Last Updated on: 17th September 2025, 07:57 am
One of the most-visited museums in the country, Chicago’s Field Museum has a little something for everyone. It was originally created to house objects that had been accumulated for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, and it largely began as a natural history museum.
But it’s now equally focused on anthropology, and the exhibits serve as a great introduction to cultures and ancient civilizations from across the globe.
While the entirety of the museum can be visited in a single day, it’s absolutely massive and requires at least several hours to explore in full. For those without that much time or energy, the following guide to the Chicago Field Museum is meant to help you decide which exhibits to focus on.
Visiting The Chicago Field Museum
OPENING HOURS & TICKETS: The Chicago Field Museum is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with last entry at 4:00. The museum is only closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Basic Admission costs $30 per adult and $23 per child. If you happen to be a Chicago resident, the cost is $21 per adult and $14 per child. (Children under 3 enter for free).
Additionally, the Field Museum hosts temporary special exhibitions along with the ‘Underground Adventure’ exhibit which incur additional fees. These typically cost $10 per adult and $8 per child, but can sometimes be as high as $16 per adult and $12 per child.
While tickets can be purchased in advance on the official website, I experienced glitches on multiple different devices. Luckily, it wasn’t difficult to purchase tickets in person upon arrival.
If you also have issues with the website, you can also purchase tickets on Viator. They even sell All Access Passes for $42 which include access to the special exhibitions.
PARKING: Parking is another added fee you’ll have to consider when visiting the Field Museum, with nearby lots going for $25-30. Alternatively, you can get there by CTA train or bus. See here for more details.
THE BEST ORDER TO SEE THE EXHIBITS: There’s really no right or wrong order in which to see the exhibits. But it would be a good idea to start with whatever catches your interest the most, as it can become harder to focus as time goes on.
If you’re intending to see all of the Field Museum’s exhibits, expect it to take you at least 3-4 hours, if not longer.
For those with a special interest in anthropology and archaeology, must-see exhibits include Inside Ancient Egypt and The Ancient Americas.
For those more inclined toward natural history, the top highlight would have to be the Dinosaurs exhibit.
FOOD & DRINKS: The Field Museum contains two places to eat: the Field Bistro on the Main Level and the Explorer Cafe on the Ground Level. Just be aware that finding a table can be rather difficult on busy days.
The Building
The Chicago Field Museum was originally housed in the Palace of Fine Art that had been built for the Chicago World’s Fair. But that structure wasn’t built to last, and it soon started to deteriorate.
Construction on the current building commenced in 1915 and it was completed nearly six years later. The Neoclassical structure is largely comprised of white marble and takes inspiration from both ancient Greek and Roman architecture.
The building was expanded as recently as 2005, and its exhibition space now occupies as much as 480,000 square feet.
Inside Ancient Egypt
The Chicago Field Museum probably has one of the most extensive collections of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the United States. And for many, this will be the highlight of their entire visit.
The main focus here is a full recreation of the tomb of Unas Ankh (also spelled Unis-ankh), one of the sons of 5th Dynasty pharaoh Unas, who ruled in the mid-24th century BC. I had the chance to visit the real tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara, and was looking forward to seeing how this one compared.
According to the on-site signage, two of the original chambers were purchased from Egypt in 1908 and shipped to Chicago, while the remainder of the tomb was recreated.
Museum visitors can even descend a spiral staircase down a shaft where the mummy would’ve originally been buried. Looking at the carvings, some appear to be original (4500 years old!) while others are clearly replicas.
You’ll also find a false door, a common feature in Egyptian tombs that was believed to act as a portal between worlds.
While this is no substitute for actually exploring the tombs of Saqqara on your own, the Tomb of Unas Ankh in Chicago is perhaps the next best thing for those who can’t yet make it.
Exiting the tomb, visitors will encounter a plethora of artifacts ranging from Egypt’s Predynastic to Ptolemaic eras.
For example, you’ll find objects uncovered from a 12th Dynasty (1991 BC-1802 BC) tomb, fragments of the Book of the Dead, and even Predynastic stone vases, whose impeccable symmetry has given rise to numerous alternative theories.
Not all of ‘Inside Ancient Egypt’ focuses on death. Also on display is a statue of the fierce lioness goddess Sekhmet (one of many to be found at museums throughout the world). You’ll also find a model shrine dedicated to her gentler cat iteration, Bastet.
Feline lovers can even learn an ancient Egyptian spell for curing sick cats!
The Ancient Americas
For anthropology enthusiasts, the museum’s Ancient Americas exhibit is arguably the top one after Inside Ancient Egypt. The exhibit covers ancient civilizations throughout North and South America, including some from Illinois itself.
Though just a replica, a giant sculpture modeled after one from Copán, Honduras greets visitors as they enter the exhibit.
Once inside, you’ll encounter figurines and other artifacts from Mesoamerican civilizations like the Zapotecs and Mayans in addition to the Shaft Tomb Culture of Nayarit.
Speaking of Mexico, the Chicago Field Museum can’t really be compared to Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology. Overall, the focus is less on significant artifacts, with the displays mainly serving as introductions to various cultures and sites.
