The Field Museum’s Specimen Exhibition

Visit our Fine Art Display Case on the second floor in the corridor which connects the Drawing Room and Game Room. Inside the case one will find specimens, taxidermy, and castings among other items hand-selected by the Field Museum’s scientists. These relics mirror both the Field Museum’s newest exhibition Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life and The Backroom, a pop-up bar located in the hotel’s ground floor event space, The Tank.

About Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life (opening 3/10/17)

Journey into The Field Museum’s vast collections with Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life. From sea snakes to corpse flower petals to meteorites, the 30 million specimens tucked away on shelves, in bins and cabinets, glass jars, and acres of wooden drawers are significant not only because of their number, but also because of the stories they tell.

Among them is a tiny minnow that resides in a glass jar. To the naked eye, it’s insignificant, a brownish-grey smudge swimming in alcohol. But we know better: this minnow is precious. It’s long extinct, and this particular fish is the last remaining scientific record of its kind ever having swam our waters.

Scientists from around the world are using our collections every day to make discoveries, solve mysteries, and explore the wonder of the natural world. Together, these specimens weave a tapestry of life in our universe: what has been, what is, and what is still unknown. Join us on a quest to uncover the secrets these objects hold and to return to moments in time otherwise lost forever.

About The Backroom

Following last summer’s Cherry Circle Yacht Club pop-up bar, The Backroom pop-up, designed by Chicago-based art gallery Johalla Projects and operated by Land and Sea Dept., will feature actual specimens from the Field’s huge collection, available to guests to explore for the first time off museum grounds.

The Backroom hosts interactive programming with Field Museum professionals in the space each night on a variety of topics, ranging from space to taxidermy and more. All events will be free, and will give guests the rare opportunity to chat in person with leading experts in the fields of botany, zoology, geology, history, and more, all while enjoying cocktails from LSD beverage director Paul McGee. The bar will also offer late night programming until midnight following each workshop, like DJs, trivia, karaoke, and more. The Backroom is open Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm – Midnight through March 25th.