Chicago is a city full of history, art, and culture — and you’ll find a lot of all those things in our acclaimed cultural institutions. And lucky for us, the city’s museums be unveiling a slate of jaw-dropping exhibitions all year long, featuring everything from cutting-edge contemporary art to ancient Babylonian artifacts to the furthest reaches of outer space. Here’s our list of just a few of the museum and art exhibits at Chicago museums that are worth a visit in 2024.

Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches

Bloodsuckers exhibit at the Field Museum

Field Museum
Now open through Sept. 2, 2024

Come face to face with blood-sucking creatures — some real, some legend — in Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches at the Field Museum. Learn all about different bloodsucking species and characters, including taxidermied specimens, historical artifacts like bloodletting stations, life-sized sculptures, film clips, and more.

Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks”

Art Institute of Chicago
June 2 – Sept. 22, 2024

One of the most famous American painters, Georgia O’Keeffe is beloved for her depictions of flowers and the Southwest. But lesser known are her works inspired by her time living in New York City. Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks” is the first art exhibit dedicated to O’Keeffe’s paintings, drawings, and pastels of urban landscapes, from still lifes to soaring skyscrapers.

Cosmic Rhythms

Adler Planetarium Chicago

Adler Planetarium
Feb. 14 – April 17, 2024

Created in partnership with The Joffrey Ballet, Cosmic Rhythms is debuting in the Adler Planetarium’s 360-degree Sky Theater. This first-of-its-kind collaboration blends astronomy and bold choreography for a mesmerizing and immersive journey through the far reaches of outer space.

Back Home: Polish Chicago

Back Home: Polish Chicago at the Chicago History Museum
Performers and priests at Soldier Field for Polish Christian Millennium Celebration, 1410 Museum Campus Drive, Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago History Museum
Now open through June 8, 2024

Explore the history of Chicago’s vibrant Polish communities from the mid-1800s through the present day. Back Home: Polish Chicago weaves together artifacts, documents, photographs, first-hand accounts, and works from local Polish artists to tell the story of Polish immigrants, their descendants, and their impact on Chicago.

Descending the Staircase

An exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Descending the Staircase, MCA Chicago. December 16, 2023 25, 2024. Photo: Shelby Ragsdale, © MCA Chicago

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Now open through Aug. 25, 2024

At the cutting-edge Museum of Contemporary Art, Descending the Staircase explores the human body through an artistic lens. Covering two floors of the museum, the exhibit pulls from the full breadth of the MCA’s permanent collection and bridges mediums and genres, from puppets to sculptures, the animate to the inanimate, new works to old favorites.

The Art Of Our Storytellers

DuSable Museum of African American History
DuSable Museum of African American History; photo by Abel Arciniega @tequilagraphics

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Now open

The Art Of Our Storytellers: Selections From The Johnson Publishing Company Collection pays homage to Chicago’s Johnson Publishing Company, home to iconic Black magazines such as Ebony and Jet. The downtown headquarters boasted a vibrant art collection, with more than 150 works by African and African American artists. This exhibit features a selection of those works, including sculptures, paintings, lithographs, and more.

Back to School in Babylonia

An artifact from the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Tablet inscribed with a story about Babylonian student life, Old Babylonian Period, Iraq, Nippur
ISACM A30217; Photo by Danielle Levy

Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Now open through March 24, 2024

Spend a day in the life of a Mesopotamian student through Back to School in Babylonia. This fascinating exhibit displays the unearthed remains of a Babylonian scribal school, complete with reading materials, writing tablets, a school bench, architectural artifacts, and more excavated artifacts that tell us about the lives of ancient students.

Level Up: Writers and Gamers

American Writers Museum
Opens May 24, 2024

Dive into the world of game writing at Level Up: Writers and Gamers, the latest special exhibit from the American Writers Museum. The exhibition will explore different forms of game writing, including role-playing and video games, and how they impact and respond to our culture. Part of the museum will be transformed into a gaming room for visitors to try different games.

90 & Beyond: Our Stories, Your MSI

90th anniversary exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago
90th anniversary exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago

Museum of Science and Industry
Now open

Housed in a building originally built for the 1893 World’s Fair, the Museum of Science and Industry has a long and rich history. The Western Hemisphere’s largest science museum is celebrating that legacy with 90 & Beyond: Our Stories, Your MSI. Discover almost a century of artifacts from the museum’s diverse archives, many of which are on display for the first time in years.

Immense Journeys: Art, Nature, Science and Beyond

Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art
Jan. 13 – March 3, 2024

This exhibit brings together the works of three unique artists to showcase the different ways nature is interpreted through art. Immense Journeys: Art, Nature, Science and Beyond is a unique look at how one source of inspiration can result in diverse expressions and emotions, inviting viewers to notice the connections and differences between the works.

!Taíno Vive! Caribbean Indigenous Resistance

National Museum Of Puerto Rican Arts
National Museum Of Puerto Rican Arts; photo by Abel Arciniega :: @tequilagraphics

The National Puerto Rican Museum Chicago
Jan. 6 – June 16, 2024

A traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian, !Taíno Vive! Caribbean Indigenous Resistance, honors the culture, history, and identity of the Taínos, the Indigenous peoples of the northern Caribbean islands. The bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibit will present Indigenous artifacts such as musical instruments, contemporary objects, handmade crafts, and more.

Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures and Medical Prescriptions

International Museum of Surgical Science
Photo by Ryan Robinson_Michael Robinson

International Museum of Surgical Science
Feb. 26 – April 6, 2024

North America’s only museum devoted to surgical science presents Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures and Medical Prescriptions. The traveling exhibit produced by The National Library of Medicine delves into the history and shifting social perceptions of various substances, from the toxic to the intoxicating.

No Rest: The Epidemic of Stolen Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
Extended through 2024

In Evanston, the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian presents No Rest: The Epidemic of Stolen Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits. The stirring exhibit is a rallying cry against the epidemic of violence facing Indigenous women and two-spirit individuals, using more than 30 original works by Indigenous artists to bring awareness through visual storytelling.

Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
May 19 – Nov. 17, 2024

In Skokie, Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War chronicles the harrowing and heroic efforts that transported thousands of unaccompanied Jewish children from Nazi-occupied territories. The riveting story is told through more than 75 personal artifacts, along with survivor stories, first-hand accounts, and items from the museum’s collection.