Media

Remaking Akeley's Striped Hyenas Diorama

Media for Wild Color—here, there, and everywhere!

Wild Color—here, there, and everywhere!

Media for Solving the Decades-Long Mystery of Manu

Solving the Decades-Long Mystery of Manu

A vertebra bone that has iridescent rainbow coloring on one side.

Working in Paleontology: An Introduction to the Collections

opalized-vertebra-field-museum-geo86518_3026ad.jpg

Rising from the ashes of Brazil's Museu Nacional fire

Darkling Beetles: Spray acid, play dead

Carl Cotton, wearing a lab coat, stands in front of a display of bird specimens. He looks down at a card he’s holding in his hand.

A Natural Talent: The Taxidermy of Carl Cotton

carl-cotton-field-museum-1951-z85559-ly7fa8a.jpg

Carl Cotton places individual letters on a label for an exhibition featuring hybrid birds.

Carl Cotton: Chicago's Original Black Taxidermist

The Field Museum

What should museums do with their dead? (w/ Caitlin Doughty!)

How Birds inspire Builders

Several ceramic bowls rest on the seafloor, stuck together along with corroded iron and remnants of sea life.

What We’re Still Uncovering from an 800-Year-Old Shipwreck

1._java-sea-bowls-field-museum_anthropology-pacific-sea-resources.jpg

What We're Still Uncovering from an 800-Year-Old Shipwreck

Misfits of the Mineral Collection

A very close-up, high resolution photograph of a beetle that has a mostly black body with orange-brown legs and yellow hairs and the backend of the body. Its eyes appear very large and globular.

Megalopinus sanguinitriguttatus, a species of rove beetle.

A Bug’s (After)Life

bugslife_megalopinus_sanguinitriguttatus.jpg

A Bug's (After)Life

Inside the Whale Warehouse

Colorfully painted postcard with an aerial view of the 1893 World's Fair. There are rows of different buildings, some with tall domes, and Lake Michigan is visible in the background. The caption reads, "View from Ferris Wheel."

Travel Back to the World's Fair in Our Collection

worldsfair_gn90799d_wfwc_01w.jpg

Photo Archives GN90799d_WFWC_01w

Black-and-white nighttime photo of a jaguar walking in the forest. Its eyes are illuminated by the camera flash.

The Jaguar and Its Grandchildren

fig5-panthera_onca_djl_102recnx_img_0149.jpg

A jaguar captured by a camera trap during the April 2018 rapid inventory. We captured a total of 10,373 camera trap photos during the inventory, of which 3,646 show mammals.

A colored photograph with black border, showing three tents in a row. The foreground is sandy, and the background has a few sparse trees and mountains.

Snapshot of 1896 Expedition Life

csz5941c.jpg

A hand-colored glass lantern slide of camp in Somaliland, with Daniel G. Elliot (with a white beard) seated in his tent. Photo Archives CSZ5941c

Science by Day-Spy by Night [60 Second Specimens]

Murder by Birder [60 Second Specimens]

A small crocodile mummy wrapped in brown cloth with the eyes drawn on, and other similar bundles in the background

Animal Mummies for Sale in Ancient Egypt

animal_mummies_header.jpg

Two women wearing headlamps peer into the mouth of a large taxidermy elephant

Q&A with a Conservator on the Complex History of Ivory

hornbeck_header.jpg

Conservators Eugenie Milroy (left) and Stephanie Hornbeck examine the teeth and tusks of one of the Akeley elephants in the Field Museum's Stanley Field Hall

The Story of the Museum für Naturkunde

Four visitors stand together in front of two Lions of Tsavo dioramas. The leftmost visitor takes a picture of two lion skulls displayed on pedestals near the lions inside the diorama case.

Tsavo Lions

17-069-1011-anderson_webexport.jpg

SUE the T. rex dinosaur skeleton on display in a museum gallery. Screens behind the dinosaur show a forest scene.

SUE the T. rex

02_lhewett_suesuite_333.jpg

Two photos, one of a black and white bird with a red head on a tree; one of a row of jars of museum specimens

What Woodpecker Brains Can Tell Us about Concussions

woodpecker_header.png

Left: Downy Woodpecker, Arlene Koviol. Right: Field Museum wet specimens.

