Mapping Chicago

If you find yourself in Chicago between now and January 27, be sure to check out the Field Museum’s “Finding Our Place in the World,” which opened November 2. The exhibit features more than 100 maps of all sorts—from those designed by Leonardo da Vinci and J.R.R. Tolkien, to flight charts and Buddhist cosmology maps. It also has rare maps like the world’s oldest surviving road map, Erhard Etzlaub‘s Das Ist der Rom Weg, from 1500 A.D., and a 3,300-year-old clay map of what is now a part of Iraq.

The Field Museum, along with over 30 other institutions, is part of a larger citywide celebration called “Festival of Maps Chicago.” The Brookfield Zoo features archival maps and future plans for the zoo in its Discovery Center Lobby. Check out celestial charts at the Alder Planetarium’s Mapping the Universe exhibit, and learn how flat maps are made into globes at the Chicago History Museum’s “Mapping Chicago: The Past and the Possible,” which also has maps that document events like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The festival’s blog showcases different events and exhibits around the city, so be sure to see what’s happening before you go. If you can’t make it to Chicago this winter, you can also see pictures of some of the maps online. The Field Museum is also co-publishing a book (pictured, above) with the University of Chicago, which features much of the exhibition material. Appropriately, the entire festival is plotted on a cool interactive map on its main website, so you’ll never feel lost navigating your way through the varied exhibits.