Members Nights 2019

Members see the museum free every time and get early, exclusive access to new exhibitions. Plus, you&rsquo;ll save ten percent on all purchases in Museum restaurants and stores. Become a member today.

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Upcoming at the Museum and in our community

17072017 Pamanang Pinoy: A Retrospective

Join us for an event

Come celebrate <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/jewish-american-heritage-month">Jewish-American Heritage Month</a> with a poetry reading by local poet H. Melt. H. Melt is the author of There Are Trans People Here, which won the Heartland Booksellers Award, selected by independent booksellers across the Midwest.
If attending in person, please join us in the Founders' Room on the main level. If you are unable to attend in person, please <a href="https://fieldmuseum.zoom.us/j/93700131145?pwd=jqBkRKgTQsCiLEHhjoelItToxzKPrH.1&amp;jst=2">join this session on Zoom</a>.

Naturally Occurring Sweet Things: Jewishness, Transness & Nature - Poetry & Conversation with H. Melt

Cultural Programming

Join us in the Crown Family PlayLab for a free, drop-in PlayDate honoring <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/aanhpi">Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month</a>! Families with 2-6 year olds are invited to a free, drop-in, bilingual storytime session hosted by the Chicago Public Library (CPL). Throughout this interactive read-aloud, CPL readers will feature stories honoring AANHPI Month. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories, songs, and more!

PlayLab PlayDate: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Storytime with Chicago Public Library

PlayLab PlayDate: James Hutton Turns 300! 

PlayLab PlayDate: Pollinator Week Storytime with the Field Museum Science Action Center

PlayLab PlayDate: Fossil Fun Fest

PlayLab PlayDate: Pride Month & Stonewall Day Storytime and Craft

PlayLab PlayDate: Mexican Folk Art Storytime with Author Cynthia Weill

PlayLab PlayDate: Pollinator Week Storytime with Chicago Public Library

PlayLab PlayDate: Juneteenth Celebration

PlayLab PlayDate: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Storytime 

PlayLab PlayDate: Cinco de Mayo Celebration

PlayLab PlayDate: Jewish American Heritage Month Storytime

PlayLab PlayDate: May the Fourth Space Rocks Celebration

Drop in to the Crown Family PlayLab for free weekly activities for 2-6 year olds!

PlayLab PlayDates

PlayLab PlayDate: Women's History Month Storytime

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Designed for children between two and six years old, this interactive, hands-on space makes learning an adventure.
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Kids in the PlayLab make music (or joyful noise) with instruments from around the world.

Celebration featuring the Field Museum Geology Collections Team

Join us in the Crown Family PlayLab for a free, drop-in PlayDate celebrating the 300th Birthday of James Hutton, the Father of Modern Geology! &nbsp;
Families with 2-6 year olds are invited to a free, drop-in, storytime session hosted by the Field Museum Geology Collections team to honor James Hutton, who established theories that impact our geology sciences today. After story time, check out some special geology specimens from a behind-the-scenes collection. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories, specimens, and more!

PlayLab PlayDates are drop-in activities, free to museum guests with children ages 2-6, featuring storytime sessions, music, crafts, science experiments, and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pre-registration is not required! Sessions take place in the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibition/halls-and-galleries/crown-family-playlab">Crown Family PlayLab</a>.&nbsp;

Program length varies, usually from 20 minutes to 1 hour.

For more information, please see the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datocms-assets.com/44232/1771856923-general-playlab-programs-policies-faqs-updated.pdf">PlayLab Programs FAQs</a>. Still have questions? Contact the PlayLab team at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:playlabevents@fieldmuseum.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">playlabevents@fieldmuseum.org</a>.

Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 are invited to a free, drop-in PlayDate to celebrate <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/pollinator-week">Pollinator Week</a>. During this storytime, Guests will hear stories featuring some of our favorite pollinators along with movement and games to keep the party going. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories and more!

Adult monarch butterflies can be spotted around the garden in the summer. In addition to milkweed, they eat the nectar of flowers like coneflower, or Echinacea. 

Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 are invited to a free, drop-in PlayDate full of fossil fun in the Crown Family PlayLab! Move, stomp, and stretch like the ancient creatures featured in the Pok&eacute;mon Fossil Museum exhibit through playful dance and movement. Then, get creative by making your very own Pok&eacute;mon Fossil Museum&ndash;inspired masterpiece to take home. 
Please note: Our facilitated movement activity kicks off promptly at 10:30 a.m., followed by a craft you can enjoy anytime until 12:00 p.m.

