Get an up-close look at fascinating specimens and their habitats.

Field Museum scientists get their hands dirty and their feet wet in service of conserving the natural world, promoting cultural understanding, and learning more about life on earth. In the Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth, see how our staff puts science into action.

Get an up-close look at this collaborative work of conserving rainforests in Peru, safeguarding the biodiversity of Madagascar, and connecting people on Chicago's South Side with nature. Restoring Earth offers a glimpse into our worldwide conservation efforts&mdash;and the rich ecosystems that are central to our well-being&mdash;through videos, large-scale photographs, and hands-on learning tools.

Two people stand in the Restoring Earth exhibition, looking at a peregrine falcon specimen.

Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth

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Inside Ancient Egypt

After 30 years, the Field Museum is revitalizing our Africa hall. We&rsquo;ll be featuring new research, elevating community voices, and creating new experiences for our visitors. Follow along for updates.

<h2>Overview of the Project</h2>

One of the four core initiatives of the Museum&rsquo;s Strategic Plan 2022-2028 is the renovation of its galleries of Africa and ancient Egypt. While most museums treat Africa and Egypt separately, we want to incorporate Egypt into Africa. The proposed new hall will integrate an Egypt destination within a thematically organized exhibition about the African continent. &nbsp; Africa holds stories of the origins of humanity, and of great human achievements from ancient times through to the present. By reimagining our galleries of Egypt and Africa together, we have an opportunity to tell a story vital to humanity &ndash; and we can tell it in newly inclusive ways. &nbsp; Building on the Field&rsquo;s growing practice of community consultation, we can engage community members as partners and collaborators to create a powerfully relevant exhibition and represent local African communities.

Entrance to the Africa Hall  permenant exhibition

Africa

Regenstein Halls of the Pacific

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Experience being transported from Chicago to the islands of American Samoa through contemporary art, cultural items, soundscapes, and immersive visuals.

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Amerika Samoa, a temporary exhibition in the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific, will transport visitors to American Samoa with the help of co-curators, Reggie Meredith Fitiao and Su&rsquo;a Uilisone Fitiao of Fa&rsquo;asamoa Arts, a nonprofit art studio and gallery based in Leone, American Samoa.&nbsp;

Amerika Samoa exhibition co-curator, Reggie Meredith Fitiao works on a community-made siapo (painted cloth) featured in the temporary exhibition located in the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific.

Amerika Samoa

Audubon Meadowlarks

Audubon’s Birds of America

The T. Kimball and Nancy N. Brooker Gallery presents the treasures of the Marie Louise Rosenthal Library at the Field Museum on a rotating basis. It is located on the northeast corner of the upper level mezzanine. This space is designed to be a serene and elegant place where visitors can view fragile books and fine prints up close.

The inaugural exhibition, Highlights from the Mary W. Runnells Rare Book Room, was installed in October 2007.

Exhibitions since that time have included:

<ul>
<li>From Prairie to Field: Photographs by Terry Evans, 
April 11, 2008-July 27, 2008</li>
<li>Louis Agassiz — Fuertes: The Painted Bird, 
September 12, 2008—January 4, 2009</li>
<li>Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization, 
February 13, 2009-June 14, 2009</li>
<li>Burnham Memorial Design Competition, 
August 21, 2009 - November 1, 2009</li>
<li><a href="http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/chineserubbings/">Lasting Impressions: Chinese Rubbings from The Field Museum</a>
February 12, 2010 - January 3, 2011</li>
<li>Travelogues and Technologies: from Small Sketches to the Biggest Book, 
February 12, 2011 - January 1, 2012</li>
</ul>

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The Brooker Gallery

Designed for children between two and six years old, this interactive, hands-on space makes learning an adventure.&nbsp;

Early learners are invited to explore world cultures through music, experience everyday life in a recreated pueblo, create artwork in a Discovery Studio, or play paleontologist with dinosaur bones&mdash;and that&rsquo;s just the beginning. With so many opportunities for discovery, this exhibition presents a new adventure every time you visit. 

