We're thrilled to offer six Free Days in October for Illinois residents, starting Monday, 10/5. 🎃 As the fall chill sets in, come celebrate spooky season with our skeletons, bats, black cats, and more. 🦇 fieldmuseum.org/freedays
Our open halls are the perfect place for a frighteningly good (and safe!) visit. You don't have to come in costume, but don't forget your mask! 😉
We'd love your feedback on an upcoming exhibition we’re developing around beliefs, questions, and concepts of death. Help inform our next special exhibition by taking this 7-10 minute survey ➡️ bit.ly/FMExhibitionSurvey
Field researcher Valentina Gómez-Bahamón studies Fork-tailed Flycatchers, birds with fabulous tail feathers. While we usually think of feathers for flight, Valentina and her colleagues determined that Flycatchers also use these feathers to communicate. Learn more about this amazing research ⬇️
SUEprise—we reached our extended $150,000 #FieldGivingDay goal! 🥰 To our amazing community of Field fans, members, and SUEpporters: thank you. These critical funds help the museum continue its work and mission contributing to coronavirus research, providing virtual learning resources, conserving millions of acres of nature, and so much more. 💙 bit.ly/FMGivingDay
Your generosity has us seeing double. 🦖🦖 We're so close to reaching our #FieldGivingDay goal! Our deepest thanks to everyone who has already contributed to SUEpport coronavirus research, virtual learning resources, nature conservation, and so much more. 💙 There's still time to donate and have your dollar doubled thanks to a generous match ➡️ bit.ly/FMGivingDay
You're out of this world! ☄️ Thanks to your incredible SUEpport, we've nearly reached our #FieldGivingDay goal.
We're going to shoot for the stars and stretch our goal to $150,000. ✨ Every dollar—which will be doubled today thanks to a generous match—propels our work and mission. 💙
Field researchers Julian Kerbis Peterhans and Terry Demos have identified two new species of fascinating aquatic African rodents. 🐭 These "stilt mice" wade into streams using their super-long, kangaroo-like feet. To feed, they touch their whiskers to the water surface and feel for vibrations caused by swimming bugs. These adorable oddballs also have super big brains to process all those nerve endings. 🧠
Learn how, in addition to discovering new species, Julian and Terry's work helped piece together a bigger mammalogy mystery with the help of the museum's collection ⬇️
GIZMODO.COM
These Semi-Aquatic Mice Are as Fascinating as They Are Adorable
We were live talking about dinosaur and bird reproduction with our new associate curator of fossil reptiles, Jingmai O'Connor. 🦖🐣 She talks with the head of our learning department Aimee Davis about her research studying feathered dinosaur and their transition into birds. ⬇️
Diamonds, rubies, emeralds—oh my! Enjoy a dazzling, non-narrated tour of minerals and gems. 💎 See some of the eye-popping jewelry in our Hall of Gems, including a necklace with a 97.45-carat imperial topaz. 🤩 What other exhibitions would you like to virtually tour? ⬇️
Did you know you can talk to the world’s largest dinosaur? 🦕 Máximo the Titanosaur stretches 122 feet across our main hall and is ready to tell you all about his life during the Cretaceous 101 million years ago.
He may not have fingers, but he’ll reply whenever you message him ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/maximo
Or text our sauro-pal at 844-994-3466—that's 844-994-DINO. 📲 We promise he won’t leave you on read! 😉
Curator of Anthropology Gary Feinman studies the collapse of governments throughout history. Gary and his colleagues have used both history and archaeology to unearth evidence that some pre-modern societies were organized more equitably than previously believed. They’re comparing 26 Mesoamerica political centers—some which share characteristics with contemporary democracies, some which are more autocratic. The latter have leaders with few checks on power, rule imposed by people rather than laws, tightly controlled and monopolized resources streams, and few opportunities for public expression.
On #InternationalArchaeologyDay we look to Gary’s timely research as a reminder that large-scale coalitions are tenuous. They require constant maintenance, investment, and participation from people at all levels.
These museum seflies are 💯. We may not be able to see your smiles, but we love seeing you enjoy your visit. Illinois residents—don't miss the last four Free Days in October ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/freedays
Thanks for helping us keep the Field a safe place of enrichment, inspiration, and fun. ✨
🤢 Upset stomach? Ginger.
🌡 High blood pressure? Bitter melon.
🔥 Inflammation? Turmeric.
