The Field Museum Store in Chicago (® Renée Carver)

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Chicago families searching for fun, educational toys for kids who like learning about natural history subjects such as geology and dinosaurs can visit The Field Museum Store to find a great selection of such toys without having to pay for admission to the rest of The Field Museum.

Visiting The Field Museum Store

Families and tourists to Chicago that are visiting The Field Museum for the first time may assume that the gift shop at The Field Museum sells only souvenirs and products for adult museum-goers.

The Field Museum Store does, in fact, contain a large stock of Field Museum souvenir items, as well as items meant solely for adults, such as fine pottery, unique jewelry, and handmade art objects. However, it also has a nice selection of merchandise for kids, ranging from science kits to stuffed animals to educational toys.

Museum Stores located inside The Field Museum

Some museum gift shops are located inside the Field Museum beyond the front desk and cannot be reached unless museum patrons pay admission. For example, the Sue Store (located on the Upper Floor and named after Sue, the largest, best preserved T. rex, who may be viewed at The Field Museum), is stuffed with dinosaur merchandise for kids and adults, and the kid's field trip store (the What Is an Animal? Store located on the Lower Floor) is full of animal-themed items like stuffed plush animals, toys, games, and puzzles.

The Main Store at the Field Museum, however, can be visited by anyone regardless of whether they have paid to visit the main museum. The educational toys and other products for children sold here, at the largest store, are themed to match the current traveling and permanent exhibits at The Field Museum.

Overview of The Field Museum Store products

Products meant specifically for children are clustered to the side and in the room at the very back of The Field Museum Store. The store's extensive collection of dinosaur products includes fossil excavation kits by several of the best brands (I Dig Dinosaurs, Expedition! Fossil Hunting Kits, etc.); stuffed plush dinosaurs and dinosaur puppets by Melissa & Doug, Folkmanis, and Wild Republic; a library's worth of children's books about dinosaurs; plastic dinosaur figures; and dinosaur-themed games like Dino Bingo and Dino-opoly.

Other museum store items for kids include science kits for making your own chewing gum, gummy candy, volcanic eruptions, and windmill generators; cute kids' apparel like a dinosaur-themed raincoat and rainboots by Kidorable; grow your own geode, break your own geode, and fool's gold kits; and a large selection of different kinds of plush animals.

Shopping at The Field Museum Store

Toy shoppers can visit the Field Museum Store Web site ahead of time to preview items available for purchase. The money spent by patrons at The Field Museum Store helps to support the educational and research work done by The Field Museum. Members of The Field Museum receive a 10% discount on their purchases.

Local Chicago families can shop at The Field Museum Store

Chicagoans often take Chicago attractions for granted and only visit them when escorting tourists around the city. The Field Museum Store is a great source of quality educational toys any time of the year.