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Top History museums in Chicago, United States
Top Rated History museums in Chicago
Top Reviewed History museums in Chicago
Chinese American Museum of Chicago
Museum Campus
Chinese American Museum of Chicago
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Norwood Park Historical Society
Reviews
A blast from the past. I enjoy seeing how homes were built, before my time. If you are too? Visit this ancient home built many years ago...
This is a must to go place, an extremely informative and excellent museum. If you want to learn about the African American experience in Chicago, visit here!
Lovely, gorgeously appointed museum that covers the scope of the Chinese American experience in Chicago. Multi-level with a fascinating documentary playing on the second floor. The fourth floor library is currently being reorganized, so it's really more of a two story museum, but it's still a must-see.
70th Birthday Party , good accommodations
We visited the museum on a Saturday as part of a group project for a university class. Stephen was so welcoming and gave us a brief tour of many of the exhibits on the first floor of the museum. The 16 minute documentary that we watched was very helpful in describing how Chinese Americans came to Chicago and how Chinatown was established. The exhibits on the 2nd floor really get into personal stories of Chinese Americans in Chicago. Overall, this was a great museum to spend a couple of hours in! We really appreciated Stephen's kindness and sharing of information.
Having not been to the DuSable Black History Museum & Education Center in over 3 decades I decided to visit. I was greeted by Keisha and Tiara who we had the brightest smiles and encouraged me to visit again. This is a 💎 of gems 💎 a must visit for locals and those near and far.
I didn’t take many photos but great museum!! Great information, artifacts, art, history of Chicago, very cool. Also a good amount of security.
You really have to go. Plenty to keep kids eyes and hands busy. The building and grounds are beautiful. Parking isn't that bad l, just pricey. Bathrooms on every floor. Just plan on a lot of walking. If you're planning on buying food here, sell some stock before you go...gets expensive quick.
The museum is fantastic, there's so much to see and so much information, there's no way to see it all in one day. But, the parking situation was RIDICULOUS. They had cones up directing people arriving in loops going nowhere. $30 for parking and finally got parked after about 25 minutes of that nonsense.
Free Visit’s are on Wednesday’s and this is a very important Museum on Chicago’s south side and there is so much to learn more about Black History!
The museum is a small local labor of love. There were 5 discrete exhibits the day I visited. As it was my first visit to Chicago, I loved the Chicago-specific exhibits as they helped me feel more understanding for the city and the people of Chicago. History has a powerful ability to help us situate ourselves in the present. That context is so vital. We found the staff very helpful in situating us in the museum; the attendent at the front desk gave us a wonderful overview of the museum's offerings. These included an interesting mix of art, artifacts, and mixed media reinactment. The museum is experimenting with different aspects of technology to bring history to life for it's visitors. Some things work better than others but the efforts in all cases demonstrate the museum's dedication to capturing the imagination and attention of those who walk through the doors. It was a worthy stop in my Chicago tour.
Beautiful place to host events
There are a lot of things to see in the museum, which is great but they make you pay a lot more money once you are inside. Several area they charge additional fees for. I was disappointed. It wasn't cheap to get in. If you had time and money to do it all it could be very expensive!
Great aquarium! I got us tickets to the penguin encounter. We got to spend 45 min with a penguin. It was very informative and fun. For both of us it was almost $200.00, it also includes a general admission to the aquarium. The shows and the exhibits are great. There are a lot of kid areas. They also have a couple of food options and vending machines. The staff is super friendly and helpful. We have been here a couple of times, and it's always a great experience. I would Uber or Lyft there. So you don't have to deal with parking.
Chicago museums are absolutely a sight to visit as they are spectacular! Just the architecture alone is magnificent. Once inside you will not be disappointed.
It was a cool aquarium. Pretty expensive though, and even though my family works in Chicago and lives only 5 mins outside Chiago City limits, they would not give us a resident rate. We enjoyed the day but will never go back. The area outside was fabulous. So much to do in the area that we will explore elsewhere. The Veteran monument outside Soldier Stadium was spectacular
My cousin had her wedding here and let me tell u exactly what the owner of this place did. She originally agreed to let my cousin set up everything with the help of people the night before. But when we were there she said "there was too many poeple" and we could not set up anymore. Sending us home. Because of this the wedding was late because of set up the morning with no one having sleep. She was rude to my family and I'm hoping it isn't because we are Hispanic. If you want an organized wedding DO NOT rent this place.
Very informative. Stephen and May were kind enough to give us a little tour and explain everything. It's a small place but has a lot to offer. Saw a small movie, again, very informative about the lives of Chinese Americans. I learned how Chinatowns came to be and how much racism Chinese Americans had to go through throughout history.
Note: there is currently construction going on not schedule to be done until 2027.
Overall the aquarium is a great learning experience. They sealife of all sorts. Everything from ocean animals to the Great lakes.
Everything is well marked and a teaching moment for younger kids and adults. It's definitely fun for the whole family.
The penguins and dolphins were our favorite!
Overall the aquarium is a great learning experience. They sealife of all sorts. Everything from ocean animals to the Great lakes.
Everything is well marked and a teaching moment for younger kids and adults. It's definitely fun for the whole family.
The penguins and dolphins were our favorite!
The "March" experience was wonderful. Enjoyed the history of Chicago's 1st Black Mayor; the letters and display of the service men and women. Displays of the artifacts of the struggle to build a better "America" on the backs of slavery were a grave reminder that freedom will forever have a cost that can not be repaid! The investment and resources to fund this museum are evidently lacking, and that's very sad. Definitely visit and donate!
