Museums in Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago

Art Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and biggest art museums in the United States with more than 300,000 works in its permanent collection. The AIC was founded in 1879; it has been in its present-day location since 1893. The museum is one of the most visited in the country, with an estimated 1.5 million people walking through its doors each year.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Art Institute of Chicago.

• The lions
• Pablo Picasso's The Old Guitarist
• Grant Wood's American Gothic

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603

The Field Museum

Natural History Museum

The Field Museum of Natural History is one of the biggest natural history museums in the world. The Field Museum is considered a leader in its scientific and educational programming. The Field Museum's permanent collection includes more than 24 million different specimens, including fossils, meteorites, and gems. The Field Museum also houses an extensive library with more than 275,000 works. An estimated two million people visit Chicago's Field Museum annually.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Field Museum.

• SUE the T. rex
• Underground Adventure
• McDonald’s Prep Lab

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $26 per person
• 📍 1400 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60605

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Art Museum

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is one of the biggest contemporary art museums in the world. The MCA's collection focuses on post World War II visual art; works in the collection include pieces by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Jasper Johns, Kara Walker, and Alexander Calder. The MCA once held the United States debut of Frida Kahlo's exhibit.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

• Chicago Works
• Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Cans II
• Jasper Johns' In Memory of My Feelings - Frank O'Hara

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $15 per person
• 📍 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Chicago Children's Museum

Children's Museum

The Chicago Children's Museum was founded in the 1980s in response to cuts in the Chicago public school system. The museum's first exhibits were kept in the Chicago Public Library; the exhibits underwent several moves before landing in their current home at Navy Pier in 1995. When the museum moved into its new home, it became the country's fourth largest children's museum with more than 650,000 members of the community served each year.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Chicago Children's Museum.

• Fossil of a Suchomimus dinosaur
• Kovler Family Climbing Schooner
• Treehouse Trails

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $19 per person
• 📍 700 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Natural History Museum

Chicago's Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences. The museum highlights Chicago's natural history. It is best known for its live butterfly house, which is both an exhibit for visitors and a laboratory that studies how to best preserve the region's population of butterflies.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

• The live butterfly house
• Wilderness Walk
• Water Lab

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $9 per person
• 📍 2430 N Cannon Dr, Chicago, IL 60614

American Writers Museum

Specialty Museum

The American Writers Museum opened its doors in Chicago during the spring of 2017. The museum was founded by Malcolm E. O'Hagan and was inspired by the Dublin version of their own writers museum. The American Writers Museum has a multifaceted mission to educate about American writers, engage visitors with the written word, encourage guests to find a love for reading and writing, and foster connections with young writers.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at American Writers Museum.

• Word Waterfall
• American Voices
• Writers Hall

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $12 per person
• 📍 180 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601

Smart Museum of Art

Art Museum

The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art is part of the University of Chicago's campus. The Smart Museum has a permanent collection with more than 15,000 objects, ranging from modern art to Asian art to contemporary art to European art. The galleries are rehung each year. The Smart Museum's collection is often used in teachings at the University. Admission is free, and the general public is welcome to visit.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Smart Museum of Art.

• Cecco Bravo's Angelica y Ruggiero
• Jean Metzinger's Soldat jouant aux échecs
• Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend's Daphne Fleeing from Apollo

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60637

Richard H. Driehaus Museum

Art Museum

The Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago is dedicated to displaying the art, architecture, and style of Gilded Age America. The museum is ornately decorated with onyx, marble, exotic woods, stained glass, and tiles. The permanent collection in the Driehaus Museum came directly from the private Driehaus Collection of Fine and Decorative Arts.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Richard H. Driehaus Museum.

• Oscar Spalmach's Cupid and Psyche
• The Louis Comfort Tiffany Collection
• The rare Chickering and Sons grand piano

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $20 per person
• 📍 40 E Erie St, Chicago, IL 60611

Museum of Contemporary Photography

Art Museum

The Museum of Contemporary Photography, or MoCP, is Chicago's premier photography museum. The museum's permanent collection has an estimated 15,000 items crafted by more than 1,500 different photographers and artists. The American Alliance of Museums-accredited museum is also home to the Midwest Photographers Project, which highlights work by photographers local to the region. Admission to the Museum of Contemporary Photography is free.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Museum of Contemporary Photography.

