Field Museum - Definition and Overview

Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

The Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex called known as the Museum Campus which includes Soldier Field, the football stadium that is the home of the Chicago Bears, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and a fine view of the buildings of the Chicago Loop. The architecture of this building typifies the style initiated by the World Columbian Exposition of the 1890s. A walk in downtown Chicago will reveal an entire series of monumental buildings such as this one. There are so many that a Chicagoan finds them commonplace, and that it takes a visitor to elicit a comment about the history of the city. Even the football stadium has the signature classical Greek-style columns.

The museum is organized into four major departments: Anthropology, Zoology, Botany, and Geology.

Some prized exhibits at the Field Museum include:

• Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil skeleton (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/default.htm) 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".

Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

External link

The Field Museum (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/)