Why you should experience Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet in Chicago, Illinois.
Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet is an extraordinary natural history exhibition where Museum Campus' scientific discovery, paleontological excellence, immersive storytelling, and evolutionary history create one of the world's finest explorations of life on Earth.
Set within Field Museum near Stanley Field Hall and just steps from SUE the T. rex, this expansive exhibition guides visitors across billions of years of Earth's history through towering dinosaur skeletons, exceptionally preserved fossils, immersive multimedia environments, and interactive scientific displays that reveal the remarkable evolution of life. Dramatic galleries, authentic fossil specimens, and richly reconstructed prehistoric ecosystems transform complex scientific concepts into an unforgettable journey through deep time. Every gallery uncovers another chapter in the story of life itself. The result is an experience defined by scientific excellence, immersive discovery, and one of the world's premier evolution exhibitions.
What you should know about Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.
Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet is best known for presenting 4.5 billion years of Earth's history across 27,000 square feet, making it among the Field Museum's most comprehensive permanent exhibitions dedicated to biological evolution. Developed through decades of collaboration between the museum's internationally respected paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, educators, and exhibit designers, the galleries trace life's progression from the planet's earliest single-celled organisms through marine ecosystems, the rise of vertebrates, the Age of Dinosaurs, the diversification of mammals, and the emergence of the human lineage. Visitors encounter hundreds of authentic fossils drawn from the Field Museum's globally significant scientific collections, including exceptional specimens of Archaeopteryx, Tiktaalik, trilobites, early synapsids, Ice Age mammals, and numerous dinosaur skeletons housed within the Elizabeth Morse Genius Hall of Dinosaurs. Immersive projections, interactive digital displays, reconstructed prehistoric environments, and hands-on learning experiences demonstrate major evolutionary transitions, mass extinctions, continental change, and natural selection while translating cutting-edge scientific research into accessible public education. Following a major redesign completed in 2018, the exhibition also became home to SUE the T. rex, whose purpose-built gallery integrates the world's most famous Tyrannosaurus rex into the broader narrative of evolution while emphasizing new scientific interpretations of dinosaur biology and behavior. The concluding galleries explore today's biodiversity crisis, demonstrating how current species losses compare with Earth's previous mass extinctions while encouraging visitors to consider humanity's role in shaping the planet's future. Together, world-class paleontological collections, outstanding scientific interpretation, immersive exhibit design, and continual research establish Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet as one of the world's leading natural history exhibitions.
The exhibition continues demonstrating how museums can transform complex evolutionary science into an engaging public experience that inspires curiosity across every generation. Extraordinary fossil collections, continually updated scientific interpretation, immersive educational environments, and the Field Museum's ongoing research reinforce Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet's standing among the world's finest natural history galleries while illustrating the remarkable story of life across billions of years.
How to fold Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet into your trip.
Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet works as part of an exploration through the Field Museum's internationally acclaimed scientific collections.
Begin at Stanley Field Hall, where Máximo the Titanosaur introduces the extraordinary scale of prehistoric life before entering Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet. Continue to SUE the T. rex, where the world's most famous Tyrannosaurus rex expands the evolutionary story through one of paleontology's greatest discoveries. Conclude at Grainger Hall of Gems, where Earth's geological history provides a memorable finale celebrating the remarkable natural processes that shaped the planet explored throughout the exhibition. The progression moves naturally from gigantic dinosaurs to evolutionary history before concluding with Earth's extraordinary mineral heritage, revealing why Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet remains one of Chicago's defining scientific experiences.
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