Chicago museums to stay open late Friday to celebrate full reopening of city

The newly updated Boeing 727 exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry which will stay open late on June 11 in celebration of the city fully reopening. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Some of Chicago’s largest museums will stay open late Friday night to celebrate the city reopening for the first time in nearly 15 months.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the one-night commemoration Wednesday as the city readies itself for Friday, when the city enters what’s called Phase 5 — the lifting of capacity restrictions that had been in place since last spring.

Chicago will be one of the largest cities in the country to fully reopen.

Under Phase 5, all sectors of the economy will reopen. With no capacity limits, festivals, weddings, conferences, sporting events and museums are making a return in full force.

However, mask mandates and social-distancing guidelines still can apply in certain settings.

“One of the best ways we can celebrate our city’s reopening is by spending time at our renowned museums, which have undergone so many challenges over the course of this past year,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday. “That’s why I am thrilled that so many of our most iconic museums will be opening their doors until late this Friday night to give residents and visitors a head start on returning to a sense of normalcy.”

Lightfoot said she anticipates cultural institutions like these will safely and fully come back to life over the next few months.

Participaing museums will extend their closing time by several hours:

• Field Museum; 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

• Shedd Aquarium: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

• Museum of Science and Industry: 9:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.

• DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl.: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

• National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, at 3015 W. Division St.: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.