<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The PlayLab is open Monday-Sunday, 10:00am-3:00pm. Hours are subject to change for special events or staffing needs.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">We strive to welcome all to the PlayLab, which has wheelchair access, a nursing room, and a quiet reading corner.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Groups are encouraged to pre-register using the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/register-your-field-trip-group">field trip registration form</a>.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Much of the information in the PlayLab is also available in Spanish. La exhibici&oacute;n tiene informaci&oacute;n en espa&ntilde;ol</li>
</ul>

Kids in the PlayLab make music (or joyful noise) with instruments from around the world.

Crown Family PlayLab

Walk between the sacred stone guardians and into a history of humankind that stretches back 10,000 years and that reverberates today.
Examine the intricate design of a Qing Dynasty emperor&rsquo;s silk robe. Get lost in the bustle of a busy festival in late Ming Dynasty in the 27-foot-long scroll painting, Along the River during the Qingming Festival. Or unwind in the Sue Ling Gin Garden, a peaceful space filled with eight spirit stones donated by the municipal government of Suzhou.

People often think of China as monolithic: a gigantic, singular entity defined by one land, one people, one culture. In reality China is a land of incredible diversities: of landscapes, ethnicities, religions, social statuses, and lived experiences that cut across space and time. Come explore this vast country and examine the paradox of constant change and strong continuity that define more than 10,000 years of rich cultural history, from the Neolithic period to the present.

The first gallery of the Cyrus Tang Hall of China, with a map table in the foreground and a large circle of video screens above the exhibition display cases.

Cyrus Tang Hall of China

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One tiny molecule&mdash;a world of scientific possibility.

Despite our planet&rsquo;s astounding biodiversity, all life on Earth has one thing in common: DNA. It contains the genetic keys to development and reproduction, from microscopic bacteria to plants, fungi, and animals. Learn more about this molecule&mdash;and its importance in scientific research&mdash;in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice DNA Discovery Center.

In the Rice DNA Discovery Center, peek directly inside our state-of-the-art genetic research facility, the Pritzker Laboratory for Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Systematics. Scientists are in the midst of analyzing thousands of species&rsquo; DNA, comparing their genetic codes, and mapping out the relationships among all living things on Earth.

Few museums have in-house DNA research facilities, and even fewer allow you to look inside while scientists are hard at work.&nbsp;Watch live as discoveries happen in this real, working lab.

View of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice DNA Discovery Center, prominently showing a large model of a DNA double helix and an interactive touchscreen table. Windows in the background look into the Pritzker Laboratory for Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Sy

DNA Discovery Center

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Learn about the history and importance of jade in Chinese culture, and see its role change over time.

View of the inside of the Malott Hall of Jades. A prominent sign with the Chinese character for “jade” is visible in the foreground.

Elizabeth Hubert Malott Hall of Jades

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See a stunning display of hundreds of precious stones in raw and cut form, plus eye-popping jewelry.

A visitor favorite since the museum opened in 1921, the Grainger Hall of Gems has a history older than the Field Museum itself.

At the 1893 World&rsquo;s Columbian Exposition, Tiffany &amp; Co.&rsquo;s gem collection captivated viewers from all walks of life. When the exposition closed, World&rsquo;s Fair President Harlow Higinbotham purchased the entire collection and donated it to Chicago&rsquo;s then-new natural history museum.

Today, the Grainger Hall of Gems is more stunning than ever. Our collection has grown to include more than 600 gemstones and 150 pieces of antique and contemporary jewelry. (Several pieces were donated by Chicago philanthropist Thuy Ngo Nguyen, who visited often and would offer her stunning baubles to the museum on the spot!)

Each display features a gem in its three stages of transformation: raw crystal, cut and polished stone, and mounted jewel in a finished ring, brooch, or necklace.

View of the Grainger Hall of Gems from the entrance, with many display cases visible. A stained glass window featuring a mermaid is visible in the center.

Grainger Hall of Gems

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Hall of Gems Photograph

See what our scientists are up to in regularly changing displays.

Discover specimens that are usually under lock and key. Get up close and personal with the Field Museum&rsquo;s collection.

With nearly 40 million items in our collections, less than one percent is on display. So we pick some of our favorites and move them to the&nbsp;Grainger Science Hub&hellip;for a limited time only.

