Skip to content
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, IL

Photo: Alanscottwalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Museums

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Chicago natural history museum for children and families, run by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, with a live butterfly house.

2430 N. Cannon Dr., Chicago, IL 60614 · Chicago, IL

About Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a natural history museum in Lincoln Park that focuses mostly on children. It is operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences and centers on the natural history of the Chicago region. Visitors can explore hands-on exhibits, attend family events, and join education programs for children and adults. The museum is best known for its live butterfly house, the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven, which is tied to a lab that studies native Chicago-area butterflies. The academy's collection dates to 1857, and the present building opened in 1999.

  • #natural history
  • #butterflies
  • #children
  • #family
  • #Lincoln Park

What's around here?

The closest stops to Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

    Lincoln Park Zoo

    No admission fee

    One of America's last free zoos, lions, gorillas, and gardens minutes from downtown.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Lincoln (Abraham) Park

    Check prices

    A long lakefront park on Chicago's North Side that holds a zoo, a conservatory, museums, beaches, and nature areas.

    0.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Chicago History Museum

    Under $25

    You trace Chicago's story through restored dioramas, a vintage L car and hands-on galleries at Clark Street and North Avenue in Lincoln Park.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.0 mi awayMore like this

  • Theater & Events
    Iconic

    The Second City

    $25–$50

    The legendary Old Town comedy theater that launched Bill Murray, Tina Fey, and Stephen Colbert. Sketch and improv nightly.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Theater & Events

  • Museums
    History Buff

    International Museum of Surgical Science

    $25–$50

    The only North American museum devoted to the history of surgery, set in a Gold Coast mansion on Lake Shore Drive.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.2 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Art Lover

    Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

    Under $25

    One of the world's largest contemporary art museums, steps off the Mag Mile, bold exhibitions, free for under-18s.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    2.2 mi awayMore like this

Near Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

More of the same kind

Keep exploring