Field Museum of Natural History Reptiles Alive! at the Field Museum

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The Field Museum's upcoming temporary exhibition, Reptiles Alive, which will run from June 20, 2025—April 5, 2026, will include live reptiles on exhibit.

Explore the fascinating world of reptiles in this one-of-a-kind family-friendly exhibition! Combining original Field Museum science with live animals and engaging interactives, Reptiles Alive! offers an immersive experience into the lives of snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and more. Discover their habitats, adaptations, and the groundbreaking research of Dr. Sara Ruane. From June 20, 2025—April 5, 2026!
  • Witness 20 live reptiles, including a baby alligator, spitting cobra, legless lizard, and emerald tree boa, housed in captivating enclosures.
  • Learn how reptiles move, find food, and escape predators through touchable models and hands-on activities.
  • Videos and immersive multimedia provide deeper insights into the world of reptiles.
  • Get up close to skeletons, wet specimens, and artifacts from the Museum’s collections.
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I am hoping to visit the exhibit close to opening and will try to compile a species list.
 
An important update: the exhibition will include the only spider-tailed horned viper on display in the United States, as reported by NBC Chicago. The Cuban rock iguana is also a new confirmed species.

This summer in Chicago, the Field Museum is turning up the heat - and the chills - with its new exhibit, featuring a rare specimen not seen anywhere else in U.S.

The "Reptiles Alive" exhibit opens Friday, introducing Chicagoans to 20 live reptiles from all around the world, including venomous snakes, lizards, and one of the world’s largest pythons - all in one place.

Developed in partnership with Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, the new exhibit introduces species like a baby alligator, a spitting cobra, a 14-foot python, and a Cuban rock iguana.

“I think that it’s really important that people who might be apprehensive about snakes or other reptiles get a chance to meet them up close. These are all very shy, skittish animals,” Ben Miller, exhibition developer at the Field Museum, said in a statement.

The exhibition features real-life animals along with high-tech displays and interactive models that explain how reptiles survive.

Visitors will be able to see the only known specimen of the spider-tailed horned viper on display here in the United States - an extremely rare snake. Through the glass, spectators will be able to examine and see exactly how the snake operates.

Dr. Sarah Ruane, the curator of herpetology at the Field Museum, said she hopes this experience helps visitors see reptiles in a brand new light.
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I visited the exhibit earlier today. While they do have a specimen of the spider-tailed horned viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides) on display, it's only a wet specimen (though that being said, I believe that it is the holotype specimen for the species. On a bit of a related note, the museum's collections also house the holotype for Pseudocerastes fieldi). Below is a list of live species included in the exhibit:
  • Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)
  • Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
  • European Glass Lizard (Pseudopus apodus)
  • Red Spitting Cobra (Naja pallida)
  • Cuban Rock Iguana (Cyclura nubila)
  • Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica)
  • Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
  • Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila)
  • Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis)
  • Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus)
  • African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
  • Henkel's Leaf-Tailed Gecko (Uroplatus henkeli)
  • Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis)
  • Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)
  • Spiny Soft-Shelled Turtle (Apalone spinifera)
  • Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
  • Shared Exhibit: Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and Eastern Box Turtle (Signed as Terrapene carolina, probably Terrapene carolina carolina)
  • Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)
  • American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
 
I did visit yesterday and took photos to produce a species list, but I didn't even make it through traffic home and dinner before Carnotaurus' list was posted. It's accurate and matches my notes.

Of note, most cases and models from the Field Museum's Hall of Reptiles collection were moved into the Reptiles Alive exhibit; save for the American Crocodile, which is on display at the end of the hall of bird dioramas, which usually feeds into the Hall of Reptiles. The Anaconda and Komodo Dragon have been given a more diorama-style presentation in Reptiles Alive by including new backgrounds.

Also, not all the cat specimens have returned to normal display from the Cats exhibition yet.
 
Are there any other live animal exhibitions at the museum? I was thinking of visiting the Field Museum in August
 
MOG2012 said:
Are there any other live animal exhibitions at the museum? I was thinking of visiting the Field Museum in August
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I believe the Travelling the Pacific gallery has a small tank with a couple of fish in it, but I believe that's it. There was also a similar tank with cichlids in the Africa exhibit a while back, but that's since been covered up
 
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