It’s been a lot of years since the average Chicago family could afford to visit one of the big-name hometown museums. With lunch, transportation, and parking, taking a family of four for an afternoon of culture can easily cost more than a car payment.
Since this is a quarantine, and not a vacation, we can’t Amtrak it down to Saint Louis, where world-class museums are free. So what’s an average pizza-eating, Sox-rooting, budget-having Chicago-dweller to do? Visit Chicago’s museums online!
Many of Chicago’s museums are available to tour on the intarwebs. You don’t have to pay for parking, then buy admission tickets, then shell out for special exhibit tickets, then get herded through the gift shop while being bombarded by corporate advertising and the shrieks of children too young to be in polite company.
So gather your well-behaved kids around the biggest screen in the house, and pick from this selection of online options:
Adler Planetarium
The Adler has a number of its collections on its web site to view. And like most Chicago museums, the planetarium also has a partnership with Google Arts and Culture, available here. But as with all Google partnerships, using it involves selling your privacy to Big G. Kick your browser into private mode and fire up your VPN for safety.
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago also has a Google museum, with over 500 items on display. And since it’s an art museum, the content translates to the screen very well.
Brookfield Zoo
The people out in Brookfield — where the area’s largest zoo is — are posting more cute animal videos online than you can shake a stick insect at. Facebook is the gateway drug for this one.
Chicago History Museum
Not just for school field trips anymore, the Chicago History Museum is all about you. Or at least the interesting people who lived in your neighborhood before you did.
DuSable Museum
Though the DuSable Museum doesn’t have the prime real estate of other Chicago museums, the internet is a great equalizer, and it can be right there on Google’s museum platform next to the others.
Field Museum
The Field has a number of interesting stores, articles, and videos online right on its own web site. A more complete experience can be had at its Google A&C page. It’s just the sort of thing you can use as the antidote for your latest Netflix binge.
National Museum of Mexican Art
Everyone complains about how Pilsen isn’t what it was ten years ago. But if you broaden your cultural palette beyond the latest trendy underground retro-cool taco joints, the spirit of Pilsen is still alive at the National Museum of Mexican Art.
Oriental Institute
This is our favorite Chicago museum; and also one that we don’t visit often enough because we get distracted by all the other things there are to see in the area now. If you’ve neglected visiting in a while, you can channel your inner Indiana Jones at its Google link.
Shedd Aquarium
During the shutdown, the Shedd has been doing some really great stuff. Stuff that’s been getting attention around the world, including letting the penguins wander around outside the building! Unfortunately, to see it, you have to sell your privacy to another big Silicon Valley advertising company, Facebook. But if you’re already inured to having your personal information swimming with Jacques Zuckerburg, go nuts!
Previously:
- Things To Do While Self-Isolating in Chicago: Part 1 — Amuse Your Neighbors
- Things To Do While Self-Isolating in Chicago: Part 2 — Play the “Check, Please” Drinking Game
- Things To Do While Self-Isolating in Chicago: Part 3 — Invent the Next Great Chicago Food
- Things To Do While Self-Isolating in Chicago: Part 4 — Write the Great American Novel
- Things To Do While Self-Isolating in Chicago: Part 5 — Great Chicago Reads
