Adult Group Visits

On our behind-the-scenes tour, visitors will get a taste of CHM’s wide variety of collections and activities beyond the exhibitions. What you see will vary depending on our current projects and the particular expertise of your guide. Tours are led by conservators, collections managers, archivists, or other staff who may share favorite items not currently on display, inside looks at collections storage and conservation labs, or even work on new exhibitions in development. With over 20,000 linear feet of archival material and more than 23 million artifacts, there’s always much to see!

Specific Guidelines

• Tour duration: 60 minutes
• Group size: minimum of 10; maximum of 15
• Two weeks advance notice required
• Tours only offered the 4th Friday of the month at 11:00 a.m.

The Costume and Textiles Collection at the Chicago History Museum is one of the largest clothing collections in the country. Get an inside look at rarely seen objects with CHM costume collection manager Jessica Pushor and learn how they are stored, cared for, and prepared for exhibitions. Depending on circumstances, some special requests to tailor to tour group interests can be accommodated. Group size is limited due to space constraints within the storage facilities.

Specific Guidelines

• Tour duration: 60 minutes
• Group size: maximum of 10
• Four weeks advance notice required

Book your walking tour of the new must-see destination at Lincoln Park’s southwest corner—the Richard M. and Shirley H. Jaffee History Trail! Examine a historic fire relic from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, visit the Couch Tomb (a reminder that the area was once a cemetery), and take in a collection of community-inspired kinetic sculptures by local artist Bernard Williams. Then, visit additional tour stops that amplify Chicago’s personality, highlighting the city’s resilience, connectivity, natural beauty, and complexities.

Tours happen rain or shine. Attendees should dress appropriately for the weather.

Tour options:

• Jaffee History Trail only
• Jaffee History Trail + guided tour of permanent exhibition Chicago: Crossroads of America
• Jaffee History Trail + guided tour of a feature exhibition, such as City on Fire: Chicago 1871 or any other temporary exhibition
• Jaffee History Trail + self-guided exploration of CHM (the discounted group rate)

Group size: Minimum 10, maximum 25 people

Duration: 30 minutes. For group rate, please inquire through the online form below.

Learn the backstory and see Chicago’s past and present from a historian’s perspective with guided or self-guided tours.

HIGHLIGHTS OF CHICAGO

Discover the city’s vast history in Chicago: Crossroads of America. Whether you want to explore the grandeur of the world fairs of 1893 and 1933, or Chicago innovations that changed the world like skyscrapers and modern retail, or the diverse neighborhoods and lively cultural scene, this exhibition is a must see!

Duration: 50–60 minutes

Group size: Minimum 10, maximum varies with each exhibition. Please inquire.

Cost: $21 for adults; $19 for seniors (65+) and college students

Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s

Available starting the week of June 11, 2024.

Opening Sunday, May 19, 2024, Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s, features Chicago artists and activists in the 1960s and ’70s who used design to create powerful symbols and imagery to amplify their visions for social change. See more than 100 artifacts and images from the Chicago Freedom, Black Power, anti-Vietnam War, women’s liberation, and early LGBTQIA+ movements that often challenged the status quo, plus works from contemporary artivists responding to issues that parallel those of the past.

City on Fire: Chicago 1871

A rapidly growing city built of wood. A summer-long heat wave. An exhausted and misdirected team of firefighters. Racial, social, and economic tensions bubbling just below the surface. All Chicago needed was a spark. Learn more about our exhibition, which opened on October 8, 2021, the 150th anniversary of when the Great Chicago Fire began.

Back Home: Polish Chicago

Through the lens of Chicago’s Polish communities, experience the journeys immigrants have taken to get to the city, the ways they have established themselves in its neighborhoods, and the duality of feeling a deep connection to two places at once.

Duration: 50–60 minutes

Group size: Minimum 10, maximum varies with each exhibition. Please inquire.

Cost: $23 for adults; $21 for seniors (65+) and college students

Learn all about Chicago history as you stroll through the galleries at your own pace.

• Chicago: Crossroads of America
• City on Fire: Chicago 1871
• Back Home: Polish Chicago

Group size: Minimum 10, maximum 100 people

Duration: 2–4 hours. The group rate of $17 for adults and $15 for seniors/college students applies. 

How much do you know about Chicago? Test your knowledge with a scavenger hunt in the Museum. This tour is ideal for team-building or for a fun way to experience history.

Cost: $2 per person in addition to the self-guided tour fee.

From 1843 until the late mid-1860s, what is now Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo was the Chicago City Cemetery. After the park was named for Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, graves were moved to more distant cemeteries, but evidence of the cemetery’s past remains. On this walking tour with guide and researcher Tony Szabelski, explore the park’s history from the Couch Tomb to the tragic deaths along the High Bridge and the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Content warning: Discussion of death by suicide in association with the High Bridge.
Meet at the Chicago History Museum.

