Exploring the Museum Campus @ Chicago: Field Museum

Field Museum, Chicago

 Good thing we went to the Shedd Aquarium first before the Field Museum. The line ups were not as long but we only had a few hours left before the museum closed. 

Main Hall, Field Museum, Chicago

 The come-on for the girls to move quickly to get to the museum was to see the world’s largest, most complete and best preserved (how's that for credentials?!) T-Rex fossil ever discovered. And it was grand! Called, “Sue,” this imposing 42-foot skeleton greeted visitors right at the entrance. Its head, which was too heavy to put on top of the rest of the skeleton, was displayed separately. A replica sits in its place.

Sue (TRex)@ Field Museum

We first explored the Underground Adventure exhibit, where we looked at the world from, well, underground. We saw giant, animated grubs and ground moles and all sorts of creatures as if we really shrunk from the “shrinking machine.” We were “zapped” as we entered the underground.

Underground Adventure @Field Museum, Chicago

 My little scientist, DD#2, was fascinated by the Inside Ancient Egypt exhibit with actual mummies! It was also one of my favourite exhibits. 

Ancient Egypt Exhibit @ Field Museum, Chicago

We breezed through the Evolving Planet exhibit which took us through the evolution of life (and mass extinction events) over billions of years. 

There were also working laboratories where we could see fossils being prepped. 

The DNA Discovery Centre was empty at that time but apparently visitors could talk to actual scientists if available.

Other exhibits they had (which we missed) were the Gem and Animal Exhibits. We did see a similar version of these in Ottawa’s Museum of Nature.

Animal Exhibit @ Field Museum, Chicago

 It was a great museum with a lot of hands-on learning for the kids. Suggest you allocate about 3 hours minimum to explore all the exhibits.

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