Name: Illinois Free Wednesday
Start: 2026-03-25T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-25T17:00:00-05:00
Location: Field Museum

Use this 3D model to see how scientists reconstruct animals like Cryolophosaurus from the fossil record.

See English interactive

See Spanish interactive

3D Model: Cryolophosaurus Skull | Dinosaur Toolkit

Learn how the first giant dinosaurs like Glacialisaurus moved by exploring this 3D model.

3D Model: Glacialisaurus Foot | Dinosaur Toolkit

Interact with this 3D model to find out what we can learn about SUE the T. rex&#39;s life by looking at its fossils, then test your knowledge

3D Model: Tyrannosaurus rex | Dinosaur Toolkit

Test basic lever types and explore the trade-off between a force advantage and speed advantage in the animal world.

Advantages of Levers | Biomechanics Toolkit

The importance and impact of Field Museum&rsquo;s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens.&nbsp; Museums and Medicines highlights the impact plant specimens have had on human health and why their conservation is so important.

Download Museums and Medicines

Adventures in the Herbarium: Museums and Medicines

The importance and impact of Field Museum&rsquo;s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens.&nbsp; Pixels and Petals highlights the digital imaging process and the impact of herbarium specimens.

Download Pixels and Petals

Adventures in the Herbarium: Pixels and Petals

Learn how scientists observe and track animal behavior and how you can do the same with your pets at home.

Animal Observations | Science Hub at Home

Act as consultants to the City of Chicago and assess their relocation plan for urban coyotes.

Animal Survival Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Analyze how we learn about history through objects and theorize what gaps can exist in object-based stories.

Archaeological Footprint | China Toolkit

Encourage close examination of a single artifact&mdash;an object produced by humans&mdash;using observations and inferences.

1. General Field Trip Guides

Document for 1. General Field Trip Guides

Artifact Observation Guide

Discover what you can learn from the objects all around us when you look carefully and apply a specific disciplinary lens. Spanish subtitles available.

See English video

Ask an Artifact | China Toolkit

Create your own museum collection at home.

At Home Collections | Science Hub at Home

Watch Lorene Sisquoc teaching and weaving a basket at the Field Museum opening of Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.

Basket Making Demonstration with Lorene Sisquoc

Listen to and watch Lorene Sisquoc and Kelly Church discuss basket weaving and oral traditions.

Basket Making Discussion & Demo: Lorene Sisquoc and Kelly Church

Learn why being big isn&rsquo;t always an advantage and find out how mythic creatures like Godzilla and King Kong could never have carried their own weight.

Being Big on Land

Uncover how an animal’s size affects its ability to regulate temperature.

Bergmann's Rule | Biomechanics Toolkit

Middle school-aged students will investigate the differences between native and invasive plants and demonstrate their learning by creating a model of a native plant garden.

Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Jump into BIOlympics events to see how animals achieve amazing feats. Use that knowledge to choose competitors for different events.

See English game

BIOlympics Game | Biomechanics Toolkit

Listen to different songs or calls made by local Illinois birds.

Bird Calls and Songs | PlayLab at Home

Discover the birds of Chicago with these birding techniques.

Birding 101 | Science Hub at Home

Listen to and watch Chef Jessica discuss her career as a chef and fry bread.

Chef Jessica Pamonicutt Discusses Cooking and Fry Bread

Creating a Poupou (Ancestor Panel) 

Examine dinosaur physical traits to identify similarities and differences in their features and construct a system of classification.

Dinosaur Family Tree | Dinosaur Toolkit

Observe animal dioramas to compare and contrast organisms and explore the diversity of life.

diversity_of_life.pdf

Document for Popular Content Connections

Diversity of Life | Exploring the Field Guide

Discover how much force a seemingly brittle object like an egg can withstand when it’s dome-shaped.

Dome Strength | Biomechanics Toolkit

Examine why plants and birds have certain features to uncover the relationship between structure and function.

everything_has_a_purpose.pdf

Everything Has a Purpose | Exploring the Field Guide

Investigate the role of an archaeologist and discover the types of questions that drive their work. Spanish subtitles available.

Evidence in the Unwritten | China Toolkit

Investigate a museum exhibition using the claim, evidence, reasoning cycle.

Exhibition Investigation Guide

Observe and analyze artifacts from the Pacific Islands to develop evidence-based claims about how these cultures view the world.