Take a closer look: get close to select specimens, get a feel for the tools we use in our research, and explore new discoveries with educators. There&rsquo;s something new to check out every time you visit. If you can't make it to the museum, you can still get hands-on with science with&nbsp;Hub at Home activities below.

Science Hub is open daily from 10am-3pm.

Grainger Science Hub

4.5 billion years. 27,000 square feet of evolutionary exploration.

In the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet, get to know the many creatures that have roamed the earth throughout history, from single-celled organisms to our extended human family. Experience a variety of fossils, animated videos, and interactive displays that tell the story of evolution, the process that connects all living things on Earth.

Don&rsquo;t miss the Elizabeth Morse Genius Hall of Dinosaurs to get up close and personal with more than a dozen of the biggest creatures in our history. Then, experience the world of SUE the T. rex, our famous fossil with a big personality.

SUE stands proudly in their suite located in the Field Museum’s Evolving Planet exhibition. An animated forest is visible in the background.

Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet & SUE the T. rex

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See objects that give us clues about how Ancient Egyptians lived.

Inside Ancient Egypt is an up-close look at the daily lives of ancient Egyptians&mdash;as well as how they thought about death.

The burial chamber, which dates to 2400 BC, houses one of the largest collections of mummies in the United States: 23 human mummies and more than 30 animal mummies.

Inside Ancient Egypt offers clues to ancient Egyptians&rsquo; lives on Earth&mdash;and to everything we may have in common with them.

Media for Inside Ancient Egypt

Explore the concept of race through sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Field Museum commissioned sculptor Malvina Hoffman to create bronze sculptures for an exhibition called The Races of Mankind. Hoffman, who trained under Auguste Rodin, traveled to many parts of the world for an up-close look at the &ldquo;racial types&rdquo; her sculptures were meant to portray.

By the time the exhibition was deinstalled more than 30 years later, more than 10 million people had seen it&mdash;as well as its misguided message that human physical differences could be categorized into distinct &ldquo;races.&rdquo;

Today, 50 of Hoffman&rsquo;s sculptures are back on display&mdash;with a new narrative&mdash;in Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman. This exhibition closely examines the nuance and beauty that defines the person and inspiration behind each sculpture.

Looking at Ourselves takes a hard look at the 1933 exhibition. More than 80 years later, our cultural and scientific notions of race have changed&mdash;but the consequences of racial ideologies persist.

<h3>Identifying sculptures by name</h3>

Not only do Hoffman&rsquo;s detailed sculptures embody the complicated ways we look at culture and race, but they are also nuanced portraits of individual persons from around the world.

In her letters from the field, Hoffman told museum curators that she wanted to illustrate the dignity and individuality of each of her subjects.

The&nbsp;Looking at Ourselves&nbsp;exhibition team believed that naming Hoffman&rsquo;s previously unnamed subjects was an important way of illustrating that individuality. They spent months poring over Hoffman&rsquo;s and her husband&rsquo;s letters and journals, and consulting the work of others who have researched the Hoffman collection over the years, to find the subjects&rsquo; given names.

For subjects whose specific identities remain unknown, the team worked with anthropologists to correctly pinpoint the names of their ethnic groups.

Two visitors sit together on a bench, looking at life-size sculptures of people by Malvina Hoffman. In the foreground several bronze busts are displayed in a glass case.

Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman

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What&rsquo;s a machine that&rsquo;s built to survive, move, and discover?

All living things&mdash;including you!&mdash;contain remarkable feats of engineering. Investigate nature&rsquo;s mechanical marvels in&nbsp;The Machine Inside: Biomechanics. You&rsquo;ll uncover surprising strengths and hidden talents: jaws that can crush over 8,000 pounds in one bite, ears that act as air conditioners, and a spring-like body that sprints at 80 miles per hour. All ages can try out interactive experiences that show how mechanics like wings and fins, pumps and pipes, and claws and jaws work in nature.

The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish. La exhibici&oacute;n est&aacute; presentada en ingl&eacute;s y espa&ntilde;ol.

A group of young visitors enjoy an exhibit in The Machine Inside exhibition.

