Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago's Lincoln Park is a natural history museum aimed primarily at a young audience and operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences. The institution has a long history that reaches back to the academy's founding in 1857, when it served as the city's first science museum. After several moves and the loss of its original collection in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the academy settled into its current building on Fullerton Parkway in 1999. This modern building, named for the benefactor Peggy Notebaert and designed by Perkins and Will, now houses exhibits on the ecological history of the Illinois region. A particular highlight for visitors is the living butterfly haven, which is home to more than two hundred different species and is connected to a lab for breeding and caring for native butterflies. The offerings are rounded out by lifelike habitat dioramas and a wide range of educational programs that introduce both children and adults to the natural sciences.