Attractions & Activities/Museums

Art Institute of Chicago

111 S Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60603 312-443-3600

Description: GRANT PARK. A highlight of any trip to Chicago, this museum is home to one of the best and most diverse art collections in the world. People are drawn first to the vast Impressionist collection, including the world's largest group of Monet paintings. But treasures abound, including the haunting "American Gothic" and Seurat's groundbreaking Pointillist work. The contemporary section has been expanded and now includes pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Pollock, and Warhol. The temporary shows are also well known and always receive critical acclaim. A recent retrospective focused on the life and works of Van Gogh.

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Chicago Children's Museum

700 E Grand Ave Chicago, IL 60611 312-527-1000

Description: STREETERVILLE. Located at the Navy Pier, the Children's Museum hosts more than 500,000 visitors each year. The museum serves children from toddlers to fifth grade as well as their parents and features 15 permanent exhibits. The museum also holds a number of special events throughout the year geared toward educating children and supporting area schools.

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Cuneo Museum and Gardens

1350 N Milwaukee Ave Vernon Hills, IL 60061 847-362-3042

Description: VERNON HILLS. Most recently home to printing magnate John F. Cuneo's family, this regal structure boasts a wealth of elaborate details, including a skylit ceiling (over 25 feet high) and a central courtyard. Eighteen rooms of the Italianate home are open to the public and feature ironwork accents, painted frescoes, a gilt-wood piano, and 17th-century tapestries. The gardens occupy 75 acres and are home to peacocks, fountains, and formal plantings. A conservatory and woodlands also provide a glimpse of the estate's riches.

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Field Museum of Natural History

1400 S Lake Shore Dr Chicago, IL 60605 312-922-9410

Description: MUSEUM CAMPUS. The exterior of this hulking marble facility only hints at the historic treasures inside. The architect's goal was boldness, and he achieved it with massive columns and striking galleries filled with natural light. Visitors are immediately greeted by two massive elephants and Sue, the museum's famous Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (she was acquired for $8.4 million)! Keep going and you'll delve into paleontology, geology, botany, anthropology, and much more. With nine acres of space to set up, curators can change displays regularly they have more than 20 million items to choose from!

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Hemingway Museum and Birthplace

200 N Oak Park Ave Oak Park, IL 60302 708-848-2222

Description: Oak Park is the neighborhood in which Nobel Prize-winner Ernest Hemingway spent his first 20 years, and this local museum chronicles that formative period in his life. Divided into sections, each with its own theme, the museum informs visitors about Hemingway in the movies and Hemingway during World War II. You can even tour the house he grew up in and view childhood photos. A must for fans of the revered writer and for literature aficionados.

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Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

220 E Chicago Ave Chicago, IL 60611 312-280-2660

Description: STREETERVILLE. When this museum opened in its new aluminum-lined facility in 1996, it became the country's largest museum of contemporary art. Featured works go far beyond two dimensions and include such diverse media as sculpture, photography, dance, performance, and music. Three large exhibition floors showcase more than 7000 objects, including pieces by Sol LeWitt, Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, and Rene Magritte. Don't miss the sculpture garden, which covers more than an acre. If you're there in the summer, check out the summer solstice celebration that includes a number of unique, art-related events.

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Museum of Science and Industry

5700 S Lake Shore Dr Chicago, IL 60637-2093 773-684-1414

Description: HYDE PARK. Interactive museums are multiplying like rabbits, but this complex is considered one of the first and best. You'll find more than 2000 hands-on exhibits, including the Zephyr (a famous train that once set a land-speed record) and the Idea Factory (whose interactive exhibits have kids of all ages learning without realizing it). Take a short tour of an authentically recreated coal mine, or pretend you're the boss in the Enterprise exhibit, which teaches about the world of business. The five-story Omnimax Theater presents shows that take visitors on a virtual voyage to outer space or under the sea.

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Oriental Institute Museum

1155 E 58th St Chicago, IL 60637 773-702-9514

Description: SOUTH SIDE. Located on the University of Chicago campus near the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, this museum proudly houses one of the world's foremost collections of Near Eastern art. Start off by exploring the Egyptian Gallery which is dominated by a 17-foot quartzite statue of King Tutankhamen. Over 35,000 artifacts from the Nile Valley are owned and displayed here. Next, enjoy the Persian gallery which showcases over 1000 objects. Before leaving, visit the gift shop named the Suq where you can find a number of reproductions and interesting mementos.

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The Smart Museum of Art

5550 S Greenwood Ave Chicago, IL 60637 773-702-0200

Description: HYDE PARK. Located on the campus of the University of Chicago, this museum houses a permanent collection of more than 7500 paintings and sculptures from both Western and Eastern civilizations, ranging from ancient days to present. Come explore the vast collection of ancient Greek vases, paintings by the masters, Tiffany glass, and murals by Diego Rivera. The art museum sits next to the Elden Sculpture Garden.

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Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum

1300 S Lake Shore Dr Chicago, IL 60605 312-322-0300

Description: MUSEUM CAMPUS. This eye-catching, twelve-sided building includes two sky theaters, one of which was the first planetarium in the western hemisphere. The theaters depict the night sky and allow visitors an up-close look at distant planets, moons, and galaxies. The complex also features exhibition rooms, a café, and a StarRider theater that offers amazing, interactive, virtual reality shows. In it, visitors use controls in their seats' armrests to participate in a 3-D simulation of space travel. On family-friendly Far Out Fridays, visitors get to see lots of shows, sit in on lectures, view the night sky, play games, and learn how to set up and use a telescope.

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