CHICAGO — Some of Chicago's leading cultural attractions are teaming up for an unprecedented "museum week" chock-full of exclusive shows, discounts, and free admission.
The week will run Oct. 1-7 and is promoted by Museums in the Park, which represents 11 museums on city parkland as well as the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Dave Matthews says the museums want to get people in the door:
Here's what the museums have planned. Check out Museum Week's website for more information.
Free admission
• Oct. 1: Art Institute (5-8 p.m.), Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
• Oct. 4: Field Museum
• Oct. 5-6: Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry
• Oct. 6: Museum of Contemporary Art
• Always free: Lincoln Park Zoo, National Museum of Mexican Art, National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
Discounts on membership during Museum Week:
• Adler Planetarium: $10 off
• Chicago History Museum: 20 percent off
• DuSable Museum of African American History: half-price individual memberships
• Museum of Science and Industry: $20 off
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum: $15 off one-year memberships and $25 off 2-year memberships
Other discounts:
• DuSable Museum: 2-for-1 tickets; 10 percent off at cafe or store
• Chicago History Museum: $4 off; 20 percent off at cafe or store
• Museum of Contemporary Art: $5 off admission if you bring in a receipt from another museum visited during Museum Week.
• National Museum of Mexican Art: 15 percent off at cafe or store
• National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture: 10 percent off at cafe or store
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum: $5 off admission if you bring in a receipt from another museum visited during Museum Week and 10 percent off at cafe or store
Special museum access:
• Museum of Contemporary Art will host MCA Prime Time, featuring live music, performance art and other programs from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 2.
• Chicago History Museum will stay open late 5-8 p.m. Oct. 6 to allow visitors to explore exhibitions with staff.
Special events
• Adler Planetarium will offer an exclusive Museum Week Sky Show at 2:30 p.m. daily.
• DuSable Museum of African American History will offer special guided tours of the museum.
• Chicago History Museum will premiere 30-minute highlight tours of “Chicago: Crossroads of America,” as well as offer excursion tours to Union Station, Old Town, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and on the CTA Blue and Brown lines.
• The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture will open the exhibit “Metamorphosis of Divine Entanglements” from Chicago artist Oscar Luis Martinez.
• The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will open “City Creatures: Animal Encounters in the Chicago Wilderness” and “Peanuts … Naturally.”
Fun and games
• Adler will offer story time with Curious George on Oct. 5.
• The Art Institute will open the Artist’s Studio on Oct. 3 and 4 for free family art-making.
• Lincoln Park Zoo’s Fall Fest, Oct. 2-4, will include rides, a hay maze, pumpkin patch and educational activities.
• The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on Oct. 4 will host its Harvest Hop 5K and Harvest Festival, featuring carnival games, autumn treats and a live bluegrass band. Every visitor during Museum Week will enter to win a lifetime membership to the museum.
• Shedd Aquarium will have daily animal chats.
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