Field Museum of Natural History

The Field Museum of Natural History is a nonprofit natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, focused on understanding the diversity of life, the history of the Earth, and human cultures. It was established in 1893 in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition and was initially known as the Columbian Museum of Chicago. The institution was later renamed in honor of Marshall Field, whose financial support helped establish and develop the museum. The museum's work extends well beyond the visitor experience. Its scientists and collections support research in areas including biology, zoology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, archaeology, and conservation. Specimens and cultural materials collected over more than a century provide evidence for research into evolution, biodiversity, ecosystems, the fossil record, and human history. The museum also conducts fieldwork and collaborates with researchers and institutions in the United States and internationally. Public exhibitions translate that research into experiences for general audiences, school groups, families, and specialists. The Field Museum is particularly associated with large-scale displays of dinosaurs and other fossils, gemstones and minerals, ancient cultures, and contemporary biodiversity. Its best-known public object is Sue, a remarkably complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton acquired in the late 1990s and displayed as a central attraction. Other established offerings include the Grainger Hall of Gems and galleries devoted to human cultures, animals, plants, and the history of the planet. The museum is also an educational and publishing institution. It offers programs, events, digital stories, learning resources, and public interpretation intended to connect scientific research with everyday questions about the natural world and human societies. Its publishing activity includes scholarly and collection-related work, exhibition materials, and other interpretive publications, although publishing is ancillary to its principal museum, research, and education functions. The Field Museum operates from its landmark building on Chicago's Museum Campus, near Lake Michigan. Its institutional identity combines the authority of a major research museum with an accessible public-facing brand. Current work emphasizes collections-based science, biodiversity, climate and environmental understanding, cultural knowledge, and broader access to research and exhibitions. As a nonprofit museum, it is supported through admissions and visitor activity, memberships, philanthropy, grants, events, and other institutional revenue rather than public-market ownership.

The Field Museum's origins lie in Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The museum was created to preserve and interpret collections associated with the fair and to establish a permanent institution devoted to natural history and anthropology. It opened as the Columbian Museum of Chicago, reflecting its connection to the exposition and to the city's ambition to build enduring cultural and scientific institutions. Financial support from Marshall Field was important to the museum's early development. After Field's death, the institution adopted the name Field Museum of Natural History in 1905. The new name linked the museum to a major benefactor while making its scientific purpose explicit. During its early decades, the museum expanded its collections, research activity, exhibitions, and educational role, becoming part of Chicago's emerging network of major cultural institutions. The museum's present building was constructed on Chicago's lakefront and opened in the early twentieth century. The move gave the institution a purpose-built setting for public galleries, scientific collections, laboratories, offices, and educational activity. Its location later became part of Museum Campus, placing it alongside other prominent Chicago cultural and civic attractions near Lake Michigan. Throughout the twentieth century, the Field Museum developed as both a public museum and a research organization. Its collections grew through expeditions, donations, exchanges, archaeological work, biological collecting, geological research, and the preservation of cultural materials. Scientists associated with the museum contributed to the study of fossils, mammals, birds, insects, plants, minerals, ecosystems, archaeology, and human cultures. The institution's collections became a long-term scientific resource, supporting research that could continue long after individual exhibitions had closed. A major modern turning point came with the acquisition of the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen known as Sue in 1997. The skeleton became one of the museum's most recognizable objects and was placed on public display in 2000. Its scale, completeness, and accessible interpretation helped make paleontology central to the museum's public identity and attracted broad international attention. Sue remains a signature example of the way the Field Museum combines specimen-based research with high-impact visitor presentation. The museum has continued to balance permanent galleries with temporary exhibitions, public programs, digital content, and scientific initiatives. Its exhibitions cover the natural world, the fossil record, minerals, biodiversity, ancient societies, and living cultures. Research and collection work remain fundamental to its identity, while education and interpretation connect specialist knowledge with schools, families, tourists, and online audiences. In the contemporary period, the Field Museum presents itself as an institution concerned with both deep history and urgent present-day questions. Biodiversity loss, environmental change, conservation, evolutionary relationships, and the responsibilities involved in collecting and interpreting cultural materials all shape the museum's work. Its ongoing model is therefore broader than a conventional display venue: it is a nonprofit center for collections, research, public learning, cultural interpretation, and scientific communication. Publishing, including scholarly and exhibition-related material, supports this mission by extending the reach of the museum's research and interpretation.

• 2000

  Sue went on public display

  [1]Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org

  Sue became a major public attraction and one of the museum's most recognizable specimens.

• 1997

  Sue the T. rex acquired

  [1]Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org

  The museum acquired the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen known as Sue, later making it a centerpiece of public interpretation.

• 1921

  Lakefront museum building opened

  [1]Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org

  The museum moved into its major lakefront building, which remains its principal home in Chicago.

• 1905

  Renamed the Field Museum of Natural History

  [1]Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org

  The museum adopted the Field name in honor of Marshall Field, an important early benefactor.

• 1893

  Museum established after the World's Columbian Exposition

  [1]Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org

  The institution was founded in Chicago in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition and initially operated as the Columbian Museum of Chicago.

A major research-led natural history museum that makes scientific collections, biodiversity, paleontology, geology, and human cultures accessible through exhibitions, education, fieldwork, and publishing.

• Paleontology exhibition · 2000

  Sue the T. rex

  Sue is a large and exceptionally complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton acquired by the Field Museum in 1997 and displayed from 2000. It serves as both a major visitor attraction and an interpretive gateway to dinosaur biology, fossilization, scientific preparation, and the Cretaceous world.

• Mineralogy exhibition

  Grainger Hall of Gems

  The Grainger Hall of Gems presents gemstones and related mineral specimens in an exhibition setting. It connects aesthetic appreciation of gems with geological formation, mineral science, collecting, and the museum's broader earth-science collections.

• Museum exhibitions

  Permanent natural history galleries

  The Field Museum's permanent galleries interpret subjects such as dinosaurs and fossils, animals, plants, geology, evolution, and the history of the Earth. These galleries use specimens, reconstructions, contextual interpretation, and interactive learning to present research to a general audience.

• Cultural exhibitions

  Anthropology and archaeology galleries

  The museum's anthropology and archaeology offerings interpret human societies, material culture, ancient civilizations, and cultural diversity. They draw on extensive collections and research while presenting human history alongside the institution's natural-science subjects.

• Research service · 1893

  Scientific collections and research

  Research collections provide specimens and cultural materials for work in biology, zoology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, archaeology, and related fields. Fieldwork, laboratory research, collection stewardship, and collaboration extend the museum's role beyond public exhibition.

• Publishing

  Museum publications

  The Field Museum publishes or produces scholarly, collection-related, educational, and exhibition material that communicates institutional research and interpretation. These publications support the museum's scientific and public-learning mission rather than functioning as a separate commercial publishing brand.

• 1997

  Acquisition of Sue the T. rexProduct launch

  Background

  The museum sought major specimens capable of advancing research and creating an accessible public connection to paleontology.

  Action taken

  The Field Museum acquired the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen known as Sue.

  Aftermath

  Sue became a defining specimen for the museum and was subsequently placed on public display.

  Source

• 1905

  Adopted the Field Museum nameStrategy

  Background

  The institution had been established as the Columbian Museum of Chicago and had received important support from Marshall Field.

  Action taken

  It was renamed the Field Museum of Natural History, aligning the institution with its benefactor and its natural-history mission.

  Aftermath

  The Field name became the museum's enduring public identity.

  Source

1. 1Field Museum official websitefieldmuseum.org