Carl Akeley's Fighting Elephants

The 'Sistine Chapel of Taxidermy'—Conserving Akeley's Elephants

Two images, one of a man with braids in a chef's coat plating several identical dishes; and several cobs of corn of different colors laid out flat

The Sioux Chef: Reinvigorating Indigenous Food Systems

Two images, one of a man with braids in a chef's coat plating several identical dishes; and several cobs of corn of different colors laid out flat. Sean Sherman by Rina Oh for the James Beard Foundation. Corn cobs from Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, in the Museum's collection.

Rows of bird specimens with yellow necks; half have gray stomachs and half have white bellies

What Hundred-Year-Old Birds Tell Us About the Environment

birds_header.jpg

A woman sitting at a desk with art supplies, holding a pencil in hand and drawing a nautilus

Bringing Fossils to Life Through Art

mirandazimmerman_header.jpg

Black and white photograph of a woman in a floral dress with a large bird on her hand, and a small child smiling and standing at her side

Beautiful Strangers: Stories of People and Collections

z78636.jpg

© The Field Museum, Z78636.

Dried prairie thistle plant specimen attached to paper.

DIY Plant Pressing

untitled_design.png

Field Museum specimen of Hill’s thistle (Cirsium hillii) found in Elgin, Illinois, in 1918.

A pinkish purple octopus with a large black eye sitting on the ocean floor, with arms curled

How To Tell Deep-Sea Octopuses Apart? Check Their Warts.

deep-sea_octopus_heaader.jpg

Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Fossil Myths: Cyclopes, Griffins, & Magic Fairy Bread

Spring Migration Notes...By a Murderer

A yellowed animal skull with large canine teeth, on a white surface and backdrop

What Makes a Man-Eater? Check the Teeth

skull_of_first_tsavo_man-eater_by_bruce_patterson_and_jp_brown_the_field_museum.jpg

The skull of one of the Tsavo man-eating lions.

Woman sitting at a table in a lab, holding a marker and writing on something small

Women in Science and Art: Rebecca Banasiak, Mammals Collections Assistant and Preparator

img_1194.jpg

Numbering small skeletal specimens that will be installed into the main mammals collection.

Two photos side-by-side: A women sitting in front of a large drill, and a bowl with a gold bracket attached to it, for display

What's in a Name? That Which We Call a Dinosaur

Women in Art: Ann Prazer, Mountmaker

Shelves of large, ornate books in different colors (green, brown, red, blue), many with gold designs emblazoned on their spines

Four Fascinating Finds in the Rare Book Room

rare_books_header.jpg

Fascinating Meteorites With Clues To Understanding Our Solar System

img_0736.jpg

The Meteorites exhibition, now open at the Museum

Monster Mystery Solved

Tully Monster reconstruction by Sean McMahon

Is the Tully Monster a Vertebrate or an Enigma?

Side-by-side of a woman seated at a desk, working on a drawing, and a close-up of an illustration of orange foxes

Women in Art: Adrienne Stroup, Geology Collections Assistant

untitled_design.jpg

Facts Matter at The Field Museum

Colorful illustration of a landscape with palm trees, a stream, and rhino-like animals in front of a sunset

Picturing the Past Through Scientific Illustration

eocene_adrienne_stroup_header.jpg

Detail of intricate wood carving, with a man with a sword and a horse depicted

The Tushanwan Jesuit Orphanage Wooden Screen

screen_header.jpg

2016 By The Numbers

Top 10 Science, Nature, and Culture Stories of 2016

Mysterious Madonna and Child Scroll

Antlers: What's Their Function?

Staying Warm in the Far North

Two large dinosaurs, one wearing a Cubs jersey

Why We Don’t Dress Up SUE (Or Any Other Real Skeletons)

untitled_design_20.png

Why We Don't Dress Up SUE (Or Any Other Real Skeletons)

A spiral shell-like fossil next to apples and oranges

A Thanksgiving Tale of Two Horns

geology_tgiving_header.jpg

Arietites obtusus specimen (P 2467), photographed by Paul Mayer. 

