Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Would you just look at that cute, little turtle? He was definitely my favorite part of the whole museum, butterflies included. I’ve never had an animal at an exhibit interact with me like that! He craned his neck on his little perch, climbed on top of the rock to get a better look at me, fell off the rock, and covered himself in dirt. Tehehe. He was adorable. I’m now determined to get a pet turtle one day. (Perhaps one that is not a threatened species.)
I thought the Nature Museum was an awesome attraction in Lincoln Park. Not a lot of places I’ve been have a «Nature Museum» and I’m one for museums… The exterior of the museum is awesome. There’s a deck outside of the museum that extends out to the North Pond where Melissa C took some stunning wedding photos. Also, the building itself looks pretty cool. Multi-​layered, each layer resting at a different angle. It kind of reminded me of some Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.
Some of the exhibits were okay. I think the waterway section would have been interesting, but some of the waterway things weren’t working properly, or the water was turned off. Some things just didn’t work along the way… but obviously didn’t deter me much.
The butterflies were great! It’s a little small, but did the trick: peace and love. Innocence. Butterflies chasing after each other in happiness. I love butterfly conservatories. They are something everyone needs to do once in his or her life.
The staff was quite friendly and the «green» exhibit was a nice touch as well. Any nature museum that focuses on our environment/​global warming is good in my book!
Overall, I’m a fan of this museum. If you have a child, it has fun and interactive parts to it that make it fun and enjoyable. If you happen to go here, say hi to the Eastern Box Turtle for me. :)

Given that living in a big city often robs one of their chance to walk in the woods and interact with nature, I’m glad that in Chicago we at least have the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. I do wish this museum was bigger and had more displays and exhibits but it isn’t a waste of an opportunity. As an adult with no children to tend to, I wasn’t exactly sure if this museum would be of much use/​interest to me. I was however pleasantly surprised.
I went to the Nature on Tap event that the museum hosts on the last tuesdays of every month (runs from 6 to 9 pm). This is an event geared towards adults and hence it was perfect for me given I have little patience for tantrum-​throwing, ill-​behaved, obnoxious kids.
Anyway, I got to stroll through the exhibits, including the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven, which quickly became one of my favorite spots. There were so many beautiful butterflies just flying around. Some even came and sat on the shoulders of those humans who stood still for awhile. With a glass of wine in hand and tapping my feet to the beautiful live music being played downstairs, I explored the museum. There was a pop up stall serving delicious indian snacks and rolls.
Upstairs they were screening Hitchcock’s «The Birds» and had fresh popcorn for the viewers. Then I got to indulge in a trivia game with the other attendees, emceed by one of the resident scientist at the museum.
Next we got to meet some of the resident animals at a live critter connection — including some garden snakes local to Illinois! I then explored the super fun and intriguing Beecher Collections Laboratory where scientists engaged in real taxidermy of bison, skunks, coyotes and more. They also have some really cool exhibits including Birds of Chicago, Istock Family Look-​in Lab, Nature Trails, etc.
For just $ 12 (for those that aren’t museum members), this is the perfect event to check out this lovely museum :)

Great museum for kids to run around in. My 1 one year loves it. There is a play room that specifically caters to children and a lot of the other exhibits are clearly designed with kids in mind. (It is really a children’s museum without the word «children» in the name. I have never seen a single or group of adults in the museum.) One time admission price is reasonable, but memberships are also relatively inexpensive as an option to get kids out of the house in the winter. They have free days for Illinois residents (I believe every Thursday). You can also check out free passes at Chicago libraries.
One note: Free parking (street parking) can be challenging to find.

The best children’s museum around. Because it captivates adults too. Though not specifically labeled a children’s museums, most of the exhibits at Notebart will thrill everyone’s inner child along with their actual child. The butterfly exhibit is like walking into a magical Disney attraction, while also an adult photographers dream. There are also a myriad of animal attractions and a neat playground, best suited for ages 2 – 7, where kids can swing from vines like Tarzan. I especially recommend this museum as a winter escape, as the butterfly exhibit is a steady 80 degrees and humid.

