Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Review

Very interesting. Free. Plan 15-30 minutes. Activities for kids too.

Always enjoy visiting this museum. From the free pictire with the 1 million dollar briefcase to the 1 million dollar cube using 1 dollar bills. Also learn some history and check for counterfeit bills. Plus the free swag bag of chopped bills is nice memorbial.

Amazing free museum to checkout at Chicago and learn about money.

The Federal Reserve Bank Museum is on the first floor in the building itself. It's small, but very interesting and educational. It is free of charge, but is required with an ID. It is open Monday through Friday.

Very nice to visit. Interactive museum to learning.

Very good free museum. Worth a half hour or hour.

Have to be escorted in by a security guard through metal detectors, but pretty quick process.

Even give you free souvenirs.

Don't let the small size of the museum fool you. The Money Museum is a great stop on any tourist itinerary. Since it's a bit small, it's also easier to finish fast, and it's fun as hell.

The Money Museum is located within the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in the Loop. There's no entry fee and its hidden nature keeps the crowds small.

I came here after work on a Friday after giving a presentation on financial planning. What better way to wrap up my workday by learning about how our nation's money work?

I was impressed by what I found here. Most exhibits are interactive, many opportunities to take pictures, and souvenirs are free. The staff was friendly and open to answering questions and the entire museum can be taken in any order. The exhibits were informative in explaining what the Fed does and why it's important. Even as someone who's familiar with some of the things the Fed does, I learned a ton from this museum.

Expect an hour and a half well spent if you make a stop here.

5/5. Great hidden gem that's free & not too crowded. What more can you ask for?

The money museum was pretty nice with some engaging exhibits.

(Review for the money museum) If you like history, money, museums, or just need a cheap family friendly activity this is the spot for you. I can't recommend the money museum enough. The exhibits are modern and fun. There is something for all ages. Lots of great things to take pics of and tons of great information. Be warned it is the federal reserve so there is tight security going in and out. Don't bring pocket knives or anything.

Loved the place! Too bad I couldn't see where the vault was!

Cool for a free museum. Can spend up to 1 hour here.

Small museum and free. It has some interesting insights in the history of a dollar. Don't miss two highlights: take a photo with a case full of 1mln dollars and get a bag of shredded dollars as a souvenir.
Opened weekdays only.

Good if you're interested in currency and monetary policy. Exhibits are interactive and kept pre-teens engaged. 30-60 minutes.

Good place if you want to see million dollars in person.

There isnt that much to do here, but it is interesting for 15 minutes

Interesting little museum about money. You will need an I.D. to get in, but it's free. There is a short presentation that explains what the Federal Reserve is and does.

A surprisingly fun and informative family trip while in downtown Chicago, there were a number of activities and interactive learning opportunities, and best of all it was free. My kids had a lot of fun having their picture taken next to a million dollars and I actually learned what the Federal Reserve is.

Consider im poor maybe I would like it better if didnt have so much debt but definitely a very interesting venue.

I went to the museum and there was actually nobody. We had to pass a strict security check that gave us the feeling of FED and money business :). The museum is free and very modern. It's great to learn about money and get unique pictures with $1 million in one dollar bills, $1 million in twenty dollar bills and 1$ million in one hundred dollar bills. In addition to that, you can design your own dollar bill and get a free picture with a $1million suitcase. Don't forget to bring a few one dollar bills for a machine that gives you unique one dollar coins. All in all: Thanks to the Fed for this nice museum.

We visited the mesusm of money! It was pretty cool to see how money looked like back in the days.

Great museum for a family... we all learned a lot about money and how the bank structure works. Highly recommend.

Fun to see how much space a million dollars requires in 100s, 20s, and 1s

Small, but had lots of very interesting information and interactive experiences

It's an interesting quick, free stop in Chicago. Great way to get out of the wind, and learn a little about history.

This small museum inside federal reserve bank has a lot of fun ways to learn and explore about currency system and money. You can create your own currency, manage inflation etc. Free of charge. Kids will love this place.

A National Landmark that is of great historical significance.

We had a long layover in Chicago and decided to explore some of the city. We stumbled upon it while looking for a free museum to visit, and we loved it! Did not take long to explore but was super interesting and fun. Recommended!

There are several interesting exhibits about the development of Anerican money and economic issues like inflation. There is some colonial money and other bills we don't use anymore (see 3 cent paper bill) And a display of a large cube with a million one-dollar bills. You can see it all in 30 minutes or so and it's free! Plus you can say you've been someplace most Chicagoans don't even know exist (at least in my limited experience), and you get to take a bag of money (shredded ). FYI, You must show photo ID and go through airport style screening.