• Midwest Photographers Project
• The Ansel Adams Collection
• The Dorothea Lange Collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 600 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605

National Veterans Art Museum

Art Museum

The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago is dedicated to displaying the art of veterans of the United States. The museum got its start as a traveling exhibit until Chicago's then-mayor Richard M. Daley demanded the city find a home for the art. Visiting the National Veterans Art Museum has been described as being an extremely powerful moment; 58,226 dog tags hang from the museum's ceilings to represent the soldiers who were killed during the Vietnam War.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Veterans Art Museum.

• The dog tag ceiling
• Maurice Costello: Back to "The Nam"
• The Things They Carried

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 4041 N Milwaukee Ave 2nd floor, Chicago, IL 60641

Swedish American Museum

Cultural Center

Kurt Mathisson founded the Swedish American Museum in 1976 in Chicago, Illinois. The museum was considered to be such a big deal that King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden attended both the museum's founding and its move to its current home on Clark Street. The Swedish American Museum owns about 12,000 different artifacts and serves as a key part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, a group of cultural centers and ethnic museums in the Windy City.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Swedish American Museum.

• Brunk Children's Museum
• The Dream of America
• Genealogy Research

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $6 per person
• 📍 5211 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

National Museum of Mexican Art

Art Museum

The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago is home to more than 5,000 pieces by Mexican, Latino, and Chicano artists. It is considered the largest Latino cultural institution in the United States and the only Latino museum to have received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. The National Museum of Mexican Art is perhaps best known for its annual Día de los Muertos exhibit.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Museum of Mexican Art.

• Mexicanidad: Our Past is Present
• Manuel Álvarez Bravo photographs
• Nuestras Historias

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1852 W 19th St, Chicago, IL 60608

Design Museum of Chicago

Art Museum

The Design Museum of Chicago got its start as a pop-up museum in 2012. Two years later, after a Kickstart campaign to crowdfund a permanent physical location, the museum opened its doors to the public. Formerly known as the Chicago Design Museum, the Design Museum of Chicago gained notoriety for its Design Pack, a set of cards created to be played alongside the popular game Cards Against Humanity. Proceeds from the sale of the cards went to funding the museum's operations. In just a few days, the campaign raised more than $130,000.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Design Museum of Chicago.

• Setting the Stage: Objects of Chicago Theatre
• Great Ideas of Humanity
• Chicago Design Market

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Expo 72, 72 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601

Chicago Maritime Museum

Specialty Museum

The Chicago Maritime Museum opened in the summer of 2016 to commemorate Chicago's maritime history. The museum pays special attention to Lake Michigan and the Chicago River as major factors in turning Chicago into the city it is today. The museum has more than 6,000 items in its permanent collection.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Chicago Maritime Museum.

• Model watercraft
• Peter Power's The Mary Rose and Henry Grace a Dieu Leaving Portsmouth Harbor, 1545
• A World War II sextant on permanent loan from the United States Navy

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 1200 W 35th St, Chicago, IL 60609

Chicago Architecture Center

Specialty Museum

The Chicago Architecture Center is famous for leading boat tours on the Chicago River that focuses on the city's famous architecture. The CAC was first founded in 1966 and, in addition to the boat tours and 85 other city tours, houses a center with a cool scale model of downtown Chicago. The CAC is well known for its free annual architecture event, Open House Chicago.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Chicago Architecture Center.

• Scale model of downtown Chicago
• ArcelorMittal Design Studio
• Architecture boat tours

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $12 per person
• 📍 111 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601

Clarke House Museum

Historic Site

The Henry B. Clarke House is a Greek Revival style house in Chicago. It is thought to be one of the oldest surviving houses in all of Chicago and is an American Alliance of Museums-accredited institution. In 1970, the Clarke house was named a Chicago Landmark. The following year, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The House has survived at least two different moves, including one that had it hanging in the air for weeks at a time.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Clarke House Museum.

• Free one-hour guided tours
• Hear why the house was once hanging in the air for two weeks

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1827 S. Indiana Ave. Chicago, IL 60616

Block Museum of Art

Art Museum

Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art rests on the school's Evanston campus outside downtown Chicago. The museum first began as a home for temporary rotating exhibits, but soon began to put together a permanent collection of more than 5,000 pieces and earned accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums. The Block Museum of Art works closely with Northwestern University's curriculum to put together programming that vibes with the school's mission.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Block Museum of Art.