This was the perfect venue for our wedding in December! I always thought I wanted to get married somewhere deep in the woods, but it turns out that it wasn’t very practical. I still wanted to marry somewhere inspired by nature but easy for guests to access, and this was the perfect place. The grounds made for amazing photos. We got married on a foggy winter day and it looked like we were somewhere in a magical realm. This is also a wonderful place to hold a wedding because by paying for the museum rental, you are also supporting a great institution that aims to make our world a greener place.
We also really enjoyed working with Cassandra and Terry. They seem to really love what they do, and are very accommodating. We liked how Terry was so excited to show us the adorable quail running around the butterfly sanctuary on our initial walk through. We held our ceremony in the main lobby, which looked so elegant with its high ceilings and brick accents. Our cocktail hour was in the nature walk area/​butterfly sanctuary, which was really interactive and fun for our guests. The reception room is has huge windows on two sides with beautiful views of the pond and trees. They lined the windows with votive candles which created a winter wonderland feel. Everything was perfect and magical. We are so happy to have chosen this space for our wedding!

This review is for the Butterfly Haven Yoga! This is a very special space to do yoga as you’ll have butterflies fluttering all around you. The classes are very small so you get lots of assists from the instructor if you’d like it! Tip to enter through the exit when you arrive!

I stopped by while in Lincoln Park to visit the Conservatory and Zoo and the Nature Museum ended up being the highlight of my trip! The $ 9 entrance fee for adults was totally worth it. The animals downstairs and upstairs (both stuffed and alive) were neat to check out — the polar bear was especially impressive! I appreciated the extensive explanation of taxidermy included near the wildlife exhibit — I’ve seen stuffed animals in tons of museums but had never learned about the process of making them. I also enjoyed the art around the museum, particularly the exhibit called «Alaska from Above». The highlight of course is the butterfly room! So beautiful. There were many special activities for kids, but as an adult there was a lot of information and enjoyable things to look at so I would recommend this for all ages.

This place is not a destination — you would not drive 4 hours to go to it.
But if you live in Chicago or are in Chicago for the weekend, this is a very nice couple of hour exploration. For less than the price of a movie ticket you get to explore some nature and science centric exhibits, both indoors and outdoors.
This is not the Field Museum or the Museum of Science & Industry in size — not anywhere close. But it also costs a lot less to get in.
Tip: This is a member of the ASTC museums, which means you get in free if you are a member at another ASTC museum.

My three-​old and I spent a Saturday afternoon here while visiting Chicago for the weekend. This is a great museum for kids. Lots of hands-​on activities, huge water table, and nice play area. Free because we are members of an ASTC institution.

We bought a family membership on Groupon and had a great time with our sons (5&7). The entire place explains the balance between humans and nature through hands-​on activities and technology. We’ll definitely be coming back.

Bought a Groupon and it was a good deal. Large variety of things to do, but not all exhibits had enough things to do once your in that section. Although, excellent information for learning!
My kids loved that you could hold a snake or have a turtle sit on your lap!
Beautiful butterfly room!
The bee exhibit lacked a bit and seemed a little worn. Nice to see live bees.
Staff was awesome, friendly and informative!
Parking lots and street parking if you’re lucky!

I was pretty bored in this place…
My kids (2 and 4) were freaked out by the butterflies and wanted to exit the room immediately after entering. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because my boys were entertained. There were some hands on things they enjoyed. But I saw safety hazards that could hurt a child. The disappointing birds on the 3^rd floor were just wild birds outside. I thought they would be indoors. This really should be called Peggy Notebaert CHILDREN’S Nature Museum.

Butterflies! Wow is this place awesome. I know I missed the Unilocal event due to schedule restrictions, but my wife and I were reminded that this is a great place for our little banana to go.
Boy was that a great idea. I can see this being extremely friendly to all young kids and even adults as well. There are a few things which are hilariously anticlimactic though, the butterfly release being a prime candidate. It sounds like hundreds or at least a lot of butterflies are being released and the reality is we’re talking about maybe 6 butterflies? That’s not the fault of the museum; butterflies will reproduce as they do. Now, that doesn’t mean the butterfly area isn’t worth seeing — it absolutely is. There are tons and tons of butterflies flying around, doing their thing. Tons of beautiful butterflies. They don’t steal the show by themselves though! There are cute little quails walking around and also some type of bird similar to a hummingbird (but not exactly). It’s definitely a fun area to be around, and if you are there during the butterfly release they will pick a few up and hold them so that you can get really close, detailed photos. I’ll post a few of this nature if Unilocal can handle the quality.
However, this is a nature museum — there is more to this place than simply butterflies, but all of it is pretty camera friendly/​hands on. There’s an area that talks about animal conservation, planet conservation, animal taxonomy, and all sorts of other things. I would actually say this is almost like a kids discovery lab among other things, or Museum of Science & Industry-​ish. There are water exhibits (with water), fish, snakes, geckos, and other animals.
Even with my little 5 month old baby, she absolutely loved watching butterflies fly around.
Oh, and parking here is generally sucky. You’ll have a hard time finding parking anywhere nearby, let alone free — but it’s worth the admission to find a way to get here.