First, you don't need to buy a ticket to get in the museum, but a donation is suggested. $8 per adult. The Chinese American Museum is full of very interesting stories and the cultural background for what was and still is life for Chinese Americans.
As far as I can tell the expositions change throughout the year, but few remain constant, mostly those narrating the store being Chinatown and its founders.
Personally speaking, my favorite section of the museum was the second floor, which explores the life and hardships of Chinese Americans who served in WWII. Their hardships during the war are pretty unique, and their struggles to get recognized for their service post WWII are mesmerizing and inspiring.
Aside from that, you will also find a wide variety of Chinese culture expositions, which is always nice to have and learn about, especially if you're not very familiar with their traditions and lifestyle.
Definitely worth a visit!
As far as I can tell the expositions change throughout the year, but few remain constant, mostly those narrating the store being Chinatown and its founders.
Personally speaking, my favorite section of the museum was the second floor, which explores the life and hardships of Chinese Americans who served in WWII. Their hardships during the war are pretty unique, and their struggles to get recognized for their service post WWII are mesmerizing and inspiring.
Aside from that, you will also find a wide variety of Chinese culture expositions, which is always nice to have and learn about, especially if you're not very familiar with their traditions and lifestyle.
Definitely worth a visit!
We visited the Shed Aquarium, and it was all I had hoped it would be. This is the first time I have been here, and it was an awesome experience! Dolphins, fish, crabs, whales, turtles, stingrays, this place has them all. Next time, I would like to visit the Planetarium!
I was so excited to bring my niece to the museum as she was visiting from LA. Sadly, when we got there we found it’s closed on Thursday’s (my fault for not checking beforehand).
This looks like an excellent place to come and explore after lunch on a weekday! Just not on Thursday’s! We peeked inside and it looked really nice with a mini gift shop too!
The colorful cultural mural painted on the outside of the building was beautiful! You can’t miss the regally perched bronze lions at the entrance!
I’ll have to return and do a legitimate review at a later date!
This looks like an excellent place to come and explore after lunch on a weekday! Just not on Thursday’s! We peeked inside and it looked really nice with a mini gift shop too!
The colorful cultural mural painted on the outside of the building was beautiful! You can’t miss the regally perched bronze lions at the entrance!
I’ll have to return and do a legitimate review at a later date!
Located in the heart of Chicago’s Chinatown; this was such a fantastic free museum accepting optional recommended donations upon entry.
We enjoyed exploring and learning about the journey, culture and history of the Chinese.
We watched an amazing video as well which was very informative and interesting.
Street parking was available. Don’t miss the amazing mural on the side of the building.
We enjoyed exploring and learning about the journey, culture and history of the Chinese.
We watched an amazing video as well which was very informative and interesting.
Street parking was available. Don’t miss the amazing mural on the side of the building.
Our family loves stopping to explore history visits and immediately made a decision to add this to the top of the list. Glad we did.
We are museum members at our home museum which have reciprocal privileges in various states that you can use your membership on. This was one of them. Our admission was free.
Parking on the side of the building was also free. Friendly customer service here well. We had a great educational time.
We are museum members at our home museum which have reciprocal privileges in various states that you can use your membership on. This was one of them. Our admission was free.
Parking on the side of the building was also free. Friendly customer service here well. We had a great educational time.
Nice place to visit, we took the tour, and the man who gave it was very knowledgeable and patient with us, looking around and answering questions. They take donations to help maintain the building.
A high priority destination on my first trip to Chicago! Loved every minute I was there. Everyone was so nice! Informative exhibits. The March On virtual reality exhibit left me speechless! I will be visiting again. 🖤
Seeing the stories of Chinese immigrants, Chinese Americans, and their lives as they adjusted to a wholly new cultural context was a touching and visceral experience for me. I found the "true stories" board particularly interesting, while the military and dining exhibits were also full of detailed and surprising stories. Loved the curation of artifacts. Highly recommend!
I went to Chinese American Museum of Chicago last weekend. Starting from modern Chinese American culture such as Chinese restaurants and their lives, and to the late 1700s, the museum covered a broad range of Chinese American history. It also showed the history and culture of Chinese Americans in the Midwest, such as their immigration journeys to their contributions to society. I enjoyed artworks by Philip Chen the most (picture). Overall, the museum was well curated, and the staffs were friendly. Recommending to those who are interested in the Chinese American heritage.
A thoughtful and well designed museum, the guide was knowledgeable and shared his experiences immigrating to America while walking us through displays and the voices video. The mural is beautiful! I highly recommend this museum as a must when visiting Chicago and Chinatown.
Attended craft fair. Bought a few small things.
Really enjoyed being here. Lots of history to uncover in one of Chicago's oldest houses!
Wow this place is great! There are two stories. The bottom floor exhibit changes every year on lunar new year, and the top floor is consistent. The top floor tells the story of Chinese American immigrants from railroad workers to Chinatown to "paper sons" and Chinese exclusion act. There is also a little movie theater for a nice 15 min viewing of a story using props. Suggested 5 dollar donation is very reasonable. Finally the lady who worked there was very welcoming and seemingly wanted to share the stories with me. Definitely coming back with some friends.
Very nice. Attended cookie and holiday items sale.