Green Attractions

Chicago Park District Conservatories

Chicago is home to two world-class conservatories, large glass-paneled greenhouses where plants are grown and displayed. The Garfield Park Conservatory, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, is one of the nation’s largest and oldest conservatories and houses over a thousand different plant species in eight indoor and outdoor display rooms. The Victorian glass-house style Lincoln Park Conservatory is a smaller facility but boasts an equally impressive collection of palms, ferns, tropical plants and a show house for seasonal exhibits. Together, these two conservatories play a huge role in the Greening of Chicago through their cultivation of much of the plant life found in Chicago’s public parks, as well as through exhibits and educational outreach programs that help create and foster sustainable green spaces in the community

Green Museums

Millions of visitors a year frequent Chicago’s many museums and their extensive collections that range from prehistoric artifacts to the most avant-garde art. Positioned at the forefront of culture and education in Chicago, these museums have taken the lead in adopting environmentally-friendly practices as role models for how local institutions can reduce their environmental impact. 

The Green Museums Initiative was instituted in 2005 as a network to encourage museums to make their buildings, operations and exhibits more environmentally friendly, and to work toward presenting green-themed exhibits, fostering environmental outreach and education, and adopting green business practices. Many participating museums have partnered with other local green-conscious industries to further their educational outreach programs. The Field Museum of Natural History and restaurant Nacional 27, for example, have worked together to develop a vehicle that runs on used restaurant cooking oil as it travels around the city educating Chicago schoolchildren about biodiesel and alternative fuel. Similarly, the Right Bite program at the Shedd Aquarium teaches local culinary students and consumers about choosing and using sustainable seafood.  Please see the sidebar at right for green-themed exhibits and tours currently being offered by local museums and agencies.

Museums that follow green practices:

• Adler Planetarium
• Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute
• Field Museum of Natural History
• Chicago History Museum
• Lincoln Park Zoo
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (recipient of Overall Achievement Award for integrating environmentally-friendly principles into all operational aspects)
• Shedd Aquarium (recipient of Leadership Award for exemplary commitment to environmental innovation)
  

• National Museum of Mexican Art

Center for Green Technology

The Chicago Center for Green Technology is the first rehabilitated municipal building in the nation to receive the U.S. Building Council's LEED™ Platinum rating, and an excellent resource for information about green technologies and environmental impact. Learn about water use, creative landscaping, solar power and the many things you can do to green your life. Open Monday - Saturday, the Chicago Center for Green Technology is always free.  Please click here for information about self-guided and docent-led tours of this attraction.

Green Roofs

Chicago has long been a national leader in the installation of green roofs on municipal buildings. Greenery planted on rooftops helps promote energy efficiency by moderating roof temperature, providing shade in hot weather and insulation in colder months, and reducing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Since the completion of City Hall’s pioneering 20,300 square-foot rooftop garden in 2001, Chicago has installed over 7 million square feet of green roofs, more than all other U.S. cities combined. For more information about green roofs, including the city's publicly-accessible green roofs, click here. 

Visitor Tips

 
There are many ways visitors can help Chicago become even more of a Green city. We offer five simple tips that anyone can use to reduce their impact on the environment, and five Green things to do while having fun in Chicago.