**2016 FREE Chicago Museum days UPDATE here**

**2016 Chicago Museum DISCOUNT Admissions UPDATE here**

Visiting area museums make for some amazing learning opportunities and fun family adventure days, but with short attention spans and easily tired feet, it’s hard for a family to get their money’s worth on a full day admission.

Thankfully many local Chicago area museums offer free days for Illinois residents.

Here’s a list of 38 of Chicagoland’s best museums (compiled with information directly from museum websites) and the days they are available for FREE in 2015.

Make sure to check any museum website before your visit for cancelations, to familiarize yourself with parking fees, and to make sure that you have the appropriate identification with you to qualify for free days.

Happy Free Chicago Museum Days 2015!

Most Popular & Museum Campus

Adler Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605 | 312-922-7827

Free general admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28

Chicago Children’s Museum
Navy Pier | 700 East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-527-1000

Free admission for ALL visitors every Thursday 5PM-8PM.
Free admission for visitors 15 AND UNDER on the first Sunday of each month.

Field Museum of Natural History
1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 | 312-922-9410

Free basic admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 14, 15 & every day in February

Museum of Science and Industry
5700 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-684-1414

Free museum entry for ILLINOIS residents
January 5-9, 12-16, 19-23, 26-30
March 2-6
April 22
May 21
June 1-5, 8
September 8-11, 14-18, 21-25, 28-30
October 5, 6

Shedd Aquarium
1200 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 

Free general admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
February 2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 14 , 15, 16, 17, 23, 24
June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16
September 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29
October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
November 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ATM, credit or debit card holders
Eligible for ONE free general admission
May 3-4
June 7-8
July 5-6
August 2-3
September 6-7
October 4-5
November 1-2
December 6-7

Nature Museums, Farms & Zoos

Brookfield Zoo
8400 West 31st Street, Brookfield, IL 60513 | 708-688-8000
Zoo admission is free from January 1 – February 28, 2015, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022 | 847-835-5440
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.

Elawa Farms
1401 Middlefork Drive, Lake Forest, IL 60045
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.

Emily Oaks Nature Center
4650 Brummel Street, Skokie, IL 60076 | 847-677-7001
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.

Gardens at Cantigny
1S151 South Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189 | 630-668-5161
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.

Garfield Park Conservatory
300 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60624 | 312-746-5100
Free daily admission for ALL, street parking available.

Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614 | 312-742-2000
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.

Lurie Garden at Millennium Park
201 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60602 | Southeastern end of Millennium Park
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614 | 773-755-5100
Thursdays are suggested donation days for ILLINOIS residents.

The Grove
1421 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview, IL | 847-299-6096
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.

Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Road, Glenview, IL 60026 | 847-657-1506
Free daily admission for ALL, check website for programs and scheduling.

History Museums

Cantigny Park Museums 
Robert McCormick Museum & First Division Museum
1S151 South Winfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189 | 630-668-5161
Free daily admission for ALL, parking fees apply.

Chicago History Museum
1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614

Free admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5-9, 12-15, 19-23, 26-30
February – every Monday through Friday
March 4
July 4
August 18-20, 24-27, 31
September 1-3

Free admission for children 12 and under.

Clark House Museum
1827 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616
Free for ALL on Wednesdays

Glessner House Museum
1800 South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 | 312-326-1480
Free for ALL on Wednesdays.

Illinois Holocaust Museum
9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 | 847-967-4800

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ATM, credit or debit card holders
Eligible for ONE free general admission
January 3-4
February 7-8
March 7-8
April 4-5
May 2-3
June 6-7
July 4-5
August 1-2
September 5-6
October 3-4
November 7-8
December 5-6

Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
The University of Illinois at Chicago
800 s. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60607
Free admission for ALL (suggested donation).

Art Museums

Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603 | 312-443-3600

Free admission for ILLINOIS residents
January 5 – February 10, 2015 every WEEKDAY, all day long.
Every Thursday 5-8PM.
Residents under 14 free everyday.

Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602
Free daily admission for ALL.

City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower
806 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Free daily admission for ALL.

Ed Paschke Art Center
5415 W. Higgins Avenue, Chicago, IL 60630 | 312-533-4911
Free daily admission for ALL.

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
220 South Cottage Hill Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126 | 630-833-1616
Free admission for ALL every Friday.

Loyola University Museum of Art
820 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-915-7600
Free admission for ALL every Tuesday. 

Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art
Northwestern University
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 | 847-491-4000
Free program admission for ALL.

Museum of Contemporary Art
220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-280-2660
Free admission for ILLINOIS residents every Tuesday.

The Renaissance Society – University of Chicago
5811 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Free daily admission for ALL.

Smart Museum of Art – University of Chicago
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-702-0200
Free daily admission for ALL.

Ethnic Art & History Museums

DuSable Museum of African American History
740 East 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-947-0600
Free admission for ALL every Sunday.

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
3001 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201 | 847-475-1030
Free admission for ALL every first Friday.

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street, Chicago, IL 60608 | 312-738-1503
Free daily admission for ALL.

Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 | 773-702-9514
Free daily admission for ALL (suggested donation).

Swedish American Museum
5211 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60601 | 773-728-8111
Free admission for ALL every second Tuesday of the month.

Science Museums

International Museum of Surgical Science
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60610 | 312-642-6502
Free for ALL on Tuesdays.

Chicago Museum Discount Admissions

If you can’t make it to local museums during Free Chicago Museum Days in 2015, you may still be eligible for Chicago Museum Discount Admissions. Take a look at the special deals these Chicago area museums offer to various groups all year long.