Linda S. Buyer, Ph.D.
Governors State University
Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
Hours M-W, F 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
TH 10:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (free entry from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $12 (adults), $7 (students and seniors), Free (under 12)
Museum of Contemporary
Art
220 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
The
Museum of Contemporary Art was established in 1967 and houses
a collection of art created after 1945 (in sharp contrast to the Art Institute,
whose holdings cover 5,000 years). It is located approximately 1 mile north of the
conference hotel.
Hours Closed Monday
TU 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (free admission all day)
W-Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $12 (adults), $7 (students and seniors), Free (under 12)
The
Museum Campus also houses the
Adler Planetarium,
the
Field Museum of Natural History, and the
John G Shedd Aquarium
all within a 57-acre lakefront park, created when Lake Shore Drive was rerouted
to run west of Soldier Field in 1998. The Adler is the only museum in the world
with two full-size planetarium theatres. It was the first planetarium built in the
western hemisphere and is today, the oldest. The Shedd opened in 1930 and houses
more than 25,000 fish and other sea creatures representing more than 2,100 species.
In 2007, it was the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. The Field museum
houses many notable exhibits, including
Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex currently
known and the notorious man-eating
Tsavo lions.
Soldier Field, home of the
Chicago Bears, is also located on the museum campus.
Adler
Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
Hours M-F 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
First Friday of every month 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Admission: Click here for
admission information
John G. Shedd Aquarium
1200 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
Hours M-F 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Admission: $25 (adult), $18 (seniors and children 3- 11), Free (under 3), 25% off
(Chicago residents)
Field Museum of Natural
History
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
Hours Every day 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:00 p.m.)
Admission: Click here for
admission information
Soldier Field
1410 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
Hours: Only open for
scheduled events
Museum of Science and Industry
57th Street and Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60637
Hours: M-SA 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., SU 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Admission: Click here for
admission information
The
Museum of Science and Industry is situated in what once
was The Palace of the Fine Arts (constructed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition)
in Jackson Park (south of downtown). Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the
Museum features a working
coal mine, a
German submarine (U-505) captured during World War II,
a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2)
model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel
passenger train (
Pioneer Zephyr), and a NASA space capsule used
on the Apollo 8 mission.
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
Hours: 8:00 a.m. - sunset
Open every day
Admission: Free (without a vehicle), $20 (per car), $7 (senior citizen car), $25
(van), $60 (limousine, minibus or RV)
For a sublime outdoor experience in the north suburbs, escape to the
Chicago
Botanical Garden. Although it is approximately 20 miles north of downtown
Chicago, it is easily accessible by the Metra train.
Garfield Park
Conservatory
300 N Central Park, Avenue
Chicago, IL 60624
Hours Daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Open every day
Admission: Free
Garfield Park opened just over a hundred years ago, in 1908. It consists of six
greenhouses and two exhibition halls as well as outdoor garden space and is one
of the largest conservatories in the world. It is easily accessible via public transportation.
(Click
here for transportation information.)
Lincoln Park Conservatory
2391 North Stockton Drive
Chicago, IL 60614
Hours: Daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Open every day
Admission: Free
Lincoln Park Conservatory is the older of the two conservatories (built between
1890 and 1895) and is immediately adjacent to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It has four
display greenhouses: Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House and the Show House (home
to the annual flower shows) as well as “Granny’s garden” (properly called “Grandmother’s
Garden”) and the “Front Lawn” located outside of the greenhouses.
Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614
Hours April-May 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Memorial Day to Labor Day weekdays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., weekends 10:00 a.m. -
6:30 p.m.
Open every day
Admission: Free
The Lincoln Park zoo is approximately 3 miles north of downtown in the Lincoln Park
neighborhood, easily accessed via
public transportation. It is located in a 49 acre park on the lakefront,
houses more than 1,100 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and attracts approximately
3 million visitors each year.
Brookfield
Zoo
3300 Golf Road
Brookfield, IL 60513
Hours Daily 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Admission: Click here for
admission information
Brookfield Zoo is 14 miles west of the city (located in Brookfield, IL). It, too,
is
accessible via public transportation. It is located on 216
acres and houses approximately 450 species of animals.