iGriffin Museum of Science and IndustryHyde Park / Jackson Park
Anne Frank The Exhibition
A full-scale, fully furnished recreation of the Amsterdam Annex where Anne Frank hid, with more than 100 original objects lent by the Anne Frank House.
More in Chicago
A bookcase stands ajar, with muted light coming through the gap. Behind it is a full-scale, furnished copy of the Amsterdam Annex where Anne Frank, her family and four others hid for two years. In Anne's room, magazine clippings of Hollywood stars cover the wall above a narrow metal cot.
You reach it the long way, from her childhood in Frankfurt through the rise of the Nazis and the move to Amsterdam, past more than 130 original objects lent by the Anne Frank House. Third Coast Review called the design "sharp" and the Annex "almost unbearable to traverse knowing the eventual outcome".
The museum suggests about an hour and recommends it for ages 10 and up. The audio guide, in English and Spanish, runs about 60 minutes. No photography and no bags. Entry is free with General Admission through October 2026; from November it's a separate ticket, $19 for adults.
Editor's pick
A bookcase stands ajar; behind it is a full-scale, furnished copy of the Amsterdam Annex, Hollywood clippings above Anne's cot. Third Coast Review found the Annex "almost unbearable to traverse knowing the eventual outcome".
Look for
Anne's bedroom
Look for the Hollywood magazine clippings on her wall and, under the window, the equipment of the dentist who shared the room with her.
The relief map of Europe
Look down through a glass floor at a white stone map of Europe, with red flags marking the ghettos and camps.
The house-shaped cases
Clear cases shaped like little houses hold personal objects, including school photo proof sheets of Anne and Margot smiling.
The wall of diaries
At the exit, dozens of editions of the diary are shown together, with a New York publisher's rejection letter among them.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Going Solo
- Out-Of-Town Guests
About 60 min
Skip if
You struggle in tight, dim spaces: the Annex rooms are deliberately dark and close.
With kids
The museum recommends it for ages 10 and up. Later sections show grainy black-and-white images of mass killings, and from November children 3 to 18 pay $15.
Also at Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
7
- Anne Frank The ExhibitionCourtesy of Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity© teamLab, courtesy Smart Museum of Art
- Nina Chanel Abney: Between UsPhoto Claire Dorn, courtesy Smart Museum of Art
- How Do We Heal?Courtesy Smart Museum of Art
- Griffin Museum of Science and Industryzooey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Smart Museum of ArtMichael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Renaissance SocietyWarren LeMay, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0