is always a crowd pleaser.
Always a sure bet is the Ancient Egypt section with all the different types of mummies. Less impressive was the Evolution exhibit, it seemed cheesy except towards the end where they had skeletons of animals I didn't even know existed.
I've noticed the biggest change is the gear towards children the last time I was there. I remember going as a child and the whole place was still quite "dry" and there and it was more of a "look but don't touch" atmosphere. Now, the museum seems much more interactive than before.
I remember coming to this place when I was a kid visiting Chicago. I remember coming to this place when I was visiting schools. And since moving to Chicago, I've come here two or three more times. This place is just that good.
HUGE awesome dinosaur collection, huge collection of fossils, mummies, gems...really, anything and everything you can think of. Cool special exhibits (in the last few months, I've noticed ads for Maps, Ancient Americas, and Pirates), all of which I wish I could see.
Downside: too huge for one day, and the membership scheme is complicated. Once I figure it out, though, I'll let you know (and obviously join). Suggestions for best membership scheme welcome, btw--I want to see all those special exhibits, but I'm not quite ready to fork over $19 each time!
Great content, weak delivery, deceptive pricing. Still worth going.
Pricing: Their website leads you to their "Gold Pass" pricing options. The huge signs over the ticket counters show the cheapest admission pricing as $23 for adults. BUT, if you ask, you can get a General Admission ticket for $15 - no entry to the three special exhibits, but everything else is included. And, if you are a Chicago resident, you get $3 off. So instead of $23 it's $12, less for kids. I really dislike such deceptive pricing, especially in a public institution.
We were fine skipping the special exhibitions. There's still so much to see. The American Indian exhibitions are still terrific, bring out a string of "Wow's" from my 7-year old grandson: Shields, spears, arrows, costumes, tools, toys, then the fullsize stuffed buffalo. We also did the Africa exhibitions, the Mammals of Asia, the World of Birds, the Reptiles and Amphibians, Ancient Egypt and the mummies, Ancient Americas, Evolving Planet, and the PlayLab. The Evolving Planet didn't sound too exciting to me, but it was terrific, with animals and fossils organized by periods. The PlayLab was disappointing - my grandson ran through everything in about ten minutes and was ready to leave (as opposed to the hour he spend just with water, air, and balls at the children's area at the Museum of Science and Industry). They had lots of different stuff in the PlayLab, but not very interactive.
Interactive - that's where the Field Museum has always done a lousy job. As long as I can remember, they've had minimally-interactive kid's displays - push one button and see what happens. And as long as I can remember, half the displays did not work. You pushed - nothing happened. It's still the same. In today's high tech world, it's bad enough they are so outdated. But to still be unable to provide interactions that work - pathetic.
So why four stars - the content is still awesome. And the explanations, which only the adults read, are still so educational. I now know why hippos eat so much and giraffes don't. I sleep much better with that knowledge.
Ah my old job - I loved you! I still do though. This place does an amazing job putting on excellent temporary exhibits, bringing in traveling exhibitions, and constantly tweaking their permanent content in order to keep it interesting. Times are kind of tough for this amazing Chicago institution right now, due to the greater economic issues we're facing, so be sure to make a visit every now and then to keep things moving! If you're as broke as they are right now, be sure to check out their free days, listed on their website (do a search because they're not posted in an obvious place). Target also sponsors free 2nd Mondays - 2nd Monday of the month is free of charge (though you still have to pay for special exhibits, I believe); the last one of these is December 8th, and I'm not sure if the program is being renewed for 2009, so get on it!
In addition to all the obvious cool stuff The Field Museum does, there are also some incredible educational experiences that the museum offers to the public. The Harris Education Loan Center offers all kinds of really neat hands-on materials that teachers, parents, scout leaders, etc. can borrow to help show their kids first-hand the kind of things the scientists at the museum work with. http://harrisloan.fiel...
There are also always great lecture events going on, including a series they do in conjunction with National Geographic. Keep an eye on this site for updates: http://www.fieldmuseum...
Please go often and enjoy!
We went here this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised. Not super packed, so we were able to see everything we wanted to without having to be crammed in between a bunch of fat sweaty bodies. That's always a plus. A big plus.
We have a membership, so it was nice to not have to wait in line or pay extra for stuff. First, we went down to the kids play area, and ended up spending most of our time there. They have a lot of cool stuff for them to play with, and a little lab where they can make art projects, which was nice. My kids got to cover some paper with glue, and they were happier than pigs in mud.
We also stopped by to look at all the dinosaur fossils, which was great. I think it was called The Evolving World......it was pretty neat.
It's definitely worth it to get a membership, because you spend about that much going twice with a family of four. I would go just to see the building, cuz it's gorgeous!!! Pretty cool place.
There is a Egyptian exhibition downstairs complete with tombs with wrapped and unwrapped mummies. Do you think if I steal the amulet the creatures of the museum will come to life a la "A night at the museum?"
I mean I do want to go to the Dinosaur room and see the stegosaur and pterodactyl duke it out and have Lucy the fossil be the ref. Who do you think will win?
*see photos
Stegosaur http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Pterodactyl http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Lucy http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I really liked my trip to the Field Museum. We got through the animal exhibit as well as a few others. The only problem I have is we bought passes to the special pirate exhibit. I don't think it was worth the money. You just walked through an exhibit where they had found a pirate ship, and it had some interesting information about the life of a pirate and the discovery of the ship, but I expected a little more bang for my buck. Additionally, pictures were not allowed in the exhibit.
Initially built on the site of a landfill, it is an impressive Greco-Roman structure on the lake, housing treasures from Ancient Egypt, the Inuits, Plains Indians, tibetan monestaries, as well as boasting a vast taxidermal wonderland of everything from Giraffe to spider monkey. Within its main hall, one can also see "Sue", the T-rex. Her 600lb. skull sits in a second floor gallery, as it was too heavy to mount on the actual skeleton. wow!