2. Exploring The Field Guides

exploring_artifacts_from_the_pacific.pdf

Document for 2. Exploring The Field Guides

Exploring Artifacts from the Pacific | Exploring the Field Guide

Explore the history of writing in China by drawing conclusions about the impact of the written word on human civilizations and how language changes over time.

Exploring Language | China Toolkit

Analyze objects using varied lenses, including anthropology, history, economics, geography, and art history.

Exploring Objects | China Toolkit

Use animal structure and function to design a way that humans can reduce the force felt and/or energy absorbed by an object.

Forces Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit

Figure out how fast you can run and how that compares to some of the fastest and slowest animals on the planet.

Furiously Fast Falcons | Science Hub at Home

Analyze and interpret data about sauropods and build a nonfiction narrative about how this group of dinosaurs evolved over millions of years.

Giants from the Past | Dinosaur Toolkit

Go behind the scenes in our mammals wet lab to watch the dissection of a giraffe heart.

See Spanish video

Giraffe Heart Dissection | Biomechanics Toolkit

Learn about scientists who study plants and create your own herbarium sheet.

Herbarium Sheets | PlayLab at Home

Investigate fossil remains of hominids to learn how humans and our relatives evolved over time.

hominid_adaptations.pdf

Hominid Adaptations | Exploring the Field Guide

Learn about the contradictions depicted in the Qingming Scroll and compare it with present-day representations of idealized societies.

Investigating the Qingming Scroll | China Toolkit

Track down reptiles and amphibians by exploring your own natural spaces.

In Your Backyard | Science Hub at Home

Discover why islands contain so many unique species.

Island Evolution

Listen to and watch Native Truths artist Jason Wesaw, a member of the Potawatomi Nation. His art practice spans many mediums including ceramics, textiles and works on paper.

Jason Wesaw Speaks About his Art

Can you leap like a frog? Investigate how frogs jump then compete in a jumping contest.

Jump Like a Frog | Science Hub at Home

Listen to Karen talk about the impact the exhibit has on reminding everyone that Native people are still here.

Karen Ann Hoffman- Native People are Still Here

&nbsp;Listen to Karen talk about storytelling and stories.

Karen Ann Hoffman on Art

Listen to Karen talk about the importance and impact of Native work taking up space.

Karen Ann Hoffman on Claiming Space

Listen to Karen talk about storytelling and stories.

Karen Ann Hoffman on Stories

Listen to the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and draw comparisons between weather forecasting and responses in Chicago and the fictional town of Chewandswallow.

Kindergarten Weather Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Even cities are filled with nature. What will you find when you take a closer look?

Life All Over | Science Hub at Home

Learn how to tell a lizard from a salamnder then challenge to do the same friends and family with a puzzle.

Lizard or Salamander | Science Hub at Home

Use animal movement as inspiration to design a new vehicle for traveling&nbsp;via land, water, and air.

Locomotion Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit

Identify the plants and animals that call your ecosystem home.

Make Your Own Field Guide | Science Hub at Home

Document your next adventure with a homemade field journal.

Make Your Own Field Journal | Science Hub at Home

Watch Chef Jessica share how she makes fry bread.

Making Fry Bread with Chef Jessica Pamonicutt

Discover how scientists classify the diverse mammals found on Earth.

Mammal Phylogeny

Wharenui Matching Game

Maori Wharenui

Learn how to analyze and interpret maps by studying monarch butterfly migration.

Mapping and Monarchs Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Find plants and animals across the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods in this online game.

Play game (English)

Mission to the Mesozoic

Write and draw to observe monarch butterflies.

Monarch Guide | Home FIELD Advantage

Read The Legend of the Parákata or color your own version of the story!

Monarchs Legend Story and Coloring Book

Explore factors affecting muscle strength using simple models.

Muscle Model | Biomechanics Toolkit

Watch the unique animation created for and about the Field Museum's Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit by animator Nicole Emmons.

Native Truths: Come Alive By Nicole Emmons

Educators encourage critical thinking into current issues and modern cultures of today&rsquo;s Native communities with these helpful resources.

Native Truths Teacher Reference Guide

Listen to Native artists answer the question: Why is it important for us to tell our stories?