Moving along, you’ll find model replicas of ancient sites from the Midwest US, such as Ohio’s Hopewell Mount City Group and Illinois’ own Cahokia.
Other parts of the Ancient Americas exhibit, meanwhile, detail various cultures and sites from Peru and Colombia, as well as the Pacific Northwest.
Whether you’ve already been to many of these sites or if much of it is new information, this is a really enjoyable exhibit that no visitor should miss.
Native Truths
The Ancient Americas exhibit then smoothly transitions to Native Truths, which was created to let present-day Native American tribes share their stories.
While the exhibits here are mostly informational in nature, don’t miss the full-scale recreation of a Pawnee earthlodge. Though now based in Oklahoma, the Pawnee originally came from the Great Plains.
And this lodge appears very similar to the Hidatsa earthlodge on display at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in North Dakota.
Throughout the exhibit, you’ll also learn more about the Meskwaki Nation of the Great Lakes area, the Lakota of South Dakota, and the modern descendants of the builders of New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
Africa
The exhibit simply titled ‘Africa,’ as the name suggests, details cultures and traditions from across the continent. But considering how large and diverse Africa is, many of the featured countries are confined to one or two display cases.
While it doesn’t go very deep, it does provide a lot of fascinating information on both modern and ancient African culture.
Various Animal Exhibits
While we’ve mainly been focusing on anthropological exhibits thus far, the Field Museum was originally dedicated to natural history.
A large portion of the main floor contains displays of taxidermied animals, including reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. Another area, meanwhile, contains various creatures from the deep sea.
While most exhibits at the Field Museum appear quite modern and polished, some of the natural history sections seem to have been left untouched since the ’70s or ’80s. This contrast is interesting to observe as you explore the museum.
Temporary & Extra Exhibits
At any given time, the Chicago Field Museum hosts a temporary exhibit for an extra fee. At the time of my visit, one of these was ‘Unseen Oceans’ which cost a whopping $16 on top of the standard museum entry price!
Though it’s already finished at the time of writing, you may still be wondering if temporary exhibits in general are worth the extra price.
Not every temporary exhibit costs so much. At the time of writing, the two temporary exhibits at the museum currently cost $10 per adult and $8 per child. That’s still not cheap, especially if you’re traveling with family or a group.
All in all, while I felt that the Unseen Oceans exhibits that I saw was quite well done, it wasn’t remarkable enough to warrant an extra charge.
And considering how many exhibits there are to see at the museum with Basic Admission, don’t feel like the extra paid exhibits are necessary, unless it just happens to be a topic you’re really interested in.
On the museum’s lower level, there’s also an additional paid exhibit called ‘Underground Adventure’ that seem to be there permanently. It costs $10 per adult and $8 per child and seems largely geared toward younger children.
All of the exhibits covered above can be found on the Main Level, while the exhibits covered from here on can be found on the Upper Level.
Dinosaurs
The Field Museum’s ‘Dinosaurs’ exhibit is easily one of its most popular. The expansive exhibit contains bones of dinosaur species like the Edaphosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Spinosaurus, Daspletosaurus and more.
But its most noteworthy specimen is ‘Sue,’ the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.
Amazingly, up to 90% of Sue’s skeleton is said to be comprised of original bones. Discovered in South Dakota, she’s also believed to be the longest-living T-rex ever found, as she lived until the age of 30.
Note that the skull currently attached to the body is a replica, while the original can be found in a nearby display case.
Pacific
The Upper Level is also home to some more anthropological exhibits, the highlight of which is dedicated to the Pacific. The various remote islands of the Pacific remain some of the world’s least-visited places, so this exhibit is a great way to learn more about them.
Featured countries and islands include Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Marshall Islands. Throughout the exhibit, you can see and learn more about both traditional and modern aspects of each.
More Upper Level Exhibits
While, all in all, the Field Museum’s Upper Level isn’t quite as remarkable as the Main Level, it contains a plethora of additional exhibits dedicated to both anthropology and natural history.
For example, a small yet noteworthy exhibit features various art and artifacts from Tibet. Nearby, meanwhile, is the Hall of Jades, which contains beautiful examples of traditional jade artwork, most of which come from China.
Speaking of China, the Chicago Field Museum also has its own dedicated ‘China’ exhibit as well, with artifacts dating as far back to the Qin and Han dynasties. You’ll also find an indoor reimagining of a traditional Chinese garden.
Additional Upper Level natural history exhibits not pictured here include ‘Plants of the World,’ ‘Meteorites,’ and ‘Gems.’
Additional Info
Chicago is a massive sprawling city with plenty of neighborhoods to choose from – plus lots that you’d want to avoid. Let’s narrow things down to just several.
The Loop’s right in the middle of things and a great choice if it’s your first visit. (The Field Museum is located just south of the Loop in the ‘Near South Side’ district.) Staying at somewhere like the Palmer House Hilton would also give you easy access to Millennium Park.
River North’s a lively area with good restaurants and hotels like The Gwen. The West Loop neighborhood is also very central, with solid options like the Nobu Hotel nearby. Lincoln Park’s a calmer area and home to popular hotels like Hotel Lincoln. Wicker Park has more of an artsy feel, and is home to places like The Robey.