Pollinator Week is an annual, national celebration in support of pollinator health - various activities will take place around the museum.
Learn how the small actions of people with city yards, balconies, patios, school/church gardens are very important for pollinators. Staff will highlight the huge diversity of insects involved in pollination.
Meet a Scientist
Join us as Museum staff share first hand information about migratory monarch butterflies and some surprising pollinators too.
Activities inside and out!
Crown Family PlayLab
Join us in the PlayLab for each day from 10am—3:30pm this week for Pollinator crafts and a scavenger hunt.
Rice Native Gardens
Stop by the outdoor exhibition for activities led by Museum staff and volunteers! Rice Native Gardens are free and open to all, museum admission is not required.
Chicago Public Library Events
Field Museum staff will be at select Chicago Public Library branches throughout the week. Library events will include close-up views of pollinator specimens and the distribution of native plants, grab & go Nature Kits, and Field Guides on a first come, first served basis.
Recommended reading at home
Here are some of our staff’s favorite reads for young learners featuring a variety of pollinators.
- Moth & Butterfly: Ta-da! by Dev Petty
- The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman,
- The Thing About Bees: A “Love” Letter by Shabazz Larkin
- A Wasp Builds a Nest by Scarborough, Kate
- Señorita Mariposa By Mister G
- Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey by Robert Burleigh
- The Apple Tree by Sandy Tharp-Thee
- An Extraordinary Ordinary Moth by Karlin Gray
- Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
- Buzzing With Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington
- Not a Butterfly Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
- The Bee by Becky Han
- Animal Pollinators by Jennifer Boothroyd
- Seeds, Bees, Butterflies, and More! Poems for Two Voices by Carole Gerber
- Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
Explore Field Guides featuring local pollinators
Selected Insects in your Midwestern Native Garden
Use this guide to identify a variety of common insects found in your garden or anywhere flowers grow.
Creating Monarch Habitat in your Midwestern Garden
This guide shows how adding native plants to your garden, balcony or community can help reverse the decline of the monarch butterfly.
Colors in the Rice Native Gardens Field Guide
The Field Museum invites you to awaken your senses as you venture through the Field Museum’s Rice Native Gardens and experience the beautiful colors of the natural world.
Summer in Chicagoland Field Guide
Get to know the plants and animals that are also spending summer in your Chicago neighborhood.
Spring in Chicagoland Field Guide
Use this guide to get to know the plants and animals that you'll see in Chicago in the springtime.
Common Wild Bees of Illinois Field Guide
Use this guide to help identify less recognizable bee species common in Illinois.
Common Butterflies of the Chicago Region Field Guide
This guide will help identify some of the many species of butterflies found in the Chicagoland area.