The Machine Inside: Biomechanics

Step inside a sacred structure from New Zealand.

Built in 1881 on Tokomaru Bay, this wharenui (FAH-reh-new-EE) is one of only three such Maori meeting houses now outside of New Zealand. Structural elements of the house form the body of Ruatepupuke (roo-AH-tay-PU-pu-keh), the Maori ancestor who brought the art of woodcarving to the world. Look for his carved face at the top of the roof, as his arms&mdash;the long, wooden gables&mdash;welcome you inside.

The Maori are the first settlers of New Zealand. They arrived around the 14th century and currently make up about 15 percent of New Zealand&rsquo;s population. Today, they have a strong presence in New Zealand&rsquo;s government and society&mdash;while maintaining cultural and craft traditions that celebrate the past and flourish with contemporary inspiration.

A three-quarter view of the front of the Maori Meeting HouseCarvings decorate the house’s walls and beams. At the apex of the gabled roof are two carved faces. One is Ruatepupuke, for whom this house is named.

Maori Meeting House, Ruatepupuke II

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Maori Meeting House Ruatepupuke II

The titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum is a big deal&mdash;literally, the biggest dinosaur that scientists have discovered to date. This long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur lived over 100 million years ago in what is now Patagonia, Argentina.

Named M&aacute;ximo, meaning &ldquo;maximum&rdquo; or &ldquo;most&rdquo; in Spanish, our titanosaur cast reaches 122 feet across Stanley Field Hall on our main floor and stands 28 feet tall at the head. Modeled from fossil bones excavated in Argentina, this cast conveys the sheer size of the biggest animal ever to live. (It&rsquo;s longer than a blue whale!) Patagotitan weighed about 70 tons in life&mdash;that&rsquo;s as much as 10 African elephants, like the two specimens on display next to M&aacute;ximo.

The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish. La exhibici&oacute;n est&aacute; presentada en ingl&eacute;s y espa&ntilde;ol.

Two young visitors reach down to touch the foot of Máximo, a cast of the largest dinosaur ever discovered. The foot is raised on a black platform and the two visitors learn forward to touch the front of the foot.

Máximo the Titanosaur

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Watch as stone slabs become prehistoric scientific specimens.

The famous vertebrate fossils in our collection began as massive hunks of rock. Watch preparators ready fossilized specimens for display or research in the McDonald&rsquo;s Fossil Preparation Laboratory.

After scientists discover fossils out in the field, they carefully package the fossils at the site for their journey back to the Fossil Prep Lab. Then, a team of preparators and volunteers begin extracting the fossils from their stone tombs&mdash;a job that can take months (or years, for a large specimen; SUE the T. rex took 12 person-years!).

See the steps in this delicate process firsthand as you watch preparators at work in the Fossil Prep Lab.

Once preparators complete their extractions, the finished fossils are examined and compared with related fossils, forming the data for a published study—the final step in the process.

McDonald’s Fossil Preparation Lab

The Chicago Archaeopteryx is a rare fossil that reveals the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. The fossil is on display inside the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.

Meet the Chicago Archaeopteryx

The mysteries of space often leave us with more questions than answers, but meteorites can actually tell us a lot about the history of our solar system.

This exhibition, located in the Grainger Gallery on the upper level, offers fascinating insight into where these objects came from and what they&rsquo;re made of. Meteorites can contain minerals that are older than the sun and the planets, and they help to give us an idea of Earth's geological makeup when it first formed.

The exhibition includes a fragment of the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor, which landed in Russia in a flash of brilliant light and instantly went viral online. This selection of meteorites is a small sampling from our vast collection, which scientists continue to study behind the scenes in the Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies.

Meteorites

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Girl in the meteorites  gallery using a touch screen

Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories

Experience stories told by Native people of self-determination, resilience, continuity, and the future.

Hear from Native American and Indigenous people as they tell their own stories&mdash;through words, music, dance, and art.

In Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, you are invited to connect with diverse Native stories and the individuals who share them. Dive deeply into current issues, like threats to Native land and the rights of tribal nations to govern themselves. Celebrate the thriving, modern cultures of today&rsquo;s Native communities.

