One of my favorite museums of Chicago is the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park. This great free thing to do in Chicago holds treasures of antiquity from the Ancient Near East, which is roughly what we call today the “Middle East.” Though the Oriental Institute is a small museum in Chicago terms, its power to impress is quite big.

Visit the Oriental Institute Museum and you will marvel at incredibly intricate and precious ancient artifacts from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Israel. You’ll see colossal stone sculptures from Mesopotamia, games made of wood and gold, iridescent glass bottles, and Egyptian mummies. I’ve also noticed that when people come to the museum, it’s probably easy to overlook the very cool art deco architecture of it. However, it is not to be missed.

— Amanda Scotese, Executive Director of Chicago Detours