Surveying the latest in city cultural institutions this fall, their offerings are as impossible to summarize as ever. But one sticks in mind: Many of the below are meant to be held, played in, run upon, kneaded. Please touch, they implore.
Not all, to be clear — I don’t think the Art Institute would take kindly to you manhandling its Cassatts. But enough museums are welcoming not just your eyes but your hands that it seems we’ve hit an inflection point, much like the immersive-exhibition craze that emerged out of COVID. To be here as soon as six years after scrubbing apples and chip bags with Lysol wipes is nothing short of a miracle.
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So, please touch, and be touched. These museums are inviting you in, up close and personal:
Truth-tellers across mediums
By mid-November, one will be able to peruse sweeping new features of no fewer than five female artists in a single visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, bookended by major explorations of American Impressionist Mary Cassatt (Sept. 6 to Jan. 3, 2027) and the Colombian print artist Beatriz González, who died earlier this year (Nov. 14 to March 1).
Karimah Ashadu’s video installation “Machine Boys” will begin showing in the Modern Wing on Sept. 11, timed to coincide with the Nigerian-British artist’s solo show at The Renaissance Society in Hyde Park (Sept. 12 to Nov. 1). Head upstairs from “Machine Boys” to check out painter Jill Mulleady’s first major museum show (Sept. 19 to Jan. 18, 2027); her canvases tend to dwell on haunted figures in eerily glowing settings, like a latter-day Munch. Already open is a survey of the pioneering Surrealist photography of Lee Miller (closes Dec. 7).
Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Tuesdays (closed) and Thursdays (open until 8 p.m.); For Chicago residents, $32 standard adult admission at artic.edu.
The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 5811 S. Ellis Ave., Cobb Hall, 4th floor; open Weds.–Fri. 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; free admission, more at renaissancesociety.org.
Hands-on history
The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum reopens on Oct. 1 following summer renovations. At that point onward, it will host “Indigenous Chicago” — a version of which was previously shown at the Newberry Library — and “The Gifts of Our World,” a play and learning space for children. Stay tuned for later in the fall, when the museum opens its Teaching Kitchen, a space for Indigenous chefs and speakers to share recipes, traditions and food knowledge with the general public.
Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, 3001 Central St. in Evanston; open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed Sundays); $8 standard adult admission, free for tribal citizens and active military at gichigamiin-museum.org.
Carving a niche
As early as 1863, Emma Stebbins became the first woman commissioned to create a public sculpture for the city of New York. Her Bethesda Fountain is still a Central Park landmark. A traveling exhibition on Stebbins’ trailblazing life and work arrives at the Driehaus Museum, complete with archival materials, paintings and more than a dozen of her marble sculptures.
“Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History” runs Oct. 9 to April 18, 2027, at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, 50 E. Erie St.; open Thurs.-Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with 4 to 7 p.m. pay-what-you-wish entry; otherwise, $23 standard adult admission at driehausmuseum.org.
Career fair for kids
Have a little Einstein on your hands? The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry hosts its annual “Science Works,” a one-day event that brings professionals from across the sciences face-to-face with visitors. Burning questions welcomed.
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“Science Works” is 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; included in $25.95 standard adult admission at griffinmsi.org.
A storied award, celebrated
The Pulitzer Prize is considered the highest honor in American journalism, among other literary and artistic fields. (This paper has won 29, including earlier this year for its coverage of Operation Midway Blitz.) Starting Oct. 14, Harold Washington Library will be one of two debut hosts of a traveling exhibition about the prize, supported by the Chicago-based American Library Association. The library hosts a launch event that evening at 6 p.m., featuring journalist Jelani Cobb and Pulitzer winners Percival Everett (for fiction, 2025), Daniel Kraus (fiction, 2026), Amanda Vaill (biography, 2026) and Jon Cherry (breaking news photography, 2022).
“Pulitzer on the Road: Prize-Winning Works That Inform, Empower & Inspire,” Oct. 14 to late December at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St.; free during museum hours, Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m., more information at pulitzerontheroad.pulitzer.org.
Superlative city
When Open House Chicago returns in October, the Chicago Architecture Center will fling open the doors to more than 200 architecturally significant spots across the city, 30 of which will be new to Open House enthusiasts. Those will include sites like First Presbyterian Church in Woodlawn, a strong contender for the oldest continuously run congregation in Chicago (and the oldest on the South Side), and the Auditorium Theatre, the downtown gem which was, at one time, America’s largest building. Expect newer entries, too, like Smashed Plastic, a beloved record-pressing plant in Hermosa.
Full lineup of multiple locations announced Sept. 14; free admission, more at architecture.org.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s …
Bugs — our toddling species has given them a bad rap. The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum flips the script with a new interactive play space that argues that insects are like real-life superheroes. They fly (dragonflies), they leap (grasshoppers), they change shape (butterflies), and they achieve feats of super strength (ants). Perfect for the under-8 and antsy.
“Bug Squad” runs through Nov. 29 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences; open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $17 standard adult admission at naturemuseum.org.
Historic heartbreak
Through thick and thin — mostly thin — Chicago has always been a football town. In a new exhibition, the Elmhurst History Museum traces nearly 150 years of local history through uniforms, game footage, interactive displays, and more.
“Bear Down: Football in the Windy City” runs through Jan. 24, 2027 at the Elmhurst History Museum, 120 E. Park Ave. in Elmhurst; open Sun.-Fri. 1 to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays) and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free with $5 suggested donation; elmhursthistory.org.
A South Side icon takes Museum Campus
For more than 20 years, Gallery Guichard has been a Bronzeville cornerstone. The esteemed art gallery works with the Field Museum to display a selection of Zimbabwean Shona stone sculptures from October to February. The show includes a new commission by sculptor Ishmael Chitiyo, which will live in the Field’s Africa Hall once it reopens in 2028.
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“Soul of the Stone: A Living Sculpture Journey from Zimbabwe to Chicago” runs Oct. 3 to Feb. 28, 2027, at the Field Museum, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $30 standard adult admission at fieldmuseum.org.
An evergreen, now open
Last month, the Shedd unveiled a Nature Exploration Garden near its main entrance, open year-round and accessible without an aquarium ticket. Marvel at 70 species of native flora and towering new sculptures of local fauna; tactile bilingual displays will provide more information about the local ecosystem.
At the John G. Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; garden is free; $38.70-$44.45 standard adult admission to the aquarium at sheddaquarium.org.
Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.