Animal Halls Animal exhibitions and
dioramas such as Nature Walk, Mammals of Asia, and Mammals of Africa allow visitors an up-close look at the diverse habitats that animals inhabit. Most notably featured are the
man-eating lions of Tsavo. The
Mfuwe man eating lion is also on display.
Evolving Planet Evolving Planet follows the evolution of life on Earth over 4 billion years. The exhibit showcases fossils of
single-celled organisms, ancient
Invertebrates, early
fish,
Permian synapsids,
dinosaurs, extinct
mammals, and early
hominids. The Field Museum's non-mammalian
synapsid collection consists of over 1100 catalogued specimens, including 46 holotypes. The collection of basal synapsids includes 29 holotypes of
caseid,
ophiacodontid,
edaphosaurid,
varanopid, and
sphenacodontid species – approximately 88% of catalogued specimens.
Inside Ancient Egypt Inside Ancient Egypt offers a glimpse into what life was like for ancient
Egyptians. Twenty-three human
mummies are on display as well as many mummified animals. The exhibit features a three-story replica (featuring two authentic rooms with 5,000-year-old
hieroglyphs) of the
mastaba tomb of
Unas-Ankh, the son of
Unas (the last pharaoh of the
Fifth Dynasty). Also displayed are an ancient marketplace showing artifacts of everyday life, a shrine to the cat goddess
Bastet, and dioramas showing the afterlife preparation process for the dead. In 2024 the museum performed CT scans on 26 of their mummies.
The Ancient Americas The Ancient Americas displays 13,000 years of human ingenuity and achievement in the Western Hemisphere, where hundreds of diverse societies thrived long before the arrival of Europeans. In this large permanent exhibition visitors can learn the epic story of the peopling of these continents, from the Arctic to the tip of South America. The exhibit consists of six displays: Ice Age Hunters, Innovative Hunters and Gatherers, Farming Villagers, Powerful Leaders, Rulers and Citizens, and Empire Builders. Visitors are encouraged to begin with Ice Age Hunters and conclude with Empire Builders. In this way, visitors can understand the cultural and economic progression of the Ancient Americas. Throughout the exhibit, collections are displayed in a way that emphasizes the cultural context of the artifacts. The six displays draw from the Field Museum's massive North America collection. Significant collections utilized by the exhibit include pre-Columbian artifacts gathered by Mayanists Edward H. Thompson and John E. S. Thompson. Additionally, former curator Paul Sidney Martin's American Southwest collection makes up a significant portion of the "Farming Villagers" display. The Empire Builders display includes Aztec and Incan artifacts gathered in the 19th century. The Ancient Americas exhibit transitions to the Alsdorf Hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples and eventually the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit. This emphasizes the thematic unity of the Field Museum's American collections.
Cultural Halls Cultural exhibitions include sections on
Tibet and
China, where visitors can view traditional clothing. There is also an exhibit on life in
Africa, where visitors can learn about the many different cultures on the continent, and an exhibit where visitors may "visit" several
Pacific Islands. The museum houses an authentic 19th-century
Māori Meeting House, Ruatepupuke II, from
Tokomaru Bay,
New Zealand. Additionally, the Field Museum's Northwest Coast Collections showcase the early work of
Franz Boas and
Frederic Ward Putnam's work with the
Kwakwakaʼwakw (Kwakiutl) people in the Alsdorf Hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples. Finally, the
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories permanent exhibition displays the Field Museum's current collaborative efforts with the indigenous people of North America.
Africa The Africa cultural hall opened at the Field Museum in November 1993. It offers 14 different displays that are primarily ethnographic in nature. Several African countries are exhibited as well as a variety of geographical areas including the
Sahara and
East African rift valley. The final section is dedicated to the African diaspora with a particular focus on the impact of the
slave trade on the continent. The Africa permanent exhibit owes most of its collection to the efforts of Wilfred D. Hambly.
Peoples of the Arctic and Pacific Northwest This extensive permanent exhibition covers two culture areas that were vitally important to the early work of the Field Museum—the
Arctic and
Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest collection is more extensive, but both collections are organized into four categories: subsistence, village and society, the spiritual world, and art. Major displays include a variety of dioramas and a large collection of
totem poles.
Cyrus Tang Hall of China The Cyrus Tang Hall of
China opened as a permanent exhibition in 2015. The hall consists of five sections: Diverse Landscapes, Ritual and Power, Shifting Power, Beliefs and Practices, and Crossing Boundaries. The first three sections are organized chronologically while the final two sections are organized by theme. Three hundred and fifty objects are displayed throughout the five galleries.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories opened as a permanent exhibition in 2021. This exhibit is an extensive renovation of the former Native American Hall at the Field Museum.
Native Truths utilizes about 400 artifacts to interpret Native American culture and history while also addressing modern-day challenges.
Regenstein Halls of the Pacific This exhibit is dedicated to the natural and cultural history of the
Pacific Islands and is organized into five different sections: the natural history of the islands, the cultural origins of Pacific Islanders, a canoe display, an ethnographic collection showcasing New Guinea's
Huon Gulf, and a modern Tahitian market. The final portion of the exhibit is dedicated to the ceremonial arts of the Pacific peoples. The majority of the collection was gathered by curator
Albert Buell Lewis. Building upon Lewis' desire to portray cultures as living and participative, the exhibit was intentionally designed to demonstrate how the Pacific Islands interact with the contemporary world.
Geology Halls The Grainger Hall of Gems consists of a large collection of diamonds and gems from around the world, and also includes a
Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window. The Hall of Jades focuses on Chinese
jade artifacts spanning 8,000 years. The Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies contains a large collection of
fossil meteorites.
Underground Adventure The Underground Adventure gives visitors a bug's-eye look at the world beneath their feet. Visitors can see what insects and soil look like from that size, while learning about the biodiversity of soil and the importance of healthy soil.
Working Laboratories • DNA Discovery Center – Visitors can watch real scientists extract DNA from a variety of organisms. Museum goers can also speak to a live scientist through the glass every day and ask them any questions about DNA. • McDonald's Fossil Prep Lab – The public can watch as
paleontologists prepare real fossils for study. • The Regenstein Pacific Conservation Laboratory – conservation and collections facility. Visitors can watch as conservators work to preserve and study anthropological specimens from all over the world.
Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex '' skeleton yet discovered On May 17, 2000, the Field Museum unveiled
Sue, the largest
T. rex specimen discovered at the time. Sue has a length of , stands tall at the hips, and has been estimated at as of 2018. The specimen is estimated to be 67 million years old. The fossil was named after the person who discovered it,
Sue Hendrickson, and is commonly referred to as female, although the dinosaur's actual sex is unknown. The original skull is not mounted to the body due to the difficulties in examining the specimen 13 feet off the ground, and for nominal aesthetic reasons (the replica does not require a steel support under the mandible). An examination of the bones revealed that Sue died at age 28, a record for the fossilized remains of a
T. rex until
Trix was found in 2013. In December 2018 after revisions of the skeletal assembly were made to reflect new concepts of Sue's structure, display of the skeleton was moved into a new suite in
The Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet. ==Temporary exhibitions==