Chicago - Field Museum of Natural History

Originally called the Columbian Museum of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History was founded in 1893 to showcase the biological and anthropological collections gathered for the World Columbian Exposition. The name changed in 1905 to honor Marshall Field, the department store owner, art patron and major benefactor of the museum. The permanent collection features approximately 20 million artifacts and specimens covering a variety of disciplines including geology, botany, zoology and anthropology.

Of special note are the permanent displays on ancient Egypt and the cultures of North, Central and South America and "Sue," the world's largest, most complete T. rex skeleton. Special rotating exhibits take place on a regular basis throughout the year.

The museum sponsors a variety of research and educational programs and houses an extensive natural history library with around 250,000 texts.