🏛️🌍 Mummies, Mesopotamia & More: Private Tour @ the ISAC Museum! 🎨✨

🏛️🌍 Mummies, Mesopotamia & More: Private Tour @ the ISAC Museum! 🎨✨

🌿 One of the World's Finest Ancient Civilizations Museums — Right Here in Chicago's Hyde Park! 🌟

Join us for a special private guided tour of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum (ISAC) — one of Chicago's most extraordinary and underappreciated cultural treasures, housed in a stunning Gothic Revival building on the campus of the University of Chicago in historic Hyde Park! 🏛️

Right at 58th and University is one of the world's greatest centers for understanding the story of our lives as humans together — envisioned as a "laboratory for the study of the rise and development of civilization," ISAC is the University of Chicago's — and one of the world's — very first interdisciplinary institutes ✨

This is a private guided museum tour — not a self-guided visit — allowing us to fully appreciate the collections, galleries, and rich ancient history in an intimate, small-group setting.

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🕰️ SCHEDULE, MEETING INFO & COST
📅 Sunday, March 29, 2026
⏰ 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
📍 Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum (ISAC) 1155 E 58th St, Chicago (Corner of 58th Street & University Avenue, Hyde Park)
⏱️ Visit length: ~90–120 minutes
💰 $20 per person
💵 Cash strongly preferred (Zelle / Venmo / PayPal accepted as I submit one group payment)

⚠️ All attendees must check in with me at the start and submit payment directly to me.

📸 Photography is permitted in the museum galleries — no tripods, monopods, selfie sticks or additional lighting units permitted.

🎤 Private guided experience arranged exclusively for our group.

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🌟 WHAT WE'LL EXPERIENCE
🏛️ Permanent galleries devoted to ancient Egypt, Nubia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia & the Levant — plus rotating special exhibitions
🗿 One of the world's most famous artifacts — the massive human-headed winged bull (lamassu) from the Palace of Assyrian King Sargon II (721–705 BCE)
📜 Thousands of original clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform — including tablets from the legendary ancient city of Persepolis
🪄 The famous Megiddo Ivories and treasures from Persepolis, the ancient Persian capital
🔠 The monumental 21-volume Chicago Assyrian Dictionary — a landmark achievement of human scholarship completed in 2011
🎨 Rotating special exhibitions & contemporary art installations
🛍️ The Suq — the museum's gift shop featuring books, artifacts & gifts from West Asia and North Africa

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📖 ABOUT THE ISAC MUSEUM
Founded in 1919, ISAC was established by Egyptologist James Henry Breasted with the financial support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. — originally envisaged as a research laboratory for investigating the early human career, tracing humankind's progress from the most ancient days of West Asia and North Africa.

Breasted wrote to Rockefeller proposing the foundation of what would become the institute. Rockefeller pledged $50,000 over five years, with the University of Chicago contributing additional support. In May 1919 the institute was founded.🏛️

The ISAC Museum was opened to the public in 1931. The majority of ISAC's collections are from its expeditions in West Asia and North Africa during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. A major reinstallation of the museum, including the construction of a climate-controlled wing for housing collections and archives, took place in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The museum houses some 350,000 artifacts — around 5,000 of which are on display — excavated mainly by ISAC archaeologists. According to anthropologist William Parkinson of the Field Museum, the institute's highly focused collection is one of the finest in the world.

🌺 Fun fact: In April 2023, the organization's name changed from the beloved "Oriental Institute" to the "Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia and North Africa" — abbreviated ISAC. The institute's new logo features a lotus flower, found in ancient Assyrian, Mesopotamian and Egyptian art, as well as being a decorative motif on the ISAC building itself.

Also notable: The term "Fertile Crescent" was coined by ISAC founder J.H. Breasted, who popularized the connection of the rise of civilization in the Near East with the development of European culture.🌾

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🍽️ OPTIONAL LUNCH AFTER Those interested are welcome to join afterward at one of the fantastic spots in Hyde Park!
📍 Specific location shared closer to the date
💵 Please bring cash — some venues may not split checks

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👟 WHAT TO BRING

• Camera 📷 (no tripods or selfie sticks)
• 💰 $20 tour fee — exact change appreciated
• 💵 Cash strongly preferred (Zelle/Venmo/PayPal also accepted)
• 📓 Pencil & notebook or clipboard if you like to take notes (only pencil allowed in galleries — no pens!)
• ⚠️ No backpacks, large bags, food or drinks permitted in galleries

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🚗 PARKING
There is a public parking garage at 55th Street & Ellis Avenue. Visitor parking rates at Ellis Garage: ▫️ 0–2 hours: $8 ▫️ 2–3 hours: $16 ▫️ 3–4 hours: $20 ▫️ 4–24 hours: $25
Street parking is difficult to find around campus during regular University hours but is a good option on weekends!
📱 SpotHero or ParkWhiz also recommended for nearby options

🚗 DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Take Lake Shore Drive south to the 57th Street exit (at the Museum of Science and Industry). Follow 57th Street as it curves around the MSI. Continue about 1/4 mile and take the right fork onto Midway Plaisance. Drive west about 1/2 mile to Woodlawn Avenue, turn right. Turn left onto 59th Street, continue one block to University Avenue and turn right. ISAC is at the corner of 58th & University Avenue.

🚇 TRANSIT Public transportation highly encouraged — Hyde Park is well served!

• 🚌 #6 Jackson Park Express bus from downtown along Michigan Ave
• 🚌 #2 Hyde Park Express bus
• 🚂 Metra Electric Line — 55th/56th/57th Street station (short walk) 👉 transitchicago.com/planatrip

🚲 Bike parking in front of the building that can accommodate large groups! Divvy friendly! 🚲

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📝 RSVP & COURTESY POLICY
✔️ Please keep your RSVP updated
✔️ Cancel promptly if plans change
❌ Repeated no-shows may affect future participation

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🏛️✨ Join us for a breathtaking afternoon exploring 5,000 years of human civilization — mummies, cuneiform tablets, ancient treasures & more — all inside one of Chicago's most remarkable and world-renowned museums! 🌍🎨