From Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park Best Nearby Museums (Attractions & Activities) (10 Overall Closest) Metro: Chicago, IL Chicago Cultural Center (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 78 E Washington St, Chicago  IL  60602 • 312-744-6630 Distance: ~0.29 mi User Rating: 10 / 10         Description: THE LOOP. This stunning neo-classical building boasts glass domes and mosaic walls and was once the main branch of the Chicago Public Library. Today, it serves as a multimedia art complex, offering such things as daytime and evening concerts (often free of charge). The Museum of Broadcast Communications and a lovely shop selling arts and crafts reside here, and the gallery displays rotating art exhibits. Dance, theater, music, and symphony performances are also hosted. Call the Department of Sponsored Events for current schedules. Art Institute of Chicago (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 111 S Michigan Ave Grant Park, Chicago  IL  60603 • 312-443-3600 Distance: ~0.42 mi User Rating: 9.1666 / 10         Description: GRANT PARK. A highlight of any trip to Chicago, this museum is home to one of the best and most diverse art collections in the world. People are drawn first to the vast Impressionist collection, including the world's largest group of Monet paintings. But treasures abound, including the haunting "American Gothic" and Seurat's groundbreaking Pointillist work. The contemporary section has been expanded and now includes pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Pollock, and Warhol. The temporary shows are also well known and always receive critical acclaim. A recent retrospective focused on the life and works of Van Gogh. Chicago Children's Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 700 E Grand Ave Navy Pier, Chicago  IL  60611 • 312-527-1000 • 312-527-4276 Distance: ~0.72 mi         Description: STREETERVILLE. Located at the Navy Pier, the Children's Museum hosts more than 500,000 visitors each year. The museum serves children from toddlers to fifth grade as well as their parents and features 15 permanent exhibits. The museum also holds a number of special events throughout the year geared toward educating children and supporting area schools. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago  IL  60611 • 312-280-2660 Distance: ~0.76 mi         Description: STREETERVILLE. When this museum opened in its new aluminum-lined facility in 1996, it became the country's largest museum of contemporary art. Featured works go far beyond two dimensions and include such diverse media as sculpture, photography, dance, performance, and music. Three large exhibition floors showcase more than 7000 objects, including pieces by Sol LeWitt, Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, and Rene Magritte. Don't miss the sculpture garden, which covers more than an acre. If you're there in the summer, check out the summer solstice celebration that includes a number of unique, art-related events. Museum of Contemporary Photography (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 600 S Michigan Ave Columbia College Chicago, Chicago  IL  60605 • 312-663-5554 Distance: ~0.82 mi         Description: DOWNTOWN. Located at Columbia College, this museum is dedicated to all this photographic. The collection includes over 6000 photographs and photographically related objects. The aspect of photos as communication tools is highlighted throughout the displays. The permanent collection mainly focuses on American photography post-WW II. The Midwest Photographers Project is one particular permanent exhibit that is very informative and well put together. Spertus Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 610 S Michigan Ave across from Grant Park, Chicago  IL  60605 • 312-322-1700 Distance: ~0.82 mi         Description: DOWNTOWN. Educate yourself about Jewish heritage at Spertus, which offers a glimpse into the culture of the Jewish people. The museum chronicles more than 5,000 years of history and includes objects like textiles, coins, sculpture, and paintings. A Holocaust memorial remembers victims of the genocide and showcases people affected by it who have associations with Chicago. A shop, a kosher cafe, and library are also part of the facilities. Field Museum of Natural History (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 1400 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago  IL  60605 • 312-922-9410 Distance: ~1.34 mi User Rating: 8.5 / 10         Description: MUSEUM CAMPUS. The exterior of this hulking marble facility only hints at the historic treasures inside. The architect's goal was boldness, and he achieved it with massive columns and striking galleries filled with natural light. Visitors are immediately greeted by two massive elephants and Sue, the museum's famous Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (she was acquired for $8.4 million)! Keep going and you'll delve into paleontology, geology, botany, anthropology, and much more. With nine acres of space to set up, curators can change displays regularly – they have more than 20 million items to choose from! Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 1300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago  IL  60605 • 312-322-0300 Distance: ~1.53 mi User Rating: 10 / 10         Description: MUSEUM CAMPUS. This eye-catching, twelve-sided building includes two sky theaters, one of which was the first planetarium in the western hemisphere. The theaters depict the night sky and allow visitors an up-close look at distant planets, moons, and galaxies. The complex also features exhibition rooms, a café, and a StarRider theater that offers amazing, interactive, virtual reality shows. In it, visitors use controls in their seats' armrests to participate in a 3-D simulation of space travel. On family-friendly Far Out Fridays, visitors get to see lots of shows, sit in on lectures, view the night sky, play games, and learn how to set up and use a telescope. Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 800 S Halsted St University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago  IL  60607 • 312-413-5353 Distance: ~1.67 mi         Description: LITTLE ITALY. A quest for social reform and belief in equal opportunities for all community members were driving forces behind Jane Addams' establishment in 1889 of a settlement house in one of Chicago's immigrant neighborhoods. Now owned by the surrounding university, the restored structure houses a museum that honors Addams, her work in Chicago, and her influence on civil rights and women's suffrage. Documents, furniture, and plenty of photographs tell the story of this remarkable woman. International Museum of Surgical Science (Attractions & Activities - Museums) 1524 N Lakeshore Dr, Chicago  IL  60610 • 312-642-6502 Distance: ~1.69 mi         Description: GOLD COAST. One of Chicago's most interesting and least famous museums, the International Museum of Surgical Science is a true gem. Chock-full of photos and artifacts from surgery's often gruesome development through the centuries, the museum is definitely not for those with a weak stomach. Check out a trepanned skull from Peru, early surgical implements, and even a re-creation of a turn-of-the-century dentist's office. The museum is housed in a four-floor Gold Coast house from 1917. Copyright ©2001 10Best Inc. All rights reserved.