Great little free museum by the Fed Reserve. Approx 1hr, lots of fun activities, interactive games and exhibits, and free souvenirs to make/take. Small kids might tap out after the large money cube but otherwise great for all ages.

Great free museum for kids and adults. Learn about the Federal Reserve with interactive exhibits. Kids love the free shredded money, photos of your face on a bill, and photo on the headline of the Wall Street Journal.

An undervisited small but a free, fun, and easy way to teach kids about the federal reserve and banking in general. I don't know any other place that offers that.

Very informative presentation and great little museum

The money museum is fantastic and the presentations were very informative.

Very interactive exhibits and friendly workers. The video is helpful to watch in the beginning.

Take your ID or a passport. Nice purpose built exhibit space about history of the dollar. And more. A few things for kids but parents more likely to understand how capitalism works even though this museum is free. Just don't walk out with the contents and probably only need hour or so here as fairly small but great.

Excellent way to burn an hour or so in a small but interesting museum!

I absolutely enjoyed my time at this small "museum". So fun to learn about details of money and how the reserves try their best to prevent counterfeiters. You get to leave with a bag of shredded money too!

It's a small museum full of money, with free admission! You won't need to spend much time here, but it's a fun place to venture into whilst downtown. Also, you can take your picture next to 1 Million dollars. The security staff were very friendly and helpful.

Learn nice stuff about American currency, for free! A place to visit.

Great place to visit for an hour or less. Have to go through security and show ID to get in. Lots of interactive displays. Well worth the time especially if you're in the area already!

Particular place where the origins of the dollar are discovered. Visiting time about 30 minutes

Bring your ID card. Fun little museam about the history of the Federal Reserve System and the history of money. Highlights are free souvenir bags of shredded US dollars, and seeing $1,000,000 in twenties with and explanation of inflation.

I would not consider this truly a museum. It is a small group of interactive exhibits. Though they made a good effort to try to make education about currency and finance as engaging as possible.

Lots of good information and they give you free souvenirs.

Well, it's a bank. Some interesting stuff going on, but all in all, pretty boring. Confirmed all my suspicions about how messed up the Federal Reserve really is. I guess at least the guy was honest about it though...

Best value museum I have ever been to, cracking little museum to learn all about our history with money, so much to learn albeit in a small venue. This is lesser known to tourists in Chicago but worth visiting!

So so so cool they give a bag of shredded money you can take a picture with a million dollars which is so cool loved it

Small, expect to go through a metal detector, but a nice museum.

neat little gem in the heart of downtown Chicago. free admission, great place to spend an hour or so to regroup. learn about the history of money, pretty interesting stuff to look at even for those not really interested. you can take a bag of shredded bills with you as a souvenir. we went through without the guide. self explanatory and easy to navigate. not really kid friendly

A great museum to go to... lots things to see and to learn. Great for family, friends, or go alone. ;)) bring your ID or passport!

Ever wonder if a million $100 Bill's would fit in a small duffle bag like in the movies - go here to find out.

A wonderful way to spend an hour or two, and you get a bag of shredded cash.

What a great experience. I learned so much! It's free but very strict on what you can and can't bring. Totally worth it.

Almost like Chicago's little secret. A free museum in the heart of the city. Great for older kids to learn about the origin of the United States of America money/bank system. It's really small and need to have ID and go through a metal detector. And you get a free souvenir of shred United States of America money. Oh and there is literally a million dollars on display. Wish I could say I see that everyday.

I suggest it if you need something to do quick and easy. :)

Great stop, quick if you want it to be, get your face onto "currency"

They have some pretty cool stuff here, especially samples of pre-Civil War currency and military money through the years. There are also photo ops with a million dollars in each of three denominations. Fun place, and free!

This museum was actually very interesting though I expected otherwise before entering. I learned a great deal and enjoyed the interactive activities.

Admission is free, you can take pictures for free, free to take a bag of destruction of the real one. very funny.

I enjoyed this place, but my kids and husband were bored!

Free museum in downtown Chicago! It s a wonderful museum that educates about the banking system. The exhibits are interactive so good for children as well. Definitely worth stopping by!

Cool free museum. It's a quick stop, but also nicely informative and featuring some cool money artifacts and paper currency history. And you get a free bag of cash for visiting! ($350ish in shredded bills)

Loved the workers. They were really helpful and provided me tons of support.

Was hoping the tour would have been more than just take you through the areas you have just been walking through. It was not.

You can spend here 30 min to an hour here. Fun and full of history.

Wonderful experience! Great history & information about currency. A place must to visit!