The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today.The Adler was founded and built in 1930 by the philanthropist Max Adler, with the assistance of the first director of the planetarium, Philip Fox.Located on Northerly Island, it is a part of Chicago's Museum Campus along with the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. For its design, architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld, Jr. was awarded the gold medal of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1931. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The Adler has three full-size theaters. Since the museum's opening in 1930, visitors view representations of the night sky in the historic Sky Theater planetarium, the outer protective dome of which is visible from the exterior of the building.

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois that opened on May 30, 1930. The aquarium contains over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000,000 liters) of water. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. The aquarium receives annually 2 million visitors, which makes it the most visited aquarium in the United States. It contains 1500 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. In 1971, the Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a 90,000-US-gallon (340,000 liter) exhibit reproducing a Caribbean coral reef. In 1991, the Shedd Aquarium opened its Oceanarium, a large addition to the aquarium that features many marine mammals, including Pacific white-sided dolphins and belugas. The Shedd's newest permanent exhibit, Wild Reef, opened in 2003.

The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago. The museum collections contain over 21 million specimens, of which only a small portion are ever on display. There are many permanent exhibits located at the Field Museum for the public to enjoy. Many animal specimens are on display in exhibits like Nature Walk, Mammals of Asia, Mammals of Africa, and several others. Through these exhibits, visitors can get an up-close look at the diverse habitats that animals inhabit. The Grainger Hall of Gems features a large collection of diamonds and gems from around the world, and also includes a Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window. The Underground Adventure gives visitors a bugs-eye look at the world beneath their feet. Inside Ancient Egypt offers a glimpse into what life was like for ancient Egyptians.

The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is an encyclopedic fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois's Grant Park. The Art Institute has one of the world's most notable collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in its permanent collection. Its diverse holdings also include significant Old Master works, American art, European and American decorative arts, Asian art and modern and contemporary art. It is located at 111 South Michigan Avenue in the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. The museum is associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is overseen by Director and President James Cuno. At one million square feet, it is the second largest art museum in the United States behind only the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The Chicago Athenaeum opened in 1988. It is an International Museum of Architecture and Design. The museum features an exquisite collection of amazing pieces of art from areas such as architecture, industrial and product design, graphics, and urban planning.

The ABA Museum of Law, opened in November 1996 in Chicago, Illinois by the American Bar Association, is the only national museum that focuses on the role of law and the legal profession in America and throughout the world. Its goal is to engage the public in the legal system and make it relevant in their lives. In an effort to increase understanding of lawyers and the work they do, the museum highlights lawyers who were well-known for other work as well as well-known trials.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, often abbreviated to MCA, is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues. The museum's collection is composed of thousands of objects of Post-World War II visual art. It has hosted several notable debut exhibitions including Frida Kahlo's first U.S. exhibition and Jeff Koons' first solo museum exhibition. Koons later presented an exhibit at the Museum that established the museum's current attendance record for an exhibition. The museum also presents dance, theater, music, and interdisciplinary arts.

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows is a permanent exhibition which opened in February 2000 at Chicago’s Navy Pier entertainment complex. It is the first American museum dedicated solely to the art of stained glass windows. Named after prominent Chicago collectors E.B. and Maureen Smith, the museum holds over 150 individual pieces displayed in four galleries: Victorian, Prairie, Modern, and Contemporary. The majority of the works originally came from Chicago-area buildings, and a number of prominent artists are represented, including John LaFarge, Adolfas Valeška, Ed Paschke, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. The collection contains religious themes, secular work, and some more unusual items, including a stained glass portrait of basketball player Michael Jordan and a window created from glass soda bottles. The museum is located along a strip of shops, theaters, and restaurants, and admission is free.