Listen… and learn

Embark on an adventure through the sights and sounds of natural landscapes.

Follow the boardwalk to discover animal habitats from right here in the Midwest and across the Americas. At every turn, encounter a diorama scene of plant and animal life&mdash;and see if you can spot each critter, down to the smallest beetle!

From muskrats burrowing in the marsh to scarlet ibises stalking the tropical seashore, these taxidermy displays bring environments to life. The meticulously hand-crafted landscapes and diverse animal groups make Nature Walk an immersive habitat tour for all ages.

<h2>Messages from the Wilderness</h2>

Animals, environments, and people are all connected. In&nbsp;Messages from the Wilderness, experience what it&rsquo;s like to visit national parks across South, Central, and North America. These diorama scenes depict species&mdash;from the common to the extinct&mdash;as they would appear in their natural habitats.

Wildlife tips and audio recordings from park rangers reveal the importance of protecting the places where animals live. Find out how every creature&rsquo;s survival is connected to the lives of others, including our own.

Where did these animals come from?&nbsp;Scientists collected most of these specimens in the late 1800s and early 1900s, at a time when you couldn&rsquo;t learn about wildlife on TV or online. Dioramas like these were the only ways that people could see Alaskan brown bears, bison, or capybaras. Today, they still offer a close-up look at animals and nature, even preserving snapshots of environments that no longer look the same.

Students gather around a window to peer into a diorama featuring three bears in their natural habitat.

Field Trip Experiences

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Nature Walk & Messages from the Wilderness

Inside the Lodge, experience elements of Pawnee culture from the past to the present day through hands-on elements: touch tools, textiles, animal hides, games, and sit on beds covered in bison furs.

Visit a full-size replica of an Earth Lodge, a circular building that for centuries was a home, classroom, and ceremonial place for Pawnee people. Despite being forcibly removed from their Nebraska homelands by the US government in the 1870s, Pawnee people still maintain a deep connection to their original home and cultural traditions. Though they are no longer used as housing, Earth Lodges continue to hold important cultural significance to Pawnee people today.

Citizens of the Pawnee Nation in Oklahoma served as advisors in creating this Earth Lodge when it originally opened in 1977. Through ongoing collaboration, the Lodge has been updated to include contemporary Pawnee culture and traditions, showing how culture adapts and is ever-changing.

View of the circular interior of the Pawnee Earth Lodge, with various replica objects displayed around the circular hearth in the center and on the walls.

Pawnee Earth Lodge

Always in bloom: the artistry and science of true-to-life plant models.

The specimens you see behind the glass in Plants of the World are meticulous, lifelike recreations of their natural counterparts.

The hall opened in 1983 with 300 plants&mdash;representing nearly a third of all plant families&mdash;on display in its grand wooden display cases. A stroll through Plants of the World is an introduction to the varied uses of plants, from medicines, dyes, and rubber, to delicious chocolates and teas.

In 1909, the museum&rsquo;s first plant models were created from latex, glass, wire, wax, and later plastic&mdash;by an acclaimed denture maker! And we still have some of these models in storage for visiting scientists to admire.

While there are just a few plant specimens on display in this hall, we preserve millions of them behind the scenes in our herbarium. This library of dried and pressed plants is among the largest and most valuable in the world; it helps us understand evolution, track how environments change over time, and explore the different roles these organisms play in human cultures.

Wander Plants of the World&nbsp;for a glimpse of the world of botany, from exotic specimens to plants you might spot in your own backyard.

Two visitors stand in between glasses cases in Plants of the World. They are standing to their side, looking straight forward at plant models. A replica tobacco plant is displayed in its own case at the front of the hallway.

Plants of the World

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Plants of the World 

Explore cultural diversity across thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The countries collectively referred to as the Pacific Islands&mdash;including New Guinea, New Zealand, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and many more&mdash;are separated by thousands of miles of ocean. The people who live on these islands speak many different languages and observe vastly different historical traditions and modern ways of life. In the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific, visitors can explore the history and culture of some of these islands through hundreds of contemporary and historical objects on display, including masks, wood carvings, and instruments. These items, alongside stories shared by Pacific Islanders themselves, showcase the geographic and cultural diversity of this region.