The Amazing Laser

Illustration of a long house with wood beams

Democracy and the Iroquois Constitution

theiroquoislonghouse.png

Illustration of an Iroquois Long House. Image

Zoomed in photo of a fly-like insect trapped in orange amber

Revisiting “Jurassic Park”: Could Dinosaurs Really be Cloned?

amber_header.jpg

Field Museum specimen of an insect trapped in 40-million-year-old Baltic amber.

Beetles, Mites, Cockroaches Oh My! [Insect Collection Tour]

5 Behind-the-Scenes Specimens with Links to Darwin

Treasures Revealed: The Mary W. Runnells Rare Book Room

rbr_2.jpg

A Diorama for Jerry's Guitar

screen_shot_2015-08-05_at_12.52.28_pm.png

Photo @ Chad Anderson Photography.

Monsters Storm The Field

Image for Monsters Storm The Field

Stabilizing the Plaster on Minirdis’ Coffin

111517_consolidation.jpg

Conservator Morgan Nau stabilizes plaster fills with adhesive injected with a syringe. Photo credit: JP Brown. Object number 111517.

Stabilizing the Plaster on Minirdis' Coffin

Defining the "Edges" of Life On Earth

Fossil Fish, PT. III: The Preparation

What the Function? with Smarter Every Day!

How to Pin an Insect

Fields of Thought

About the Turnbull Collection

Ask Emily #8

Chicagoland Butterfly Gallery

Ask Emily #7

Hiding in Plain Sight at the Field Museum

Olinguito_image_0.jpg

Image for Hiding in Plain Sight at the Field Museum

One of the most interesting things learned about birds in 2012

Will we maintain our connections to other natural history institutions around the world?

A Rose by Any Other Name

FRicznThmb_0.png

Image for A Rose by Any Other Name

What's in a Name?

Radiography of a Baining Mask

145852_XrayStitched2_0.jpg

Image for Radiography of a Baining Mask

Fieldwork Photos from Fishes

A Century of Butterflies and Moths

About the Botany Department

Vocalizations of Willard's Sooty Boubou

Scans of Neotropical Loranthaceae & friends

LORA-psit-rhyn-nic-shol4017.jpg

Image for Scans of Neotropical Loranthaceae & friends

Investigating little ornithological questions can lead to bigger things

Mbinu kwa ajili ya kumbukumbu za Historia ya Data

Preparing Plants for the Herbarium

Cloud Rat

Science at FMNH : Ep. 43 - Ancient Trade and Exchange in East Africa

Conserving Sticky

Science at FMNH : Ep. 42 – The Production of Maya Blue

Science at FMNH : Ep. 40 - Ancient Trade and Exchange

Dear Benjamin Walsh

Digitization Peña Blanca Spring

screen_shot_2014-08-09_at_8.36.35_pm.png

Image for Digitization Peña Blanca Spring

Science at FMNH : Ep. 35 - Exploring Kish

Science at FMNH : Ep. 34 - Why are museum collections important?

Science at FMNH : Ep. 29 - What is your favorite museum specimen?

Science at FMNH : Ep. 27 - Museum Collections and the Mammals of Tanzania

Science at FMNH : Ep. 26 - Mammal Conservation in Island Ecosystems

Science at FMNH : Ep. 23 - What inspires you about your field?

Studying molt in birds

Fossil Carrion Feeders

Gantz Family Collections Center

Explore this topic through the content here and the halls of the Museum.

Articles and videos

Remaking Akeley's Striped Hyenas Diorama

Wild Color—here, there, and everywhere!

Solving the Decades-Long Mystery of Manu

Exhibit Halls

The Changing Face of Science

Related Projects

Erythroxylum

North American Collections

Fishes Dried Skeleton Collection

Fishes Collection

People

Chrissy Christian

Adrienne Stroup

Wyatt Gaswick

Matthew Brown

Press Releases

New Field Museum exhibition to highlight behind-the-scenes collections

Get Your Mystery Objects Identified at the Field Museum

Related Areas

Gantz Family Collections Center

Regenstein Pacific Lab

Related Topics

Gantz Family Collections History

South and Central American Archaeological Ceramic Treatment

Thangka Preservation

Treatment

Events

ID Day