Join us in the Crown Family PlayLab for a free, drop-in PlayDate honoring Pride Month and Stonewall Day! &nbsp;Families with 2-6 year olds are invited to a free, drop-in, storytime session hosted by the PlayLab. After story time and throughout the day, families can contribute to our community craft. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories, crafts, and more!

PlayLab PlayDate: Pride Month

Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 are invited to a free, drop-in PlayDate to celebrate Mexican folk art and Oaxacan culture with author Cynthia Weill. During this cultural storytime, Cynthia will read &iexcl;Tocamos! Mexican Folk Art Music Makers in English and Spanish, exploring and illustrating core concepts for early learners through folk arts. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories and more!

(left) Cover of ¡Tocamos! © 2025 Lee & Low Books. (right) Author Cynthia Weill. Image courtesy of the author.

Cover of ¡Tocamos! © 2025 Lee & Low Books.

Join us in the Crown Family PlayLab for a free, drop-in PlayDate outside in the Rice Native Gardens, celebrating Pollinator Week among the flowers and trees surrounding the Field Museum! &nbsp;Families with 2-6 year olds are invited to a free, drop-in, storytime and movement session hosted by the Chicago Public Library (CPL) and our PlayLab staff. Throughout this interactive read-aloud, CPL readers will feature stories about our favorite pollinators, followed by a movement session to move like a pollinator. Join us outside for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories, songs, and more! (An alternative weather location will be available.)

A monarch in the Field Museum's Rice Native Gardens.

PlayLab PlayDates are free, drop-in activities featuring storytime sessions, music and movement circles, science experiments, and more.

For more information, please see the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datocms-assets.com/44232/1771856923-general-playlab-programs-policies-faqs-updated.pdf">PlayLab&nbsp;Programs FAQs</a>. 

Still have questions? Contact the PlayLab&nbsp;team at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:playlabevents@fieldmuseum.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">playlabevents@fieldmuseum.org</a>.

Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 are invited to a free, drop-in PlayDate to celebrate Juneteenth. This PlayDate will feature stories and a craft celebrating the liberation of enslaved Black Americans. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories and more!

The Juneteenth flag hanging from a balcony at the Field Museum of Natural History

Early Morning: The Pokémon Fossil Museum  

Early Mornings

Collection Quest

Collection Quest, June 4, 6-10pm, for ages 21+

Legendary Late Hours 

Legendary Late Hours: Open until 9pm on select dates

View extraterrestrial materials from the Field Museum's collection and explore how scientists use them to learn more about our cosmic origin story. Meet Philipp R. Heck, Sr Director of Research and Robert A. Pritzker Curator, and hear how elements are formed in the stars and shuttled in stardust through space to form the solar system. Examine meteorites and stardust up close as you consider the deep time connection these objects provide us.&nbsp;

Meet a Scientist: Our Cosmic Origins

Meet a Scientist: Caribbean Fossils

Papua New Guinea Collections Celebration

Jewish Botany: Plant Medicine and Magic in the Jewish Diaspora

 Nectar Feeders vs. Insect Hunters: A Closer Look at Bats 

Moth Week! The Secret Lives of Moths: Uncovering Hidden Nighttime Stories

What Insects Call Our Garden Home (and Maybe Yours Too!)

James Hutton, the father of Modern Geology, turns 300 years old

Bee Curious: Up Close & Un-bee-lievable

See the latest science firsthand in the Grainger Science Hub.

Meet a Scientist

Meet a Scientist in the Grainger Science Hub

Everyone is invited to come observe and participate in Art in the Gardens! Field Museum staff and volunteers who dabble in the arts professionally or for fun will be scattered throughout Rice Native Gardens &ndash; the Museum&rsquo;s largest and free outdoor exhibit, creating art inspired by the gardens in a variety of mediums. Wander through to observe and chat with them.&nbsp;
Bring your own art supplies if you want to join in! Drop in and leave anytime.

Drawing Inspiration: Art in the Gardens 

Community Engagement Programming

Rice Native Gardens

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Image for Rice Native Gardens

Field Associates Brunch Cruise

Set sail for an unforgettable day on Lake Michigan at the Field Associates' Brunch Cruise fundraiser.