• Carrie Mae Weems' Ritual and Revolution
• Max Beckmann, On the Streetcar
• Jasper Johns' Decoy

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 40 Arts Cir Dr, Evanston, IL 60208

Robie House

Historic Site

The Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900s. It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark that is considered the best example of the Prairie School architectural style. It was one of Wright's last pieces of work in the Prairie School. The Robie House offers a variety of different tours, including a guided interior tour and an audio walking tour.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Robie House.

• 50-minute Guided Interior Tour

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $20 per person
• 📍 5757 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

Chicago Cultural Center

Cultural Center

The Chicago Cultural Center is one of the country's most popular art exhibits. It was the first free municipal cultural center to exist in the United States and hosts hundreds of different programs and showcases annually. The Chicago Cultural Center is an architectural masterpiece that was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in the early 1970s.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Chicago Cultural Center.

• Edra Soto's Screenhouse
• Grand Army of the Republic Memorial
• Preston Bradley Hall

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602

Charnley-Persky House Museum

Historic Site

The Charnley-Persky House Museum is in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. The location is famous for being one of the only surviving residential pieces designed by Louis Sullivan. Frank Lloyd Wright was also a contributor to the project; at the time of the house's construction, Wright worked for Sullivan. Today, the Charnley-Persky House is operated by The Society of Architectural Historians. In 1998, it earned designation as a National Historic Landmark.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Charnley-Persky House Museum.

• Guided tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays
• The ornate balcony design
• Curved archways

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0-$10 per person
• 📍 1365 N Astor St, Chicago, IL 60610

The Arts Club of Chicago

Art Museum

The Arts Club of Chicago is an art museum with public exhibitions and private tours. The club's first floors are open to the public at no admission cost; private tours of the permanent collection can be arranged. The Arts Club, which opened in 1916, was home to the first United States showing of Pablo Picasso's work. The club has an exclusive membership program despite being open to the public; to become a member, one must be invited by a current club member.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Arts Club of Chicago.

• Alexander Calder's Red Petals
• Henri Matisse's Untitled
• Pablo Picasso's Head of a Woman

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 201 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611

McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum

Specialty Museum

The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum displays its exhibits along Chicago's famous river and bridges. The museum is all about the impact of the river and moveable bridges on the city. Museum guests are able to head down to the river level to check out the incredible gears on the bridge before they are taken through the river's story. After ascending the Bridgehouse, visitors will enjoy a stunning city view.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum.

• The bridge's gears
• Views from the top of the Bridgehouse
• Bridge lift viewing (Spring only!)

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $6 per person
• 📍 99 Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago, IL 60601

Lincoln Park Conservatory

Specialty Museum

The Lincoln Park Conservatory is a conservatory and botanical garden in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. The conservatory is best known for its horticultural collections, community work, and educational programming. It is also housed in a glass house from the Victorian Era that is stunning to view on its own. The Lincoln Park Conservatory has four different rooms with global exotic plants and one of the city's oldest public gardens, dating back to the 1870s, out front.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Lincoln Park Conservatory.

• The Moth orchid
• The Schiller Monument
• The Conifer Garden

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2391 N Stockton Dr, Chicago, IL 60614

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Art Museum

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago is a non-profit with a mission to share the work of outsiders. The center defines an outsider in the art world as "the work of artists who demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world, and who instead are motivated by their unique personal vision." Since its inception in 1991, Intuit has become a leader in the field of promoting outsider and intuitive art. The museum's permanent collection, which they began amassing in 2002, has come to include more than 1,1000 works of art.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art.

• The Henry Darger Room Collection
• William Hawkins's The Statue of Liberty
• Thornton Dial Sr.'s Jungle Life

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642

Gerbert/Hart Library

Library

The Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is the Midwest's biggest circulating library of LGBTQ titles. The library has more than 22,000 volumes, 700 newsletters, 600 periodicals, and 150 archival collections of gay and lesbian interest. In 1996, 15 years after its founding, the library was inducted into Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Gerbert/Hart Library.

• Lavender Women & Killer Dykes: Lesbians, Feminism, and Community in Chicago
• LGBTQ Slogan and AIDS-Themed Pins
• Queer Zines

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 6500 N Clark Street Chicago, IL 60626

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian

Cultural Center

The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston is about showcasing the history, tradition, arts, and culture of the North American natives. The museum's collection of more than 9,000 pieces encompasses artifacts dating back to the Paleo-Indian era to more modern era objects. The Mitchell Museum also changes its temporary exhibit halls twice per year. The museum is part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Mitchell Museum of the American Indian.

