The world's largest dinosaur, the most impressionist paintings outside of France, and other amazing things can be found in Chicago's mega museums.
They are joined by several smaller venues with free and provocative collections.
The city has 10 best museums. Many places are closed on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday.
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It takes a while to get through the impressionist paintings, but there are more here than anywhere outside of France.
You have to book tickets in advance. You can download the free app for audio tours.
There are acres of exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry. There is a mock tornado to conjure and experience the fury of the WWII German U-boat.
The life-size coal mine shaft, Apollo 8 lunar module, maze of mirrors, and infamous body slices are all stimulating minds. It is the largest science museum in the western hemisphere, so plan on spending a lot of time there.
The grounds of Jackson Park are historic.
The DuSable Museum has a powerful story to tell, and it is a shame that it is not included in Chicago's collections. Learn about the experiences of African Americans from enslavement to the Civil Rights movement.
You can see a virtual reality experience of the 1963 March on Washington here. You have to make advance reservations.
Outside the museum is a sculpture garden that leads into Washington Park.
The most prominent Latinx arts center in the country is the Museum of Mexican Art. It's completely free. Folk art, paintings, colorful beadwork and politically charged pieces can be seen in the collection.
Then step outside. Local streets are turned into a makeshift outdoor gallery with murals of praying virgins, Aztec serpents and more bursting over the community's buildings. It is a great place for people on a budget. You can eat here for cheap because there are lots of modest taquerias.
Did a cow start the fire? How did Al Capone make booze? Who invented the blues? The answers can be found at the Chicago History Museum. It tells the city's tale through multimedia displays and strange artifacts, like the cow bell suspected of being a firestarter.
Major exhibits show Chicago as a center for workers' rights and public protest, and as the second home of Abraham Lincoln when he rose to power.
You can hop on the History Trail after hours. There are eight stops on the short interpretive path behind the museum.
The natural history hall in Chicago has mummies, gemstones, totem poles, and 500-pound taxidermied lions. The largest dinosaur in the world lives in the front hall. You can take a selfies with him though you may have trouble fitting him in the frame.
Sue the T. rex and her toothy companions are in the second floor galleries, where you can experience how the hulking creatures sounded and smelled. The museum has 40 million artifacts.
The Chicago Children's Museum has young ones going wild. The age 10-and-under crowd is attracted to hands-on exhibits. The Tinkering Lab has real hammers, nails and other tools that draw budding builders, while Cloud Buster has a 37 foot tall structure of steel, wood and rope that attracts climbing daredevils.
The museum is located on Navy Pier, a half-mile long wharf turned carnival with a Ferris wheel, carousel, funhouse maze and splash fountain, so you can make a day of it.
It's easy to see what's in the permanent collection at this tiny downtown museum, which is part of Columbia College Chicago. You can find works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Harry Callahan, Sally Mann, Ai Weiwei, Robert Capa, and many other top contemporary photographers in the collection. Provocative exhibitions cover a wide range of topics from democracy to gun violence. It is free and takes about an hour to view.
Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked in Oak Park for the first 20 years of his career. The home and studio where he developed the Prairie style have been preserved, and fans from around the world come to tour the place and take in its dramatic horizontal lines, art glass windows and exquisite wood decor.
You can see more of Wright's work if you walk around his houses. You can buy a map in the museum shop.
The first skyscraper in the world popped up in Chicago. There is an interactive model of the city's famous skyline, as well as models of tall buildings around the world and information on the technologies used to raise them.
You can get discounted admission to the museum if you book one of the popular boat tours.
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