Meet Lazaro W. Vinola Lopez, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, and Ken Marks, Fossil Preparator, as they showcase recently unearthed fossils from a 7-million-year-old site in the Caribbean.
Learn about the unexpected animals scientists have discovered during their excavations; explore the differences between these fossils and animals already known to be from the Caribbean islands; and see how these discoveries are impacting what scientists know about the fauna on the islands.&nbsp;

Women in Science Luncheon

The Field Museum Women’s Board is committed to supporting students and scientists at all stages of their careers through the annual Women in Science Luncheon event.

Women in Science Luncheon 2025

The most exciting member event of the year is happening soon!

75th Annual Members' Nights

Join Us for an  Exclusive After-Hours Adventure!

Members’ Nights

See what you can explore behind the scenes during our annual Members&#39; Nights.

Members' Nights Guidebook

Poetry Pop-up: Poets in the Field

Poetry Pop-up: Poetry is the Thing with Feathers

Discover the natural world through poetry at weekly pop-up events featuring the Field’s poet in residence.

Poetry Pop-up

A group gathers at the corner of a diorama case. One man sits a desk with a typerwriter. He looks up to a family of three standing over him. The man in the middle stands with arms around the other two individuals. Both are smiling down at the man seated at the desk. A black box with a glass front holds a rock specimen and is propped up against the leg of the desk.

Poetry Pop-Up

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Join Eric and Special Guest Poet Scott Sprunger in the Main Hall for Specialized Poems just for you! 

Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 are invited to a free drop-in PlayDate to celebrate <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/aanhpi">Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month</a> (AANHPI). During this interactive cultural storytime, a guest reader from our AANHPI Project, Field Museum Learning Resources Educator&mdash;Cyrus Tang Foundation, will read Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George, exploring themes of Hawaiian hula, Native ecology, and oral traditions. Join us for a fun-filled PlayDate with stories, songs, and more!

Join us for an evening celebrating the grand opening of the Pok&eacute;mon Fossil Museum at the Field Museum! Receive exclusive, after-hours access to the exhibit and embark on your own fossil adventure through the exhibit halls of the Field Museum. You&rsquo;ll want to catch all this event has to offer, including demonstrations by our team of scientists, hands-on activities, crafts, and of course, plenty of fossils!
Guests must register in advance and will receive a timed-entry ticket for the Pok&eacute;mon Fossil Museum at check-in. Access to all other museum exhibitions, including the Crown Family PlayLab and After the Age of Dinosaurs, are included with admission. All sales are final.

Family Night featuring The Pokémon Fossil Museum

Explore science after hours with the whole family!

Field Family Nights

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Check out all of our related programming

Join us in the Crown Family PlayLab for a free, drop-in PlayDate honoring <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/jewish-american-heritage-month">Jewish American Heritage Month</a>! Families with children ages 2&ndash;6 will meet with a special guest from the Field Museum Family Programs &amp; Camps team for a storytime session, which will feature a book, personal stories, and a coloring craft honoring Jewish American Heritage Month. Come celebrate with stories, art, and fun!

Illinois Free Wednesday  

Beat the mid-week blues and come visit SUE— the Field is free on Wednesdays for Illinois Residents! 

Illinois Free Wednesdays

See an Archaeopteryx come to life, then discover how its body became fossilized.

Come meet Field Museum Collections staff Chris Philipp and Julia Kennedy as they discuss rarely-displayed masks from the A.B. Lewis collection, new contemporary items, and various media from the Field's Papua New Guinea collection. At nearly 35,000 items, the Field Museum cares for the largest collection of material from the country of Papua New Guinea currently in the United States.&nbsp;
This session is the fourth and final in our series that celebrates Wan Bel: aCollective Global Exhibition, commemorating the country of Papua New Guinea's 50th Anniversary of Independence.

Young visitors and a museum educator examine a teaching specimen together in the Grainger Science Hub

Join Eric in the Ronald and Christina Gidwitz Hall of Birds and make poetry for the birds!