<h2>Regenstein Conservation Laboratory</h2>

Located within the Regenstein Halls, the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/department/regenstein-pacific-lab">Regenstein Conservation Laboratory</a> is a 1,600-square-foot conservation and collections management facility, where museum staff work to conserve objects from our Pacific collections and beyond. This active lab is also a center for imaging, including photography and segmenting CT scans of mummies, laser scanning, photogrammetry, and 3D printing. Viewable to the public, Regenstein Lab is testament to our commitment to protecting the more than 1.5 million items in our anthropology collections for future generations.

This exhibition is alive and changing every day.

Did you know one of our biggest exhibition spaces is outside and free to visit year-round? Stroll down winding paths, pause on a bench to enjoy a conversation, and take a closer look at the life all around you in the Rice Native Gardens. Framing the museum&rsquo;s exterior, the gardens are home to a variety of native plants&mdash;over 100 species in total. In addition to colorful flowers and tall grasses, you can spot a variety of animals: birds, bats, grasshoppers, butterflies, and much more. They all play a role in this ecosystem, from pollinating plants to creating healthy soil.

The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish. La exhibici&oacute;n est&aacute; presentada en ingl&eacute;s y espa&ntilde;ol.

Black-eyed Susans in the foreground with the North side of the Field Museum in the background.

Rice Native Gardens

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Take a closer look at artifacts that teach us how these past cultures lived.

Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas is a journey through 13,000 years of human ingenuity and achievement in the Western Hemisphere, where diverse societies thrived long before the arrival of Europeans.

Through interactive features, floor-to-ceiling displays, and thousands of artifacts, this immersive exhibition explores the ancient peoples of the Americas, from hunters and gatherers to the Aztec and Inca empires&mdash;and from the arrival of European settlers to the present day.

Discover what we&rsquo;ve learned recently about these advanced early civilizations and what cultural practices teach us about our own way of life in the 21st century.

Visitors explore a bird’s-eye view replica of Teotihuacan, the largest city in the Americas (and one of the largest in the world) between AD 100 and 700.

Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas

Look beyond the mounted specimens to learn more about birds from North America and around the world.

The Ronald and Christina Gidwitz Hall of Birds is a window into our collective ornithological obsession. Digital rails display new science alongside traditional taxidermy. Interactive displays offer bird maps and educational videos, as well as a &ldquo;build a bird&rdquo; game. And immersive atmospheric projections adorn the walls with live-action silhouette footage and environmental sound.

We started building our bird collection as part of the World&rsquo;s Columbian Exposition of 1893&mdash;and we never stopped collecting. Today, the Field Museum&rsquo;s scientific bird collection has more than 530,000 specimens, including eggs and nests. It is the third largest in the United States and represents 90 percent of the world&rsquo;s known bird species, several of which can no longer be found in the wild.

Birds have captivated artists for centuries, and the Artists&rsquo; Corner features depictions of birds from our library&mdash;including works by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and John James Audubon&mdash;as well as modern work by talented artists associated with ornithology and the museum today.

Let your fascination take flight, and look up as you leave the museum. You may see things differently!

A kid stands in the middle of a gallery, looking at an interactive screen outside a display case full of large flightless birds. There are four other display cases with taxidermied birds in the room. In the right foreground, another visitor can be seen through the glass of a display, looking at the specimens inside.

Ronald and Christina Gidwitz Hall of Birds

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The Searle Family Lounge features temporary displays of large collections items you can examine up close (think: dinosaur skull or giant microscope).

Situated in the north balcony overlooking Stanley Field Hall, it&rsquo;s also one of the Field&rsquo;s best photo spots&mdash;with a flying pterosaur, M&aacute;ximo the Titanosaur, and Carl Akeley's elephants in-frame. Plus, you can pause on the benches to enjoy an educational video about Field Museum research.&nbsp;

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Searle Family Lounge

Stretching 46 feet long, this fearsome fossil is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered&mdash; even longer than SUE the&nbsp;T. rex.

