3 Best Places To See in Chicago, IL

“ Lincoln Park Zoo is committed to connecting people to nature through a free, family-oriented nature experience. The zoo was established to inspire communities to create environments where wildlife will thrive in the urbanizing world. The zoo is a 35-acre, beautifully landscaped facility and one of the few free-entry zoos in America. The zoo is home to a wide variety of animals, birds, and plants. The zoo has an excellent ape house that is one of the world's best collections of gorillas and chimpanzees. Tourists can explore all the animals at the zoo and learn about their specially designed habitats. The zoo exhibits include large cats, gorillas, polar bears, penguins, turtles, monkeys, and other species, totaling about 1,100 animals of around 200 species. Lincoln Park Zoo offers free entry. Two pairs of swans arrived at Lincoln Park—a gift from New York's Central Park. The birds mark the beginning of Chicago's free zoo.”

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“The Field Museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational and scientific programs, as well as its diverse scientific specimens and artifact collections. Since the establishment of the museum, the collection has grown to nearly 40 million artifacts and specimens. The museum's collection has developed from items on display at the Columbian Exhibition of the World in 1893. With 65,000 exhibits packed with historical sites and cultural artifacts, many of which later found a permanent place in Chicago, over 150 scientists at the museum are working on discoveries. The museum's staff preserves collections of over 24 million specimens and objects that provide the basis for the museum's scientific research programs. The field trip opportunities at the Field Museum provide thrilling, hands-on displays of science and social studies in Chicago's historic environment. The Field Museum offers free admission for children under three.”

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“Shedd Aquarium is dedicated to helping a world thriving with aquatic life, maintained by people who love, understand, and protect it. The aquarium holds about 32,000 animals and is the third largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, after the Georgia Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium to maintain a permanent saltwater collection. The aquarium has now surpassed the Field Museum as the most visited cultural institution in Chicago. In 1971, Shedd Aquarium built a 90,000-gallon exhibit replicating a Caribbean coral reef, bringing the total number of fish and species to nearly 25,000. Shedd Aquarium has garnered multiple accolades, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' award for "best exhibit" for Seahorse Symphony. With 5 million gallons of water, Shedd Aquarium was once the world's largest indoor aquarium. Shedd Aquarium has a custom-made railroad car called Nautilus, which was responsible for transporting fish and seawater until 1959.”

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