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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Imagine what it would feel like to stand next to a<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp;T. rex.<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">&nbsp;<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Ponder what flowers smelled like 30 million years ago. See what inspiration you'll find and start turning your ideas into poetry with Eric Elshtain, the Field Museum's first poet in residence.&nbsp;
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Join us for a series of weekly events that change how you see the museum&mdash;whether you&rsquo;ve visited once or dozens of times. Encounter objects from our collection. Tour an exhibition. Find our poet in residence at a typewriter station to craft your own poem!
Eric hosts pop-ups most Thursdays from 10am&ndash;12pm, in locations across the museum. No prior knowledge of poetry needed. &nbsp;
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Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month! Come view botanical specimens related to the Jewish diaspora and learn about how healers utilized common household plants throughout Eastern Europe to stave off everyday ailments, as well as protect themselves from curses.&nbsp;
Presenters include&nbsp;Emma Turner-Trujillo, Assistant Registrar, Anthropology Collections; Christina Thompson, Anthropology Collections, and Registration Assistant Jada Whiterock, Mellon Registration &amp; Cultural Engagement Specialist.

At this week's talk, Ornithologist and author&nbsp;<a href="http://www.scottweidensaul.com/">Scott Weidensaul</a> discusses his book The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet.

Armour Seminar: Jane Buikstra & John Rick

Armour Seminar: Scott Weidensaul

Armour Seminar: Grace Burgin

A. Watson Armour III Research Seminar Series

A. Watson Armour III Seminar Series

The A. Watson Armour III Seminar Series is a weekly seminar highlighting the research of science professionals across a broad spectrum of scientific interests, disciplines, and lived experiences. This series connects the Field Museum&rsquo;s research, collections, conservation, and associated community with professionals at the forefront of life, geophysical, and social sciences. Lectures are open to the public and regularly highlight or complement research conducted by Field Museum staff and affiliates.

Have a speaker to suggest? Contact us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:armourseminars@fieldmuseum.org">armourseminars@fieldmuseum.org</a>.

Some seminars are recorded and available to view online after the event.&nbsp;

<a href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj7kLXmRTDxib0aNn-AYRxbQSZ0eL72vv">Watch on YouTube</a>

This event is exclusively for members&ndash;because curiosity deserves VIP access. Not a member?

<a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/join-give/become-member">Join today</a>&nbsp;

Explore it all during Members&rsquo; Nights. Space is limited, so reservations are required.

Please note: The Field Museum will close at 4:00 PM (last entry at 3:00 PM) and reopen for this special event at 5:00 PM. Due to other events on the Museum Campus, the East parking lot will not be available.

Join us as we celebrate 74 years of adventure, discovery, and YOU&ndash;our incredible members!

Celebrate Pollinator Week with scientists from the Gantz Family Collections Center!
Bats are often celebrated as important nighttime pollinators, but not all bats play that role. At this special session, you&rsquo;ll learn about the fascinating diversity of bat diets and adaptations around the globe. Even though Chicagoland&rsquo;s bats do not pollinate our local flowers, they do rely on insect pollinators as part of their diets. Stop by the Grainger Science Hub to learn more and to see a live dissection of our local bat species, and special specimens of pollinating bats from around the world, too. Guests will learn the diversity of bats and be able to recall how our local bats are not pollinators, but they are still an important part of our local ecosystem.
Presenters include Lauren Johnson, Assistant Collections Manager, Mammals. Please note: this session will feature a live dissection.&nbsp;

Pokémon Fossil Museum Member Preview Days 

Members and donors are invited to special preview days before exhibitions open to the public.

Member and Donor Preview Days

<div>Most moths live their lives after dark &mdash; and most of their stories go untold. Celebrate Moth Week with Field Museum scientists from the Negaunee Integrative Research and Keller Science Action Centers to explore the secret lives of moths, from their stunning diversity and surprising behaviors to their roles as pollinators and indicators of environmental change! See real specimens, ask questions, and discover why these nighttime insects matter. You&rsquo;ll be enchanted by spectacular specimens of the moths you know and love, and be astonished to meet some surprising native pollinators that call Chicago home, too. Learn about how you can take action to help native plants and pollinators, and take home a free Field Guide to help you identify the native plants and pollinators of Chicagoland.</div>
<div>Presenters for this session include Alissa Doucet, Field Museum Scientific Affiliate (Insects), and Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist, Chicago Region (Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center)</div>
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Feel empowered to be a scientist! Check out equipment scientists use in the field to observe and document insects and see photos and specimens from the insect collections. Discover how even the smaller things in nature are important to biodiversity and learn ways you can document your own observations of nature.
&nbsp;Aster Hasle, Lead Conservation Ecologist, and Karen Klinger, Lead GIS Analyst, Keller Science Action Center.

