How glorious that the very best season to live in Chicago is also its most budget-friendly. Pack a lunch and game it right, and one could spend hours downtown without spending a cent, checking out the city’s finest cultural institutions by day and public concerts in Millennium Park by night.
Not all the exhibitions below are free, but enough are to prove, yet again, that Chicago is the very best major American city to spend a summer. (Then again, we’re biased, aren’t we?)
Chicago’s hottest club is … the Shedd Aquarium? Heck, it might be, with a full slate of after-hours events plotted for the summer. Lindy-hop with a rockhopper and get down with the gobies. All at the Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, and $20-$40 for non-members: Pride Night 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. June 1; Jazzin’ at the Shedd every Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. from June 5 to Aug. 28.; Shedd House Party, 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. June 8, June 14, July 13 and July 19; and Ritmo del Mar, 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. July 27.
If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em: Thomas Jefferson was president and ground had been barely broken on Fort Dearborn the last time two cicada broods emerged simultaneously in northern Illinois, in 1803. Another convergence is taking place for this summer. On the off-chance a ’round-the-clock chorus of 100,000 miniature air raid sirens makes you say, “More, please!”, the Field Museum has a slate of events related to nature’s favorite alarm clocks. For example: in the spirit of those who have resorted to cooking up cicadas in other flush years, an offsite collaboration with Big Star puts grasshopper tacos and ant mole on the menu. Before you sup, pay your respects to another esteemed insect-eater before it’s retired for the summer: the Field’s recently acquired Chicago Archaeopteryx goes off display June 9.
- Cicada Pinning Workshop, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 29 at the Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; tickets $30.
- Bug Bites, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 11 at Big Star West Town, 551 N. Ogden Ave.; first come, first serve, or reserve a spot at OpenTable.com.
- PlayLab PlayDate: Cicadas Take Flight Storytime & Craft, 11 a.m. to noon June 26 at the Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; free with museum admission; recommended for children ages 2-6.
A newspaper man gets an exhibit: On April 30, 1997, Mike Royko’s weekday Tribune column ran in its usual spot. But instead of his arrowhead prose — short, straight and piercing — it ran letters from readers grieving his death three days before. This exhibition draws from Royko’s papers at the Newberry Library, including clippings from his stints at all three major then-Chicago dailies and other ephemera. “Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism,” June 20 to Sept. 28, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St.; free, newberry.org.
Brookfield’s birthday bash: Now rebranded Brookfield Zoo Chicago and undertaking an ambitious redevelopment project, the suburban institution is ringing in its 90th year in a big way with three major musical acts, over three concerts. The Barenaked Ladies have already sold out, but tickets are still available for The Fray and Gin Blossoms. “Roaring Nights,” featuring The Fray June 22 and Gin Blossoms July 27, both 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; tickets $45-$55, one child 12 and under gets in free.
This planet is not like the others: Through models, dioramas, and touchable meteorites, a new permanent exhibition slated to open later this summer at Adler Planetarium uses groundbreaking research on exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — to inform our understanding of Earth. “Other Worlds,” opening mid-July at the Adler Planetarium, 1300 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; basic entry $8-$19.
A picture is worth … Two photography exhibitions take over the Cultural Center this summer. A citywide exhibition anchored at the Cultural Center, “Opening Passages” captures the twin urban landscapes of Chicago and Paris (sister cities, by the way). After that, block off an entire afternoon for “Images on which to build,” which occupies the entire first-floor east exhibition wing. This commanding exhibition features a different photographer or organization in each room, telling queer history through a chorus of voices. A special highlight: an overdue local retrospective of Mexican-American photographer and activist Diana Solís, once a photojournalist for the Tribune. Both at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, free admission: “Images on which to build,” through Aug. 4, and “Opening Passages,” through Aug. 25, with additional installations at 6018|North (6018 N. Kenmore Ave.), BUILD Chicago (5100 W. Harrison St.), and Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone Ave.).
Saving children from war: The Illinois Holocaust Museum hosts what is somehow the first major American exhibition about the Kindertransport, a coordinated effort to evacuate nearly 10,000 children from Europe to the United Kingdom. There could be some sheepishness involved: a bill that would have allowed for a similar program in the U.S. stalled before even reaching a congressional vote. “Kindertransport: Rescuing Children on the Brink of War,” Weds.-Mon. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 17 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie; free to $18.
Urban paradigms: The Chicago Architecture Center’s latest exhibition uses the Loop as a lens to examine American downtowns, facing an identity crisis after getting rocked by COVID. The exhibition includes interviews with downtown residents and a “ballot box” for sounding off on whatever urban-planning gripes are on your mind. “Loop as Lab: Reshaping Downtowns,” daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Jan. 5, 2025 at the Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E. Wacker Drive; free to $14.
Illustrating a movement: With the DNC on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and the aftertaste of 1968 still lingering on it, the Chicago History Museum’s new gallery of protest art of the 1960s and 1970s feels apropos, to say the least. “Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s-70s,” 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tues.–Sat and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays through May 4, 2025 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.; admission free to $19.
The other kind of bard: If you’ve ever unwound with a video game or weekly Dungeons & Dragons campaign, thank a writer. The American Writers Museum champions an undersung pocket of the literary community with a spotlight on game writers. The museum will stock up on board games and card decks for visitors to play onsite, and is welcoming reservations from RPG campaigns in conjunction with the yearlong exhibition. “Level Up: Writers & Gamers,” Thurs.-Mon. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 5, 2025 at the American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor; admission free to $16.
A marvelous migration: Larger-than-life butterfly statues will wing to public parks all over the city in July, thanks to an art commissioning project by the Nature Museum. Before they scatter, check out the whole array onsite at the museum, or on Mag Mile, where a few were installed earlier this month. “Flight of Butterflies,” daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sept. 2025 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive; admission free to $17.
Song science: Why do we find music so irresistible, anyway? A new timed-entry experience at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry — which just joined the ranks of scores of cultural entities renamed for billionaire donor Kenneth C. Griffin — answers, using immersive visuals to show the neuroscience behind our love of rhythm. “Notes to Neurons,” daily 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; general admission $26 for adults, $15 for children, but requires a free onsite RSVP.
Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.