One of the best museums in the city for all ages. I had an opportunity to walk through all the exhibits including the butterfly observation haven, there are over 10 different species that you can actually touch in one place — How awesome is that!
I bring all my friends here and they literally spend the whole day here and a good place to meet other nature fans here.

It has been YEARS since I visited this nature museum. I only remember the butterfly sanctuary and that was the single reason I wanted to take my son. Lucky for us, PNNM offers a lot of things for kids to learn and discover.
PN focus is on nature and different environments. One can learn about water, grasslands, wetlands, recycling, conservation, Illinois habitats, so much more… and of course the butterflies. The grounds around PN offer some great scenery and I’m sure by late spring/​summer it’s just a riot of color and greenery.
We happened to visit right around the time they were offering story time in the Hand-​on Habitat (climbing structures that look like trees, a beaver dam and a ship). That was a nice unexpected activity. Geared towards toddlers and pre-​schoolers, my son had a blast and had fun coloring his butterfly coloring pages.
What I like about PN is that they offer many programs to make visits more personal. There is bird watching, a parent and tot program called Nature Nuts, Yoga and Tai Chi, even trivia nights.
And of course the Butterfly Haven – probably the most popular exhibit here. I love seeing all kinds of butterflies in one place. Colorful wings fluttering about. it was very peaceful the day we visited.
Free parking can be hard but we found a great spot… just a bit of walking involved. There’s a pay lot across the street too if you prefer.

This place is nice and fun for kids. The butterflies are pretty and plenty. It’s hard to find street parking though. The parking lot across from it is $ 14 all day till 10:59pm. So it can really add up with admission and all. It’s definitely worth checking out at least once, but I’m not sure I would come back that often. It’s more educational than the Children’s Museum in Navy Pier, but fun wise I think my kid likes Children’s more. If you get a membership at Children’s, the parking is free, and it pays for itself within 3 visits. Anyhow, the museum itself was nice.

I love this museum. Butterfly heaven is a must throughout the season. They have well-​managed programs for kids and adults every month.
Now, they have rainforest theme set up in the second floor. Kids can explore all different animals and look through the microscope.
They also have play area on the main floor that kids love.
You can touch turtles and learn about the detail.
Summer time, they do tour around the museum with staffs to see different kinds of birds and animal s around the place.

The museum is perfect for kids age 1 – 6, I feel like it might get a little young after that. We have been coming here for years and have a membership for 4+ years. We go several times a year and our nanny take the kids here too and they never tire of it — in fact they always say they don’t want to leave.
The water room is great — you might want to bring an extra shirt
The treehouse — can be a bit crazy when school kids are there, but a fun spot to run
we love the butterflies
Can’t go wrong with a easy place to navigate, cheap coat check, clean bathrooms and nice staff

I once wrote about a perfect one-​two punch of a first date consisting of a meal at La Creperie followed by a movie at Landmark Century across the street.
Well, looks like I got another winning combination…
The Nature Museum, as many have noted, is on the small side. I was here last weekend on a first date and went through every exhibit and display thoroughly in about two hours. And that includes learning how irrigation works and how to dress like a beaver on the simulation models. Twice.
But the magic trump card is the butterfly enclosure. One stroll through here, and you can actually feel the romance blossom. Nothing like seeing hundreds of different varieties of butterflies showing off every color of the rainbow while the sunlight streams in and glistens on the waterfalls and ponds while making the wings of the butterflies shimmer. Works better than oysters, champagne, and Spanish Fly COMBINED.
Make sure you come here just after they release them, and watch your date become putty in your hands.
So here I give you another perfect first date:
1) Sunday morning brunch at Bongo Room/​M. Henry/​La Creperie
2) Notebaert Museum
3) Ice cream at Jeni’s in Southport
The rest is up to you. I just get you here, to the high stakes medal round. Thank me by naming your first child after me. :)

The Chicago museums are one our of most underrated treasures. I had been wanting to go the Notebaert for a long time. My son’s third grade class asked for chaperones for their field trip and I was more than happy to do it.
We had a pair of classes as part our group experience at the Note. The first was a nature walk and learning all about the natural habitat to Chicago and the surrounding area. The second was a class learning about bugs and Bob the turtle.
After having lunch we were then free to tour the museum for about an hour before we left. The butterfly habitat is amazing and I would have liked to have more time to see more of the museum. We went in a modern eco house too that we only rushed through on the way out.
At $ 60 per year for a family membership, this is truly one of the best bargains in Chicago. Many of the other museum memberships are 2 – 3 times more.
I definitely hope to be back with my other three kids.