Catch Spinosaurus as it prowls overhead at the Field Museum. This fish-eating dinosaur lived during the Cretaceous Period, about 95 million years ago. Spinosaurus swam in rivers thanks to its crocodile-shaped body and paddle-like tail.

Discover how this water-loving dinosaur reigned throughout North Africa and learn how modern animals help scientists to understand life from long ago. Uncover how this semi-aquatic predator hunted and swam through the water.

<a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/introducing-our-new-spinosaurus">Learn how we chose the name!</a>

Sobek the Spinosaurus

Shrink to 1/100th of your size&mdash;and examine soil science from a new perspective.

In this immersive exhibition, you&rsquo;ll &ldquo;shrink&rdquo; to 1/100th of your actual size&mdash;smaller than a penny&mdash;to take a closer look at the soil beneath our feet.

Once you&rsquo;re down to size, you&rsquo;ll meet a creepy, crawly cast of characters, including a giant mole cricket and a wolf spider. You&rsquo;ll learn about the diversity of life that soil supports and how every species needs soil to survive and thrive.

Two boys stand in front of a reproduction of a crayfish more than twice their size. The boy to the left crouches, looking down into a window cut in floor. Recreated soil and roots are visible behind them.

Underground Adventure

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Discover some of the amazing connections between species in the animal kingdom.

Pass under the shadows of giant sea creatures and explore the colors, shapes, and sounds that make up the animal kingdom. Meet mollusks hiding two skeletons and a frog that looks more foliage. From the funny to the fantastical, discover the animal world and learn what makes each creature&mdash;including you!&mdash;an animal.

<h2>Making connections</h2>

Scientists identify animals by a few distinct characteristics: how they&rsquo;re born, what they eat, and how they move. What Is an Animal? shows how some species continue to amaze us with creative behaviors that evolved over several million years. Did you know that flamingos are filter-feeders just like whales? And, despite their different homes, Arctic birds and spiny lobsters both use magnetic fields to get around. By exploring how animals move, eat, survive, and reproduce, get a glimpse of the interconnected web of animal life.

A woman holds up a little boy as they look into a taxidermy case filled with snakes, squirrels, and another small mammal.

Halls & Galleries

Amerika Samoa

All Halls & Galleries

Members See it FIRST.

Members See it FREE.

Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth

Africa

Amerika Samoa

Audubon’s Birds of America

The Brooker Gallery

Crown Family PlayLab

Cyrus Tang Hall of China

DNA Discovery Center

Elizabeth Hubert Malott Hall of Jades

Grainger Hall of Gems

Grainger Science Hub

Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet & SUE the T. rex

Inside Ancient Egypt

Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman

The Machine Inside: Biomechanics

Maori Meeting House Ruatepupuke II

Máximo the Titanosaur

McDonald’s Fossil Preparation Lab

Meet the Chicago Archaeopteryx

Meteorites

Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories

Nature Walk & Messages from the Wilderness

Pawnee Earth Lodge

Plants of the World

Regenstein Halls of the Pacific

Rice Native Gardens

Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas

Ronald and Christina Gidwitz Hall of Birds

Searle Family Lounge

Sobek the Spinosaurus

Underground Adventure

What Is an Animal? & Animal Biology

Looking for an Exhibition?

Halls & Galleries

Amerika Samoa

All Halls & Galleries

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Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth

Africa

Amerika Samoa

Audubon’s Birds of America

The Brooker Gallery

Crown Family PlayLab

Cyrus Tang Hall of China

DNA Discovery Center

Elizabeth Hubert Malott Hall of Jades

Grainger Hall of Gems

Grainger Science Hub

Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet & SUE the T. rex

Inside Ancient Egypt

Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman

The Machine Inside: Biomechanics

Maori Meeting House Ruatepupuke II

Máximo the Titanosaur

McDonald’s Fossil Preparation Lab

Meet the Chicago Archaeopteryx

Meteorites

Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories

Nature Walk & Messages from the Wilderness

Pawnee Earth Lodge

Plants of the World

Regenstein Halls of the Pacific

Rice Native Gardens

Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas

Ronald and Christina Gidwitz Hall of Birds

Searle Family Lounge

Sobek the Spinosaurus

Underground Adventure

What Is an Animal? & Animal Biology

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