Learn about James Hutton and how angular unconformities teach us about deep time, and how modern processes going on now teach us about the rock cycle.
Presenters include Paul Mayer, Fossil Invertebrate Collections Manager, and James Holstein, Geology Collections Manager

Join us in celebration of World Bee Day with scientists from the Negaunee Integrative Research and Keller Science Action Centers!
This engaging walk-in session dives into the fascinating world of global and local pollinators, focusing on the un-bee-lievable ones and the role they play in keeping our ecosystems blooming. During this interactive presentation, you&rsquo;ll get a bee-hind-the-scenes look at real bee specimens from around the world, learn how to identify common native species, and uncover the sweet details of their life cycles, habitats, and behaviors. We hope that guests will learn about how people, plants, and pollinators are all connected and that they can help pollinators too.
Presenters include Bruno de Medeiros, Assistant Curator of Insects; Aster Hasle, Lead Conservation Ecologist and Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist.

An international symposium will recognize the legacy of curator of Asian Anthropology, Berthold Laufer (1874–1934), as well as his ongoing impact on current research.

The Academic Legacy of Berthold Laufer: A Commemorative Symposium

Field Favorites in ASL

See the best of what the Field Museum has to offer in this 45-minute guided tour presented in American Sign Language.

Titanosaur 3D: The Story of Máximo

Australia’s Great Wild North

After the Age of Dinosaurs

Drop in the Ocean

VR Transporter at the Field Museum

Adult Rex Sunset Burst: UNLEASHING THE GREATEST OF ALL TYRANTS: The GOAT roars to life again in the epic new documentary T. REX

T.REX: The Story of SUE 3D

June 10th marks the Field Museum’s Annual Giving Day!

Science

Cyrus Tang Hall of China 99 (Hewett 2018)

Culture

Native Seed Harvesting

Community

McDonald's Prep Lab staff at microscopes.

Discovery

Pokémon Fossil Museum

Field Mueum North Entrance - Maximo banners

Sabina Cveček documenting pottery assemblage from an ancient house from a 5,000-year old house at Çukuriçi Höyük in western Türkiye, offering insight into everyday life and kinship practices in Early Bronze Age households.

Ancient burial practices and DNA research reveal that family goes beyond genetic relatedness

(Left) Woolly Dogs is now open in Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories, 2025 (Right) Eliot White-Hill Kwulasultun, co-curator of Woolly Dogs.

Gone, but not forgotten: How an extinct dog breed still lives on through memory and tradition in Coast Salish communities

Left: wide open plaza and avenues in the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan, a society in which people had more voice. Right: a carved stone stela with a depiction of a ruler at Copán (a Maya city in what is now Honduras), which had a more autocratic form of governance.

New study shows democracy has deep global roots—not just Greece and Rome

Illustration showing Tanyka amnicola in life, eating underwater plants. By Vitor Silva

This ancient plant-eater had a twisted jaw and sideways-facing teeth

Press Room

Visit

Ram R.

The museum is full of amazing facts and provides a fantastic educational experience.

The museum is full of amazing facts and provides a fantastic educational experience.

Tanner C.

The upper level is great, and the dinosaur and China exhibits were particular standouts.

The upper level is great, and the dinosaur and China exhibits were particular standouts.

David

Whether you&rsquo;re an expert or just a casual enthusiast, there&rsquo;s something for everyone here.

Whether you’re an expert or just a casual enthusiast, there’s something for everyone here.

The amount of beautiful taxidermy is insane and I had the time of my life.

The amount of beautiful taxidermy is insane and I had the time of my life.

Danielle R.

You get to get up close to all of the exhibits, which is super cool for kids and adults.

You get to get up close to all of the exhibits, which is super cool for kids and adults.

Michael B.

Simply one of the best natural history museums anywhere.

View of Full Circle/Omani Wakan exhibition, showing multiple display cases, each housing intricately detailed figures.

Full Circle/Omani Wakan: Lakota Artist Rhonda Holy Bear

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Simply one of the best natural history museums anywhere.

Visitor services helping a guest in Stanley Field Hall

Tickets & Pricing

Entrance to Soldier Field parking garage with Field Museum visible in background

Directions & Parking

Native Truths Opening (Young 2022)

Accessibility

Excavator Pikachu

Pokémon Fossil Museum Programming