Among Chicago’s steel and glass, this city has another landscape connected by plants, people, and healthy communities. Stores across the city offer herbal remedies from traditional medical systems that are hundreds or thousands of years old. Pharmacy shelves in Chinatown are brimming with teas used to support health and target specific ailments. Botánicas in the Pilsen neighborhood are a resource for culturally important practices, offering products for spiritual well-being.
In our newest mini exhibition, Plant Medicine, learn about the many ways plants are used for health and wellness and the histories behind them ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/plantmedicine
A non-narrated tour of pristine fossils from Wyoming. 😍 50 million years ago, warm climates stretched from pole to pole and were home to many organisms that might look familiar, like crocodiles, fish, and palm trees. 🏝
Collections assistant Michelle Brownlee and conservation technician J. Kae Good Bear explain the newest addition to some familiar display cases—descriptions of various animals, plants, and minerals in Diné (Navajo) and Ojibwe. They also talk about why language revitalization is important with Learning Facilitator Heidi Rouleau.
Join us for more virtual programming and activities in celebration of Native American Heritage Month ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/nahm
This white-spotted jelly is beautiful—it's also boneless, brainless, and bloodless! 😲 While these ethereal wonders might not have a central nervous system, they do have a "nerve net" used to detect stimuli.
Jellies often travel in groups called blooms or smacks. If you listen very closely you can hear them say, "Happy World Jellyfish Day. Please vote. And take care of yourself and others." For not having a brain, we think that's pretty smart. 💙
Dave Spencer (Mississippi Chata/Dine) and the Redline drum group welcome Native American Heritage Month with an inter-tribal song. This month—and all year—we want to similarly celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the many values, traditions, and languages that make up the rich cultures of Native American peoples. We hope you'll join us for our virtual events, programming, and social media features ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/nahm
This year has been scary enough, so here's the floofiest Halloween animal we know: the Honduran white bat. 🦇 These social mammals are basically marshmallows with faces. But they don't just hang around looking cute! They build a series of leaf tents that they move between to discourage parasites, like bat flies, from attacking.
Happy Halloween! 🎃 Wishing you only treats today. 🍬
[📸: Leyo, Wikimedia Commons]
Hear from Reda Brooks, the person who made Black History Month come to life at the Field Museum! In conversation with Ed Schweitzer of the Learning Center, Reda shares the background of how Black History Month became official at the Field, what's happening this month, and the importance of Black representation in museums.
This month, and all year, we celebrate African Americans’ contributions to science and museums. For example, in the dioramas of Carl Cotton, a taxidermist who worked at the Field from 1947 to 1971. We opened A Natural Talent, an exhibition about Carl's work over a year ago. A month after opening, we had to close due to the pandemic, and too few have been able to enjoy this show in person. We hope you can visit soon. And look for a virtual tour of the exhibition we'll share here on Friday.
We're excited to virtually highlight many other Field staff and African American voices through our Black History Month events, tours, and social media features. We hope you'll join us in this ongoing celebration ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/blackhistorymonth
Tita Alvira, Senior Environmental Social Scientist, shares her work at the intersection of ecology, biology, and society. She talks with Learning Facilitator Anna Villanyi about the importance of getting to know a place through its environment and cultural diversity, as well as her experiences working in the Andes-Amazon region.
Join us for Meet A Scientist every Wednesday at 2:30pm on Facebook Live, and watch previous episodes here ➡️ bit.ly/MeetAScientistOnline
Fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail is one of more than a dozen artists whose work is featured in Apsáalooke Women and Warriors. Her intention with this collection is to represent the beauty, strength, and power of Apsáalooke women. ✨ See B.Yellowtail designs, as well as the people, values, and traditions that inspired them in #WomenAndWarriors ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/womenandwarriors
This video features the song "Ethnocide" by Apsaáalooke hip-hop artist Supaman. Follow his work and watch the music video ➡️
bit.ly/SupamanMusic
The Ese’Eja have been stewards of the biodiverse Amazon basin for thousands of years. In our newest mini-exhibition, the Ese’Eja Nation shares their culture and values alongside portraits and photographs that illustrate their resilience. 📸
These striking images were created using a platinum-palladium printing process. Photographers Andrew Bale and Jon Cox used Japanese kozo paper to symbolize outside influences like the arrival of Japanese refugees after World War II.
Learn about the Ese'Eja and their response to change, as well as the Field's conservation work conducted in collaboration with Indigenous Amazon communities ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/eseejapeople