Chicago, Illinois offers a lot of things for visitors: a bustling city with great architecture, historic districts, shopping, restaurants, sporting venues, and wonderful museums. This article provides a list of Chicago museums that offer free admission. Most museums will charge admission than could be as much as $25 per person. During these tough economic times, you can still enjoy some of Chicago’s great museums at an affordable price – free.
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History was founded in 1893 with the purpose of the “accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history” as described on its website at http://www.fieldmuseum.org. The Field Museum offers Target Free Second Monday sponsored by Target stores when admission to the museum is free. The hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. In addition to the Target Free Second Monday program, the museum also offers other days when general admission is free. The link at: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/plan_visit/free_days.htm identifies the days that are free. The Field Museum of Natural History is located at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and it is part of a lakefront Museum Campus that includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.
DuSable Museum of African American History
The DuSable Museum of African American History, according to its website at: http://www.dusablemuseum.org is the first and oldest institution of its kind in the country, has been dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the history and culture of Africans and Americans of African descent for more than 46 years. The DuSable Museum, located at 740 East 56th Place in Washington Park, offers free admission on Sundays to everyone courtesy of Bank of America. The museum is accessible to the CTA and Metra lines.
Museum of Science and Industry
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is one of the most popular attractions in Chicago. Located in Jackson Park, MSI is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. According to its website at: http://www.msichicago.org, the museum is home to more than 35,000 artifacts and nearly 14 acres of hands-on exhibits designed to spark scientific inquiry and creativity. It has many interactive exhibits such as The Coal Mine and U-505 Submarine; an Omnimax Theater; and several permanent exhibits that are very popular. The museum hours are Monday – Saturday: 9:30 am to 4 pm and Sunday: 11 am to 4 pm. The museum has certain free days throughout the year when general admission is free. Visit this link to determine the days that are free: http://www.msichicago.org/visit-the-museum/museum-info/admission/#c3840.MSI is located at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Admission is free all day on Tuesdays at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) located at 220 E. Chicago Avenue near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago. The Museum of Contemporary Art’s website at http://www.mcachicago.org states that the museum documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. MCA offers exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art created since 1945. It also has a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan.
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1879 as both a museum and school according to its website at: http://www.artic.edu. Today its collection now encompasses more than 5,000 years of human expression from cultures around the world, and the school’s graduate program is continually ranked as one of the best in the country. The Art Institute of Chicago offers Target Free Thursday Evenings when admission is free. The also offers Free February when general admission was free every day. The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 South Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.
Smart Museum of Art
The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of over 10,000 objects, spanning five millennia of both Western and Eastern civilizations according to information provided on its website at: http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu. The Smart Museum of Art offers free admission all the time. Its hours are: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am – 4 pm, Thursday from 10 am – 8 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11 am – 5 pm. The museum is located at 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue on the University of Chicago campus.
Spertus Museum of Judaica
Committed to collecting objects from all aspects of Jewish life and culture, the Spertus Museum of Judaica according to the website at http://www.spertus.edu/museum its collection include materials from European Jewish culture, the Sephardic and oriental world, Chicago Yiddish culture, and an extensive collection of visual art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Located at 610 S. Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park, it offers free admission on Wednesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Thursdays from 2 pm to 6 pm.
Chicago Children’s Museum
The Chicago Children’s Museum’s mission is to create a community where play and learning connect. The museum’s primary audience is children up through the fifth grade including their families according to information on its website at: http://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/. It offers several interactive exhibits, an art gallery, an urban garden, and other exhibits. Chicago Children’s Museum offers Target Free First Mondays when admission is free all day for those under 15. Everyone can visit the museum free on Thursday evenings from 5 pm to 8 pm which is sponsored by Kraft Free Family Night. You can visit the museum at its location on the Navy Pier at 700 East Grand Avenue.
Oriental Institute Museum
The Oriental Institute Museum is a world-renowned showcase for the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Near East according to the website at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/. The museum displays objects recovered by Oriental Institute excavations in permanent galleries devoted to ancient Egypt, Nubia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and the ancient site of Megiddo, as well as rotating special exhibits. Admission is free but there is a suggested donation of $7 for adults and $4 for children. The Oriental Institute Museum is located at 1155 East 58th Street on the University of Chicago campus. Museum hours are from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm each day Tuesday through Saturday except Thursdays when it closes at 8:30 pm and Sundays from noon to 6:00 pm. It is closed on Mondays.
Learn about the rich and varied history of Chicago at the Chicago History Museum located at According to the website at: http://chicagohistory.org, the museum is free on Mondays. The museum cares for, showcases, and interprets millions of authentic pieces of Chicago and U.S. history. It covers areas from architecture, fine arts, photographs, to textiles and industrial arts. The museum hours are from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Saturday, with extended hours on Thursday to 8pm, and on Sundays from 12 noon to 5 pm. The Chicago History Museum is located at 1601 North Clark Street at the south end of Lincoln Park.
Museum of Contemporary Photography
The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1984 on the Columbia College Chicago campus. According to its website at: http://www.mocp.org, MoCP is the only museum in the Midwest with an exclusive commitment to the medium of photography. MoCP is a stimulating and innovative forum for the collection, creation, and examination of contemporary imagemaking in its camera tradition and in its expanded vocabulary of digital processes. The Museum of Contemporary Photography is free to the public all the time. It is located at 600 S. Michigan Avenue and is open Monday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Thursday, 10am – 8pm, and Sunday, 12 – 5pm.
National Museum of Mexican Art
The National Museum of Mexican Art is the largest Latino cultural organization in the country and the only Latino museum accredited by the American Association of Museums according to its website at: http://www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org. The mission of the National Museum of Mexican Art is to stimulate and preserve knowledge and appreciation of Mexican culture; to preserve a significant permanent collection of Mexican art; to develop Mexican artists, and promote arts education. The Museum is located at 1852 West 19th Street in Chicago. The hours of the museum are 10am – 5 pm Tuesday – Sunday and admission is free all the time.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum offers an interactive nature experience for children and adults. Its website at: http://www.naturemuseum.org states that it focuses on delivering superior environmental and science education programs to students and teachers, by offering Museum exhibitions and programs that foster green living, and advancing scientific knowledge through collections and research. Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday is the suggested donation day and theoretically you can enter free on that date. The Nature Museum is located just off Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton, Avenue, across from the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Ukrainian Institute for Modern Art
The permanent collection of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art traces the experience of Ukrainian immigrants from their homes in the Ukraine, Russia and Poland according to the website at: http://www.uima-chicago.org. It highlights work by artists whose careers extend far beyond today’s Ukraine to global capitals of modern and contemporary art like Paris, New York, and Chicago. Gallery hours are from 12 noon to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is located at 2320 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago. Admission is free but donations are accepted.