Our Voices, Our Stories

Middle school-aged students will demonstrate their understanding of biomimicry by designing a solution to a human problem using plant-inspired ideas.&nbsp;&nbsp;

View Lesson Slides

Plant Biomimicry

Elementary-aged students will learn about the functions of plant parts and use models to gain an understanding of plant anatomy.&nbsp; This knowledge will be applied towards understanding the differences between plants that make seeds and plants that do not.&nbsp; This lesson includes hands-on stations that highlight plant anatomy and their functions.

Plant Structure and Function | Hands-on Version

Elementary-aged students will learn about the functions of plant parts and use models to gain an understanding of plant anatomy.&nbsp; This knowledge will be applied towards understanding the differences between plants who make seeds and plants who do not.&nbsp; This lesson includes a digital activity that highlights plant specimens from the Field Museum.

Plant Structure and Function | ThingLink Digital Version

Analyze and interpret data about the structures of Earth&rsquo;s crust and the fossil record.

Plate Motion Past and Present | Dinosaur Toolkit

Interact with various models to explore the structures of plants and animals related to the process of pollination.

Pollination Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Observe and record weather to build a common understanding of observable weather conditions in the fall in Chicago. Then make recommendations about how SUE should prepare to play outside.

Pre-K Weather Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Here&#39;s a recipe for your own blueberry &quot;paint.&quot; Use it to study and color a blue morpho butterfly.

Prolific Pigment | Science Hub at Home

Analyze methods used to address environmental issues and design strategies to protect local ecosystems.

Protecting Earth's Ecosystem | Exploring the Field Guide

Investigate the acutal sizes of these famous flying reptiles who lived side by side with dinosaurs.

Pterosaurs and Tape Measures

Learn how the giraffe’s super-pump of a heart delivers blood seven feet up to the brain.

Pump it Up | Biomechanics Toolkit

The Field Museum's Rapid Inventory helps conserve and protect the planet. Learn how to conduct your own rapid inventory at home.

Rapid Inventory: Home Edition | Science Hub at Home

Explore more ways to learn about China with your students.

Read, Watch, Listen, Visit: Student Resource List | China Toolkit

Investigate an ecosystem by observing the individual organisms as part of a larger structure—a food web.

relationships_in_ecosystems.pdf

Relationships in Ecosystems | Exploring the Field Guide

Analyze data from a mock fossil dig to determine the differences and similarities between multiple fossil dig sites.

Rise of Dinosaurs | Dinosaur Toolkit

Discover how scientists determine the age of rocks and fossils and use those processes to develop a timeline of Earth's history.

Rock Clocks Primer | Dinosaur Toolkit

Use animal senses as inspiration to design a way for humans to use their senses differently or use a new sense.

Senses Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit

Encourage close examination of a single specimen&mdash;a collected example of a particular species or type&mdash;using observations and inferences.

specimen_observation_field_trip_guide.pdf

Specimen Observation Guide

Specimen Spotlight: Indigo Bunting | Science Hub at Home

Meet the Japanese giant salamander.

Specimen Spotlight: Japanese Giant Salamander | Science Hub at Home

Meet Chicago&#39;s peregrine falcons and learn how our collections helps the population thrive.

Specimen Spotlight: Peregrine Falcons | Science Hub at Home

Examine the Purple Coneflower to learn why native plants are important to any ecosystem.

Specimen Spotlight: Purple Coneflower | Science Hub at Home

Can you find the camouflaged animal? Inspect how reptiles and amphibians hide in their environment.

Spot the Animal | Science Hub at Home

Design a shoe appropriate for the icy, wet, and cold conditions of Antarctica using different types of bird feet as inspiration.

Structure Function Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership

Use fossils as clues to rebuild a North American landscape from the past and imagine the world where SUE the T. rex lived.

SUE's World | Dinosaur Toolkit

Infer whether a bird can survive in a specific environment by observing physical features such as beak, feathers, legs, and feet.

Survival of the Birds | Exploring the Field Guide

How do all birds fit on the avian tree of life?

The Birds and the Trees

Scientists use a system called taxonomy to group and categorize living things. What happens when you try to apply taxonomy to candy?

The Brain Scoop: The Taxonomy of Candy

Learn how researchers discovered the Tully Monster, long believed to be an invertebrate (similar to worms), is actually a vertebrate and more closely related to fish.

Illinois Free Wednesday

Beat the mid-week blues and come visit SUE— the Field is free on Wednesdays for Illinois Residents!

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Illinois Free Wednesday

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Beat the mid-week blues and come visit SUE— the Field is free on Wednesdays for Illinois Residents!

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