|
Field Museum
- 1948
Copyright
2005 David R. Phillps
The Field Museum of Natural History is
located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore
Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex
known as the Museum Campus Chicago. The museum
collections contain over 21 million specimens, of which
only a small portion are ever on display.
Some prized exhibits in The Field Museum
include:
Sue, the largest and most complete
Tyrannosaurus currently known. A comprehensive set of
human cultural anthropology exhibits, including
artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Pacific Northwest and
Tibet. A large and diverse taxidermy collection,
featuring many large animals, including two prized
African elephants and the infamous Lions of Tsavo,
featured in the 1996 movie "The Ghost and the Darkness".
A large collection of dinosaurs in the Evolving Planet
exhibit (formerly Life Over Time). A large collection of
Native American artifacts. The main exhibit with these
artifacts reopened as Ancient Americas in March 2007.
History The Field Museum was incorporated in the State
of Illinois on September 16, 1893 as the Columbian
Museum of Chicago with its purpose the "accumulation and
dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and
exhibition of artifacts illustrating art, archaeology,
science and history." The museum was originally housed
in the World's Columbian Exposition's Palace of Fine
Arts, which was rebuilt to house the Museum of Science
and Industry. In 1905, the museum's name was changed to
Field Museum of Natural History to honor the museum's
first major benefactor, Marshall Field, and to better
reflect its focus on the natural sciences. In 1921, the
museum moved from its original location to its present
site on Chicago Park District property near downtown,
where it is part of the lakefront Museum Campus that
includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler
Planetarium. In 2006, the Field Museum was the number
one cultural attraction in Chicago but surrendered the
title in 2007 to the Shedd Aquarium.
Permanent Exhibitions
There are many permanent exhibits
located at The Field Museum for the public to enjoy.
Many animal specimens are on display in exhibits like
Nature Walk, Mammals of Asia, Mammals of Africa, and
several other exhibits. Through these exhibits, visitors
can get an up-close look at the diverse habitats that
animals inhabit.
The Grainger Hall of Gems features 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.
Plate tectonics - seafloor spreading and
continental drift illustrated on relief globe of the
Field Museum The Underground Adventure gives visitors a
bugs-eye look at the world beneath their feet. They will
get to see what insects and soil look like from that
size. Visitors will learn about the soil's biodiversity
and the importance of healthy soil. The scale of the
exhibit is 100 times larger than normal size.
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 tomb that
visitors can enter, complete with 5,000-year-old
hieroglyphs. There are also many interactive displays,
for both children and adults, as well as a shrine to the
cat Goddess Bastet. A popular feature of the exhibit is
the chapel from the original tomb of Unis-Ankh, the son
of the Pharaoh Unas, the last Pharaoh of the 5th
dynasty. The exhibit is a re-creation of his mastaba
which was originally located in Saqqara.
Evolving Planet- Throughout this
exhibition, visitors will see both the history and the
evolution of life on Earth over a span of 4 billion
years, from the first organism to present-day life.
Visitors can see how mass extinctions in Earth’s history
helped shape all the organisms. There is also an
expanded dinosaur hall, with dinosaurs from every era,
as well as interactive displays.
The Ancient Americas- Takes visitors on
a journey through 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.
Dioramas- Visitors can see many animals
including everything from tigers to hawks. This area
also features the man-eating Lions of Tsavo, featured in
the 1996 movie "The Ghost and the Darkness".
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 everyday 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 Laboratory-
1,600-square-foot (150 m2) conservation and collections
facility. Visitors can watch as conservators work to
preserve and study anthropological specimens from all
over the world.
Other exhibits 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.
Chicago Field Museum Historic Pictures ∙
Historic Chicago Photographs ∙ Old Chicago
Pictures ∙ Chicago Art Dealer ∙ Old Chicago Photos ∙ Historical Chicago Pictures ∙
Marvelous Photographs of Chicago ∙ Chicago Historical Pictures ∙ Historical Chicago Images ∙ Historic Chicago
Pictures ∙ 1930s Photographs of Chicago ∙ Vintage Chicago Photographs ∙ Black
and White Pictures of Chicago ∙ Historic Chicago Snapshots ∙ Chicago Photography
∙ Fine Art Chicago ∙ Classic Chicago Pictures
|
