1. Art Institute of Chicago
image:artic.edu
 
You could spend the next four years getting to know this encyclopedic institution, which owns more than 300,000 artworks and artifacts from all over the world and every era from antiquity to the present. Our favorite pieces include “The New Contemporary” exhibition, fragments of local buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Thorne Miniature Rooms. We’re also in love with Renzo Piano’s light-filled Modern Wing, which is the perfect place to enjoy the Art Institute’s architecture and design collection, modern and contemporary art, and gorgeous views of Millennium Park.
 
 
2.The Field Museum
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Founded to house the biological and anthropological collections assembled for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, this massive natural history museum still packs ’em in with more than 30 permanent exhibitions covering 300,000 square feet. Inside the permanent displays, you can see glowering dinos, marvel at ancient artifacts from a royal Egyptian tomb, take a stroll through the Halls of Gems and Jade or relax in a Chinese rock garden in the new “Cyrus Tang Hall of China.”
 
3.Museum of Contemporary Art
 
The Museum of Contemporary Art houses one of the largest collections of modern art in the nation and frequently hosts major touring exhibits, displaying work by the likes of Doris Salcedo, Simon Starling and Daniel Clowes. The museum's regular Chicago Works series makes space for pieces by local artists, showcasing rising talent while hosting workshops and discussion. In addition to its galleries, the MCA also boasts a gift store, bookstore, restaurant, 300-seat theater, and a picturesque sculpture garden.
 
4.Shedd Aquarium
 
Anchoring the aquatic offerings at this more than 75-year-old institution are enduring favorites such as piranhas, frogs and snakes of the Amazon; rays, turtles and moray eel of the Caribbean; frightening predator sharks and, the most storied of them all, a 100-plus-year-old Australian lungfish believed to be the longest-living fish in any aquarium in the world. A 2009 rehab of the Oceanarium gave Shedd a lifelike tide pool and a reworked otter habitat, where you'll find some of the facility's newest (and cutest) residents.
 
5.Museum of Science and Industry
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If you’re into exhibits loaded with interactive bells and whistles, this expansive Hyde Park locale is your ticket. The museum’s focus is broad, with permanent displays that include the popular mirror maze in the “Numbers in Nature” exhibit, the whiz-bang “Science Storms,” plus the old favorites: A restored U-505 German submarine, a simulated coal mine and a vintage diesel-electric train.
 
6.Adler Planetarium
 
Though it’s staffed by world-class researchers at the forefront of their field, the museum’s real draw will always be the virtual-reality trips through time and space in the Sky Theater, which features the “highest resolution and quality possible.” Themes usually center around the known and unknown universe and how humans have engaged with it throughout history. The recently renovated “Mission Moon” exhibit allows visitors to see the Gemini 12 capsule and learn more about the early days of the space race. For some after-hours fun, check out the monthly Adler After Dark parties.
 
7.Chicago History Museum
image:Wikipedia
 
Not so long ago this vibrant museum was the stodgy ol' Chicago Historical Society, which let you cull through thousands of archived photographs and curio. Well, that library still exists, but joining it are several permanent and temporary exhibits, the largest of which is “Chicago: Crossroads of America,” a treasure trove of historical objects, including a chunk of the original Fort Dearborn. Other exhibits include “Sensing Chicago” (kids swarm around the giant Chicago hot dog) and revolving displays that explore the life of Abraham Lincoln.
 
8. DuSable Museum of African American History
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When this institution opened in 1961, African-American history was suffering serious neglect at the hands of the city’s—and for that matter the nation’s—cultural institutions. The Hyde Park cultural hub is now one of the oldest African-American–focused museums in the country. On display are documents and artifacts from the lives of overlooked or unjustly marginalized movers and shakers, plus a collection of vibrant African-American art.
 
9.The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
image: ericrojasblog.com
 
From prairie and river ecosystems to the biology of Ice Age mammals, nature and its conservation, the focus at this Lincoln Park museum situated alongside a lagoon is vast and varied. Hands-on interactive displays on marsh and river ecosystems engage kids, while the countless fluttering beauties of the 2,700-square-foot Judy Istock Butterfly Haven appeal to all ages. You'll want to visit on a nice day—the outdoor gardens are gorgeous.
 
10.National Museum of Mexican Art
 
You don't have to look any further than Pilsen to find one of the largest Latino cultural organizations in the U.S. Visit the National Museum of Mexican Art and explore its 6,000-piece permanent collection, rotating exhibits, performing arts showcases and educational programming that represents an illustrious Mexican culture.
 

 

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