• Woodlands Gallery
• Plains Gallery
• Great Lakes ice fishing decoys

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 3001 Central Street, Evanston, Illinois

659 Wrightwood

Specialty Museum

659 Wrightwood is a museum space in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood designed to house rotating exhibits with a special emphasis on art that focuses on social engagement and the important social issues facing our country and our world. The space is also focused on architecture. The building itself was designed by architect Tadao Ando, who won the Pritzker Prize, which is an award to honor architects whose work shows a unique talent, vision and commitment. Ando specializes in the transformation of buildings from the 1920s. Reservations are required to visit the space.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at 659 Wrightwood.

• The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China
• Tetsuya Ishida: Self-Portrait of Other
• Cinema Saturdays

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $ per person
• 📍 659 W Wrightwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

Cultural Center

The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in Chicago is the United States' biggest museum dedicated to Lithuania. The Balzekas Museum highlights the country's culture, politics, history, language, and traditions, all with a special focus on Lithuanian Americans. In addition to its exhibits and collection, the museum will often showcase various workshops and events dedicated to Lithuanian culture. Chicago is the perfect home for the Balzekas Museum; the Windy City has the largest number of Lithuanian people living anywhere in the world outside of Lithuania.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture.

• No Home To Go To: The Story of Baltic Displaced Persons
• The Women's Guild Room
• War After War

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $9 per person
• 📍 Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum

History Museum

The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum was founded in 1995 by Dr. Lyn Hughes in Chicago. The museum got its name from Asa Philip Randolph and the Pullman Porters. Randolph co-founded the first African American labor union to win a CBA and helped pioneer the Pullman Porters, employees of the Pullman Rail Car Company, to fight for employment equality. In 2015, President Obama named the Pullman District a National Monument.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum.

• Pullman Porters Music

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 10406 S. Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60628

Newberry Library

Library

The Newberry Library is an independent research library in Chicago's Washington Square. Since 1887, the library has welcomed members of the public for free. The Newberry Library's collection focuses on the humanities, with a special emphasis on topics like the history of Western Europe and the Americas, maps, travel, and music. The library's collection is noncirculating, yet the facility often hosts exhibits, programming, and education to guests.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Newberry Library.

• What Is the Midwest?
• The History of the Book
• The postcard collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL 60610

Poetry Foundation

Cultural Center

Chicago's Poetry Foundation is all about the study of poetry. It was the first place in the city of Chicago to focus only on poetry as an art form, which was the dream of Poetry magazine's Harriet Monroe. The foundation's goal is to heighten public and cultural interest in poetry. Today, the Poetry Foundation has a collection of more than 30,000 poems, a gallery for exhibits, and a space for public events and performances.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Poetry Foundation.

• U.S. Latinx Voices in Poetry
• Fall Poems
• Native American Poetry and Culture

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL 60654

Walt Disney's Birthplace

Specialty Museum

Walt Disney's birthplace is a Chicago home on the corner of Palmer Street and Tripp Avenue that is being restored and turned into a museum dedicated to the famed creator. The home was designed and built by Walt's parents. Walt lived in the home with his family until he was four years old. While the inside of the home is not available for public viewing, Disney fans are encouraged to stop by the outside and take photos at the icon's birthplace.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Walt Disney's Birthplace.

• The home where Walt Disney was born

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2156 N Tripp Ave, Chicago, IL 60639

John Crerar Library

Library

The John Crerar Library is a research library in Chicago that recently fell under ownership of the University of Chicago. The library houses an extensive collection in science, technology, and medicine with free public access. The library first opened to the public in 1897 and has amassed an impressive rare book collection of 27,000 works, which includes work by Newton, Descartes, Leonardo da Vinci, and Copernicus.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at John Crerar Library.

• The rare book collection, to include works by Leonardo da Vinci and Copernicus
• American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936
• Frederick Starr Papers, 1868-1935

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 5730 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

Leather Archives and Museum

Specialty Museum

The Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago is the first collection recognized in the country that focuses on the history of the leather community and subculture. The The Leather Archives & Museum chronicles the leather subculture and BDSM community through eight different exhibition galleries alongside a reading library and auditorium.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Leather Archives and Museum.

• The complete set of Drummer Magazine
• The dungeon
• The leatherbar

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 6418 N Greenview Ave, Chicago, IL 60626