Chicago'south various array of museums are a treasured part of the city's cultural scene.  Explore the museums open up now and reopening soon in Chicago, and run across our guide to what's open in Chicago for more. And don't forget to bank check out the exciting museum exhibits coming to Chicago this year.

Field Museum

Sue at Field Museum
Photo past Lucy Hewett

Now open up
One of Chicago's most beloved institutions, the Field Museum showcases everything from aboriginal cultures to the latest scientific discoveries. Visitors tin can meet the largest dinosaur to ever walk the earth, mummies in their tombs, giant-sized bugs, the most complete T.rex ever found, and more than.

Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium

Now open
The Shedd's penguins have been decorated exploring Chicago's iconic institutions, but at present they're dorsum home at this lakeside aquarium. Visit them in their natural habitat, along with sea otters, turtles, beluga whales, ocean lions, jelly fish, reptiles, and more.

Art Institute of Chicago

Now open up
The Art Plant of Chicago, i of the most respected art museums in the world, will exist reopening their doors to the public at the end of the month. Many of the museum'south primary galleries will be open, forth with their newly extended special exhibits on the works of Monet and Bisa Butler.

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Educational activity Center

Resistance Gallery at the Illinois Holocaust Museum
Photo by Kathleen Hinkel

At present open
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is now open in nearby Skokie. Their current special exhibition, Yard andela: Struggle for Freedom, covers the life of the civil rights icon through immersive experiences, including a replica of the cell where Mandela spent 18 years in jail.

International Museum of Surgical Science

International Museum of Surgical Science
Photo by Ryan Robinson_Michael Robinson

Now open
The International Museum of Surgical Scientific discipline is the land's only museum dedicated to the history of surgery. The stunning Gold Coast space includes more than 10,000 square feet of public galleries that brandish a fascinating collection of art and artifacts related to medicine, from ancient past to mod twenty-four hours.

Chicago History Museum

Clayton Hauck for Choose Chicago

At present open
The Chicago History Museum is open up and sharing fascinating stories of Chicago through a multifariousness of unique exhibits. Don't miss their newest showroom, Millions of Moments: The Chicago Sun-Times Photo Drove, which includes famous and never-published photos of monumental events and everyday occurrences in Chicago

Frederick C. Robie Firm

Now open
Take a t our of the house Frank Lloyd Wright called "a cornerstone of modern architecture". Frederick C. Robie Business firm , located in Hyde Park, is possibly the most famous case of Wright's Prairie-Manner architecture. Choose from docent-guided tours, cocky-guided audio tours, or in-depth private tours.

Museum of Scientific discipline and Industry

MSI Storm exhibit
J.B. Spector/Museum of Scientific discipline and Manufacture, Chicago

Now open
The Museum of Science and Industry is a hands-on wonderland for all ages. Explore new and reinvented exhibits that will thrill the whole family, including their blockbuster special exhibition Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes.

Museum of Illusions Chicago

Museum of Illusions

Now open up
This new museum celebrates the world of illusions, with more than lxxx visual exhibits that challenge the style you see the world. The all-ages exhibitions feature holograms, optical illusions, and immersive rooms that are designed to trick the senses and brainwash most the truth behind the illusions.

Museum of Contemporary Art

Installation view, Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, MCA Chicago Feb 29-May 10, 2020 Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, MCA Chicago February 29-May x, 2020 Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Now open up
In The Magnificent Mile area, Museum of Contemporary Art presents provocative and thought-provoking exhibits by local and global artists. With an emphasis on gimmicky works, the museum presents a variety of compelling exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs throughout the year. Their popular Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago showroom has been extended into September.

Hyde Park Fine art Middle

Jonathan Castillo, Will, Ni Yi Xuan Gift Shop, Chicago(Chinatown), 2019, Archival pigment impress, 23 x 34.5 inches. Courtesy of the Artist..jpg

Now open
The Hyde Park Art Center is a community hub for gimmicky works, that typically offers dozens of exhibits and hundreds of classes each year. Grab the final days of Basis Floor, the current iteration of their biennial program showcasing select work past contempo graduates from each of Chicago' s five MFA programs.

Museum of Gimmicky Photography

Now open
Museum of Contemporary Photography is a leading college museum dedicated to international photography, with a mission to foster a deeper understanding of photos equally an art form. The collection, which is ever gratis for the public to explore, includes more 16,000 objects by over 1,500 artists.

Pritzker Military Museum & Library

Now open up
Located just beyond from Millennium Park, the
Pritzker Armed services Museum & Library is dedicated to educating the public about armed forces history. The unique museum hosts a permanent exhibition on the Medal of Honor and is currently showing a special exhibit about Allied forces during World War II.

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Intuit Chicago exhibit
Intuit Chicago Calling: Art Against the Flow

Now open
This unique museum, dedicated to work past self-taught artists, has reopened to the public. Intuit has taken several new precautions, including directional signage, reduced touch points, and enhanced sanitation. They've fifty-fifty re-installed their exhibition Outsider Art: The Collection of Victor F. Swell to increase spacing and permit more distancing.

Driehaus Museum

Eternal Light at Driehaus Museum
Photography by Michael Tropea at the Driehaus Museum, 2019

At present open
Chicago'southward Driehaus Museum celebrates the art and architecture of the late 19th century through present twenty-four hour period. Housed inside the stunning Nickerson Mansion just off The Magnificent Mile, the ornate interior is just as fascinating as the exhibits. All galleries are open to view every bit well every bit the special exhibition, PAN: Prints of Avant Garde Europe, 1895-1900.

Chicago Compages Center museum

Photo credit: James Steinkamp

Now open up
The riverfront
Chicago Architecture Center is domicile to an array of fascinating exhibits well-nigh the urban center'due south most legendary buildings. Explore the Skyscraper Gallery, check out an interactive model of the city featuring iv,000 structures, and take a expect into the future of urban life.

Wrightwood 659

Wrightwood 659
Wrightwood 659

Now open
This cutting-border space will exist reopening soon with a brand new exhibit. Wrightwood 659 presents Yannis Tsarouchis: Dancing in Real Life, the get-go U.S. exhibition devoted to the piece of work of one of the greatest Greek painters of the 20th century. Plus, the museum itself is a work of art and worth a visit simply to adore the architectural beauty.

American Writers Museum

At present open up
The American WritersMuseum, the first institution of its kind,
celebrates American writers and their works. The museum's interactive exhibits strive to honor the full breadth of American writing from the by to the present. Their latest showroom focuses on the impact of immigrant and refugee writers.

McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum

Now open up
Learn more than about the Chicago River and its famous movable bridges at the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. The 5-story museums allows visitors to explore a historic bridgehouse, sentinel the massive gears of a moving bridge, accept in stunning water views, and larn nearly the history of the Chicago River. Be some of the first to meet a make new exhibit refresh throughout the museum.

More than Chicago museums open up at present:

  • Glessner Firm is at present open
  • Ukrainian Institute of Mod Fine art is now open
  • Oriental Institute is now open
  • wndr museum is now open
  • Smart Museum of Art is now open
  • DuSable Museum of African American History is now open
  • National Museum of Mexican Art is now open
  • Adler Planetarium is at present partially re-opened
  • National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture is now open up