This exhibition is alive and changing every day.
Did you know one of our biggest exhibition spaces is outside and free to visit year-round? Stroll down winding paths, pause on a bench to enjoy a conversation, and take a closer look at the life all around you in the Rice Native Gardens. Framing the museum’s exterior, the gardens are home to a variety of native plants—over 100 species in total. In addition to colorful flowers and tall grasses, you can spot a variety of animals: birds, bats, grasshoppers, butterflies, and much more. They all play a role in this ecosystem, from pollinating plants to creating healthy soil. The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish. La exhibición está presentada en inglés y español.
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Monarch caterpillars, with their distinctive stripes, appear in the garden in the spring. You might see them eating the leaves of milkweed plants.
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.
Field staff prepare to raise one of two houses for Purple Martins, which migrate to Illinois in the spring.
If you look closely, you’ll spot wildlife everywhere in the garden—like this grasshopper resting on a milkweed leaf.
Field Museum staff and summer campers erected a bat house in 2018. Bats help with plant pollination, seed dispersal, and eating insects like mosquitoes.
Purple prairie clover is a native plant that does well in the sun and attracts pollinators with its brightly colored blooms.
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Appreciate nature in all its seasons.
Exhibition highlights:
- Birdhouses for Purple Martins, which migrate to Chicago in the spring
- A 20-foot-tall bat house
- Bronze “Spirit Totems,” abstract sculptures by Herb Alpert
- Educational flip signs that identify different plants throughout the gardens
Land acknowledgment
We acknowledge that the Field Museum resides within the traditional homelands of many Indigenous nations:
- Hoocąk (Winnebago/Ho’Chunk), Jiwere (Otoe), Nutachi (Missouria), and Baxoje (Iowas)
- Kiash Matchitiwuk (Menominee)
- Meshkwahkîha (Meskwaki)
- Asâkîwaki (Sauk)
- Myaamiaki (Miami), Waayaahtanwaki (Wea), and Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw)
- Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo)
- Inoka (Illini Confederacy)
- Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), Odawak (Odawa), and Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi)
The Field Museum recognizes and is grateful for the Original Peoples who laid the foundation for the City of Chicago, and for the diverse Indigenous nations that reside in Chicago today. Our history as a museum began in 1893, and the Field’s collection, research, and community partners continue to tell a story about nature and culture that is vast and complex. The ways we tell stories are always evolving and are enriched by what we learn from listening to many different voices. We are committed to bringing Native American voices to the forefront as we transform the Native North America Hall here at the Field. As part of an ongoing effort to celebrate and tell the histories and contemporary experiences of Native American people, we also recognize the Native American presence on the land where our building is located.
Staff from the Keller Science Action Center do garden maintenance at a 2020 work day.
Laura Milkert
Research scientist Eli Suzukovich speaks at a 2019 seed harvesting event with the Chicago American Indian community.
John Weinstein
Why native plants?
Native plants are ones that thrive in a certain region and evolve over time as a key part of the environment. Here in Illinois, many of our native plants are found in prairies: flat, open grasslands that are suited to cold winters and hot summers. But there weren’t always native plants in our backyard. When the Field Museum was first built, it was surrounded by hard clay and landfill. After that, it was a grassy lawn for many years. Envisioning a beautiful landscape that reflects the region’s ecological makeup, we set about creating the native gardens you see today. The process included biodiversity surveys to provide baseline data, studies of plants that thrive nearby, and conversations with community partners. Today, the gardens are a unique site where research happens alongside educational programs and cultural celebrations. Native plants help keep the soil healthy, provide food and home for native animal species, and retain water—which prevents runoff into nearby Lake Michigan. Field researchers can also study changes over time by analyzing soil samples, documenting the species found in the gardens, and tracing the effects of climate change. Learn more about our commitment to sustainability with We Are Still In.
Nature in Chicago
Get a bird's-eye view of the gardens on iNaturalist. Use their website or mobile app to see what other people have spotted in the garden and submit your own sightings, too!
Field Guides
Plus, you can browse hundreds of Field Guides developed by museum experts. Use these visual guides to identify the plant and animal species you see in local nature. Field Guides are available for downloading and printing.
Rice Native Gardens Field Guide
This guide highlights plants found in the garden's sustainable landscaping and native to Illinois—the same species that grow wild in our prairies and woodlands.
Beginner's Field Guide: Spring in Chicagoland
Use this guide to get to know the plants and animals that you'll see in Chicago in the springtime. Birds migrate north, spring wildflowers emerge, and leaves appear on trees.
Summer in Chicagoland Field Guide
Get to know the plants and animals that are also spending summer in your Chicago neighborhood.
Beginner's Field Guide: Fall in Chicagoland
With this guide, get to know the plants and animals that share your Chicagoland neighborhood during the fall. Birds migrate south, animals prepare for the cold, and leaves put on a colorful show.
Learning Resources
Bird Calls and Songs | PlayLab at Home
Listen to different songs or calls made by local Illinois birds.
Monarch Guide | Home FIELD Advantage
Write and draw to observe monarch butterflies.
Specimen Spotlight: Purple Coneflower | Science Hub at Home
Examine the Purple Coneflower to learn why native plants are important to any ecosystem.
Acknowledgments
The Rice Native Gardens are made possible through the generosity of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation.
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