Privacy Statement - Field Museum

The Field Museum is committed to protecting your privacy when you visit our Website or use our Website to purchase tickets, make a donation, become a Field Museum Member, sign up to receive our e-newsletter or for a program or event, participate in our surveys or contests, or otherwise engage with the Museum. The Museum takes reasonable steps to protect visitors’ privacy and to ensure that you are notified of what information you are providing to us and how that information will be used.

This Privacy Statement applies to the online activities of the Museum. It does not apply to websites that are linked to, but not controlled by, the Museum, such as the Field Museum Stores (stores.fieldmuseum.org), social media sites (YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, etc.), and the sites of our sponsors and affiliates that may be linked through the Website. These third-party sites may or may not have privacy policies of their own; please consult those sites for their applicable policies, as Field Museum does not endorse such sites and is not responsible for their privacy practices.

What We Collect & Why We Collect It

Information Collected

We collect information that may identify you as an individual or is linked to your name, such as: your name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, credit card or other financial information, and demographic information (e.g., age, size of household, marital status, etc.). This information may be collected in a variety of ways, such as when you voluntarily provide it when purchasing a ticket or becoming a Member, by participating in one of our surveys, as well as through third-party sources. Our Website also automatically gathers and stores information, including: the IP address and the name of the domain from which you access our Website; the type of browser and operating system you use to access our Website; the date and time you access our Website; the pages, files, documents, and links you access on our Website, and other relevant statistics.

This information is stored and used in the aggregate, meaning that it is not tied to your name and does not identify you as an individual. This statistical information may be provided to third parties. Neither the Museum nor any third party will use this information to contact you personally.

How it’s Used

We utilize the information collected in the following ways:

To help us evaluate and improve how our Website works and to learn how and from where visitors access it.
To respond to your specific inquiry, request, or order.
To communicate with you about exhibits, programs, memberships, development, surveys, special events, or other Museum news that may be of interest to you, and for other marketing and promotional purposes.
To provide customer service or resolve disputes.
To aggregate and analyze statistical information.
Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

Children’s Information

The Museum does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If personal information regarding a child is required for program participation or similar reasons, the Museum will collect this information from the child’s parent or guardian. If a child sends an email to the Museum, we will only use that address and any information provided only to respond to the particular inquiry and will not retain or use the information for any other purpose.

Do we Share Your Information?

The Museum may share your information with our vendors, contractors, business and service partners, and other third parties that we use to support business and operations (“Partners”). Our Partners may provide services such as: email distribution, order fulfillment, conducting surveys or analyzing survey results, hosting of the Website and associated data, marketing and targeted advertising, donor databases management, etc. These Partners will have access to your information to the extent required to perform their functions, but will not use that information for any other purposes.

The Museum may also combine and collect data from third-party sources, including through other companies and not-for-profit organizations, by exchanging mailing lists, participating in database co-operatives, and for other similar business purposes.

The Museum will also disclose information, if required, for purposes of law enforcement or the enforcement of the Museum’s or a third party’s rights, such as intellectual property rights and laws relating to fraud. In response to a request by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency or to a court-issued subpoena, the Museum can (and you authorize the Museum to) disclose your personal information to the extent that the Museum reasonably believes necessary to comply with the request or subpoena. The Museum may also use your personal information when it is reasonably necessary to satisfy an applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable government request; enforce an agreement between you and the Museum, including potential violations thereof; detect, prevent, investigate or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; or protect against imminent harm to the safety, property, or rights of the Museum, its visitors, or the public as required or permitted by law.

How Long we Retain Information

We retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes set out in this Privacy Statement, and to the extent necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

How to Opt Out

You may opt out of receiving further communications from the Museum at any time. Any communication sent to you by the Museum will include an unsubscribe link or other instructions that will allow you to opt out of future communications.

The Museum Website uses Google Analytics to collect and analyze some website information. You can opt out of Google Analytics by downloading and installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, provided by Google.

Please direct any other questions or requests to opt out regarding this Privacy Statement to the email address below.

Cookies

The Museum Website uses “cookies,” which are small data files stored on your computer when you visit a website to enhance or personalize your online experience. By using a web beacon, pixel, tag, or other automated technology, we may collect information about your interactions with the Museum Website. To find out how to set your web browser to not accept cookies, or to learn more about cookies and how to disable them, visit: https://allaboutcookies.org/.

Information Security

The Website (and the Museum Stores’ website) uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to process online transactions. Additionally, the Museum takes other industry-standard precautions to protect the information it receives, both online and offline, from unauthorized access, as do the third party service providers who work with us.

Acceptance of Terms

By using the Museum’s Website you signify your acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree with the terms above please do not use our Website.

Occasional changes may be made to this Statement as new services and content are added or to reflect changes in the Museum’s policies. Visitors to the Website are encouraged to check this page periodically to stay informed of the Museum’s current Privacy Statement. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of changes to its terms will indicate acceptance of those changes. Any amended Privacy Statement supersedes all previous versions.

Questions and Comments

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Statement, please contact us in one of the following ways:

Field Museum of Natural History
1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
U.S.A.
312.922.9410
privacy@fieldmuseum.org

The Museum will use reasonable efforts to respond promptly to requests, questions, and concerns regarding this Privacy Statement.

Last updated December 2025