On a spring day in May 1924, a young boy, Bobby Franks, went missing while walking home from school. Within a day, his body was discovered, which launched an investigation that led to the killers, neighbors and young men of means, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, as he explores the 100-year legacy of the “Crime of the Century.”
Meet at NW corner of 49th and Ellis.

In 1893, 27 million people paid admission to the World’s Columbian Exposition to marvel at the grand architecture, scientific innovations, and cultural treasures. While names of the “starchitects” like Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan are remembered, who remembers those who built Chicago’s first world’s fair? Those who worked there? And those who were excluded from having any role in this important event? Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, for a walk through the fairgrounds to explore the collective effort, sacrifices, and successes that made the World’s Columbian Exposition possible.
Meet at North stairs of the Museum of Science & Industry, near the entrance.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Chicago hosted its second, lesser-known world’s fair, the A Century of Progress International Exposition. Despite the challenges visitors faced outside the fairgrounds, where they encountered scientific marvels, changing cultural values, and brazen entertainments. While the fair looked to the future with optimism, its various international pavilions foretold conflicts to come. Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, to explore the often-surprising legacy of Chicago’s forgotten world’s fair.
Meet at the front steps of Adler Planetarium.

To mark the 91st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, on this walking tour that looks at how everyday Chicagoans violated the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act and the consequences of their actions. Meet a grandmother who brewed beer out of her apartment, a famed writer who kept cases of whisky at his private club, and a corrupt prohibition agent who posed as an Eastern European count to shake down the Green Mill jazz cabaret on this exploration of how nearly everyone, not just those named Capone, scoffed at an unpopular law.
Meet at Blick Art Materials, 16 W. Randolph.

From postfire recovery to the hub of Chicago bohemianism in the 1960s and ’70s, Old Town reveals diverse stories about the city’s past. Highlights include a shelter cottage, St. Michael’s Church, the Midwest Buddhist Temple, and numerous historic residences. Minimum 10 participants.
Meet at the Chicago History Museum.

Whisk away to a time when Chicago’s rich and famous caroused on the coast. Gaze at ornate architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, step onto a rare wood-block alleyway, and take in Chicago’s early mansions, including the Archbishop’s Residence. Minimum 10 participants.
Meet at the Chicago History Museum.

Walk through Pilsen with local guide Luis Tubens and get the larger meaning behind the artwork in Chicago’s capital of Mexican cultures. The tour weaves the history of Pilsen with vibrant large-scale murals and lived personal experiences. Minimum 20 participants.
Meet outside the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 West 19^th Street.

Did you know that Bronzeville is home to many of Chicago’s treasured landmarks? This tour gets you up close to the culture, history, landmarks, and great stories in a great neighborhood. We’ll see the Walk of Fame, celebrate the music, learn about how the Black Belt became the Black Metropolis, and celebrate the cultural institutions that existed and endure. Minimum 20 participants.
Meet at the SE corner of 35^th Street and Martin Luther King Drive.

Discover the remarkable stories of the Chicago elite buried in this famous cemetery, including Marshall Field, Louis Sullivan, George Pullman, and Potter and Bertha Palmer. Minimum 20 participants.
Meet at 4001 North Clark Street.

On a spring day in May 1924, a young boy, Bobby Franks, went missing while walking home from school. Within a day, his body was discovered, which launched an investigation that led to the killers, neighbors and young men of means, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, as he explores the 100-year legacy of the “Crime of the Century.”
Meet at NW corner of 49th and Ellis. If meeting at CHM, add 45 minutes to an hour of travel time.

In 1893, 27 million people paid admission to the World’s Columbian Exposition to marvel at the grand architecture, scientific innovations, and cultural treasures. While names of the “starchitects” like Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan are remembered, who remembers those who built Chicago’s first world’s fair? Those who worked there? And those who were excluded from having any role in this important event? Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, for a walk through the fairgrounds to explore the collective effort, sacrifices, and successes that made the World’s Columbian Exposition possible.
Meet at North stairs of the Museum of Science & Industry, near the entrance. If meeting at CHM, add 45 minutes to an hour of travel time.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Chicago hosted its second, lesser-known world’s fair, the A Century of Progress International Exposition. Despite the challenges visitors faced outside the fairgrounds, where they encountered scientific marvels, changing cultural values, and brazen entertainments. While the fair looked to the future with optimism, its various international pavilions foretold conflicts to come. Join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, to explore the often-surprising legacy of Chicago’s forgotten world’s fair.
Meet at the front steps of Adler Planetarium. If meeting at CHM, add 20 to 30 minutes of travel time.

To mark the 91st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, join Paul Durica, director of exhibitions, on this walking tour that looks at how everyday Chicagoans violated the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act and the consequences of their actions. Meet a grandmother who brewed beer out of her apartment, a famed writer who kept cases of whisky at his private club, and a corrupt prohibition agent who posed as an Eastern European count to shake down the Green Mill jazz cabaret on this exploration of how nearly everyone, not just those named Capone, scoffed at an unpopular law.
Meet at Blick Art Materials, 16 W. Randolph. If meeting at CHM, add 20 to 30 minutes of travel time.