You’ve never seen our collection like this.
Discover specimens that are usually under lock and key. Get up close and personal with the Field Museum’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 Grainger Science Hub…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’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 Hub at Home activities.
See what our scientists are up to in regularly changing displays.
Exhibition highlights:
- Hand-picked selections brought from behind closed doors
- Specimens to spark your curiosity
- Educators on hand to answer questions
- Rotating exhibits about our scientific research
Now in the Hub
Kingdom Fungi
Fungi are an extensive group of organisms that make up one of the five kingdoms of life on Earth. They are integral to our planet, interconnected with both plants and animals, and found on every continent. Fungi are also incredibly diverse, with 150,000 species known to science and potentially millions more waiting to be documented. Field Museum scientists are active in the lab and in field surveys, having described or reclassified more than 30 species of fungi since 2020 alone.
Come get an up-close look at a selection of fungal decomposers, mutualists, and parasites from the Field’s collection. Specimens include the Clathrus “Stinkhorn” mushroom, the Giant puffball Calvatia gigantea, the Chicago chanterelle Cantharellus chicagoensis, and the beautiful Specklebelly and Antarctic beard lichens (Psudocyphellaria rufovirescens and Usnea aurantiacoatra). And if you look closely, you’ll find Ophiocordyceps robertsii on display; a relative of the parasitic “zombie fungi”, this species has evolved to infect and ultimately erupt a fruiting body out of vegetable caterpillars.
Asteroid Bennu Sample Study
The Field Museum has been chosen by NASA as one of the research institutions receiving a study sample of asteroid Bennu, collected from space during NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Come explore similar carbonaceous chondrite meteorite specimens from the Field's collection while learning more about the OSIRIS-REx mission, asteroid Bennu, and what Field Museum scientists hope to learn while studying this incredibly rare asteroid sample.
Visitors are also invited to touch a large sample of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, the most studied iron meteorite in the world. The impact from Canyon Diablo's fall to Earth about 50,000 years ago created the massive and famously-preserved Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona.
Terrestrial Parasite Tracker
Still curious about bloodsuckers? Come learn how you can help add to the Field's current research projects on these and other parasites. View tiny parasitic specimens, then try to match them to a magnified view of their bloodsucking mouthparts.
Science Hub at Home activities
Think and act like a scientist at home with Science Hub at Home—a collection of activities brought to you by the Grainger Science Hub team. Each resource is inspired by some of our favorite items from the Field's collections. Gather a few supplies from around your house and get ready to make your own paint, jump like a frog, and go on a scavenger hunt!
Enjoy Science Hub at Home activities by downloading our printables featured below and find even more of these at-home resources in the Learning Resources hub.
Activity Highlights
Prolific Pigment | Science Hub at Home
Here's a recipe for your own blueberry "paint." Use it to study and color a blue morpho butterfly.
At Home Collections | Science Hub at Home
Create your own museum collection at home.
Jump Like a Frog | Science Hub at Home
Can you leap like a frog? Investigate how frogs jump then compete in a jumping contest.
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