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The Illinois State Museum will partially reopen its flagship facility to visitors beginning Monday, November 4, 2024. Please note that not all exhibits will be open.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Exhibitions

The Illinois State Museum's extensive collections can be seen in both permanent and rotating exhibitions. Permanent exhibitions are always available, while rotating exhibitions change every few months.

Permanent Exhibits

At Home in the Heartland

Listen to the stories of real people who lived in Illinois. Immerse yourself in the dramatic changes in household life over the past 300 years.

Changes: Dynamic Illinois Environments

At Changes visitors will see, hear, and touch Illinois’ natural history through engaging hands-on interactive displays, audio and video effects, thousands of authentic fossils, and more. Marvel at all the strange and intriguing species that once inhabited Illinois through a multitude of life-size dioramas.

THIS EXHIBIT IS CLOSED


The Mary Ann MacLean Play Museum 

The Play Museum is a free children's area at the Illinois State Museum-Springfield. Load a jeep; crawl through a cave; dig for fossils; put together a baby mastodont puzzle; frame art; explore collections of fossils, insects, artifacts; and toys; and play museum!

Rotating Exhibits

Kidz!
Second Floor Gallery

This exhibit celebrates all things “kidz” from the collection of the Illinois State Museum.  Visitors will see children’s clothing, toys, and objects from the 1840s-1990s, as well as artwork featuring children.  Hands-on activity stations provide opportunities for visitors to play with magnetic “paper” dolls, try on old-fashioned clothing, and play with vintage toys.

Wildlife Around Us
First Floor Hot Science Gallery

People have changed our landscapes, and our wildlife neighbors are affected. The Illinois State Museum’s new exhibition Wildlife Around Us, showcases the features and behaviors that help many native species live alongside humans. 

A Living Room: Artists Rearrange the Furniture
Second Floor Gallery

The artists in this exhibition find inspiration in furniture, taking known forms and creating something wholly new. Some become strange creatures. Some are menacing, others fragile. Some evoke comfort. Others are stand-ins for a body, inhabiting a room of living objects speaking back to us of their joy and sorrow.

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ISM-Springfield (Headquarters)

502 S. Spring St.
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-0979

Mon-Sat: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sun: Noon – 4:30 p.m.

Closed: New Year's Day,
Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day

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