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Highest-rated specialty museums in Illinois by visitors

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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
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In 1683, Elias Ashmole, an Oxford graduate and true polymath, founded the Ashmolean, the modern world's first public museum. Stocked with his private collection of artifacts, curios, and special scientific equipment, the goal of the museum was to create a center for practical research and the advancement of knowledge. This, Ashmole felt, was a goal "very necessary to humaine life, health [and] the conveniences thereof."

According to figures from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are more than 35,000 museums in the United States today. Their collections encompass everything from modern art, like at the MoMA in New York City, to mustard, like at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, and everything in between.

Museums are anchors of our communities. The American Alliance of Museums reports that museums support more than 725,000 jobs and contribute upwards of $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Three-quarters of Americans agree that museums are an important part of our civil society and have an important role in promoting knowledge and civic engagement.

Beyond their educational and economic significance, museums are just plain fun. Whether you have a developed interest in natural history or just want to learn a little bit more about funerary history (the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston), there's sure to be a museum that strikes your interest. There's simply nothing else quite like spending an afternoon learning about famous figures, arts and crafts, military history, or what else you fancy.

Here, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated specialty museums in Illinois on Tripadvisor as of Aug. 13, 2025. Keep reading to see what unique museums are in your home state. Then, make sure to plan a visit. With many museums facing funding cuts due to the current administration's efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, who's to say how much longer these treasure troves will be available to us?

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#24. International Museum of Surgical Science

Tripadvisor

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#24. International Museum of Surgical Science

- Rating: 3.9/5 (219 reviews)
- City: Chicago
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#19. IL Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum

Tripadvisor

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#19. IL Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum

- Rating: 4.6/5 (351 reviews)
- City: Pontiac
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#14. Frank Lloyd Wright's Laurent House

Tripadvisor

17 / 30

#14. Frank Lloyd Wright's Laurent House

- Rating: 4.8/5 (86 reviews)
- City: Rockford
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#9. Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum (ISAC)

Tripadvisor

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#9. Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum (ISAC)

- Rating: 4.7/5 (570 reviews)
- City: Chicago
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#4. Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

Tripadvisor

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#4. Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

- Rating: 4.7/5 (1,402 reviews)
- City: Oak Park
- Read more on Tripadvisor

#3. Richard H. Driehaus Museum

Tripadvisor

28 / 30

#3. Richard H. Driehaus Museum

- Rating: 4.7/5 (1,497 reviews)
- City: Chicago
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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