I never knew this museum offered fun classes until recently! My friend found a butterfly pinning class through Dabble, but classes are also listed on their website.
All materials were included and we were able to pin as many butterflies as we wanted, which was awesome. It’s not that easy the first time around! We also were able to wander the butterfly exhibit, which is my favorite! If the cute little button quails don’t gobble up dead butterflies, they are used for this! The instructor was super nice and helpful and made sure everyone had at least one perfectly pinned insect. We were also able to take home a shadow box to display our best bug!
I also took a two day pigeon taxidermy workshop with urban ecologist Steve Sullivan. He has done a lot of the mounts in the museum. I liked that it was a small class, but the best part was that it was all female! All materials were included as well. I’ve done a mammal taxidermy class with a traveling instructor, but it was more «rogue» and we stuffed half of a rabbit with cotton, put it on a hanging wall mount and were encouraged to decorate it. It was fun, but I wanted to learn so much more!
In this workshop, we made a production mount that you’d see in a museum or gallery. It was way harder than I expected, but very comprehensive. A few days before the class, everyone was e-​mailed some study material so we would have an idea of what to expect. We learned about bird anatomy, the proper way to skin and mount the animal and after care. We were able to stay after class to work on the birds more if needed, and a few of us even came back a third time to finish. The class size was small, but for me, I need more one on one instruction. Steve was patient with everyone since most of us didn’t know what the heck we were doing at times! Everyone left with an awesome, realistic mount. You won’t see any of ours on a crappy taxidermy website! We also left with McKenzie supply catalogs in case we want to do more on our own, as well as a plaster base to mount the bird on once it dries in a few weeks.
This was way longer than expected so in short, definitely take advantage of the cool nature classes they offer! There are some for kids since the museum is geared towards them, but these adult classes I took were awesome.

FLY WITH ME
My favorite part of this museum is the butterfly enclosure. I could spend all day in here. It is really fun when one of the butterflies decides to land on you. Make sure you or a friend has a camera ready for this fun photo opportunity. I have chaperoned many field trips here and the children are always begging me to go back to see the butterflies. Just make sure when you leave there isn’t a buddy riding on your back. They do have a security guard watching at the door for butterfly stowaways.
The museum does a great job with the kids. Our very large group of 240+ was scheduled in groups of 30 with a performer who sang songs and let the kids do some art projects during our visit. The children all loved it plus it gave us parents a chance to not have to chase them around. It is hard to keep a group of 7 year olds on the same page. All of their little personalities wanting to go in opposite directions.
The children also loved the interactive areas where they can push buttons, pull on ropes or play in the water. The exhibit with the water is probably the kids second favorite. I did have to do some refereeing because 5 boats between 100 children does not work out very well in the sharing department.
Not only is this place great to bring the children but it can be rented out for adult evening events. We had an amazing Unilocal Bash here last summer and it was probably one of the most fun events ever. The layout of the museum allowed visitors to explore the exhibits while still having fun. My favorite area was the outdoor space. An event space that has both indoor and outdoor space is always a plus in my book. It is like having the best of both worlds. I would have never thought about renting out this spot but after attending an event here I would highly recommend it.
So next time you are near Lincoln Park Zoo or at North Avenue Beach then stop on in here for a visit. The butterfly exhibit is outstanding and you’ll appreciate it at any age. There is plenty of parking around but you may have to do a little searching depending on what time you arrive. The earlier the better. Like a butterfly I need to fly and get out of here.

What a great museum. Residents are free on Thursday.
The butterfly exhibit is great! The little quails are so cute.
Great for kids! Lots to touch and see and play.

Awesome little museum! I’ve been meaning to come here for awhile now, and I finally got my chance when I came as a chaperone for an elementary school. I loved how hands on it was and how it was interesting for all ages. Oh also they give student discounts which I’m always a fan of! The museum is pretty small, but the butterfly room alone makes it so worth it! There’s also some fun little paths around the outside of the museum which are nice to explore on a warm day. It can get a little hot inside (especially in the butterfly room), so be aware of that! Other than that, I’d suggest it for a nice weekend activity!