A Magellanic penguin chick hatched May 12 at Shedd Aquarium. (Courtesy Shedd Aquarium)

A new Magellanic penguin chick hatched Saturday at Shedd Aquarium, just hours before Mother's Day. 

(Courtesy The Field Museum)

The enormous dinosaur cast replacing Sue the T. rex at the Field Museum will be here in just a few weeks. And the new resident now has a name.

(Dr. Matt O’Connor / ©Shedd Aquarium)

A Chicago-based animal care expert is playing a key role in an unprecedented effort to save thousands of critically endangered tortoises that were found in squalid conditions in an abandoned home off the southeast coast of Africa.

(Karen Murchie / ©Shedd Aquarium)

Why more than two dozen volunteers have been tracking migrations of white and longnose suckers, an often overlooked family of fish. 

(Brenna Hernandez / ©Shedd Aquarium)

New residents of the aquarium’s “At Home on the Great Lakes” exhibit are spending their first days bonding with their mother. 

Rosaly Lopes (Twitter)

A conversation with NASA research scientist Rosaly Lopes, who will be recognized this week at an event celebrating women in space science. 

(Phil Torres and Geoff Wheat / The Field Museum)

A team of scientists was exploring a rocky patch of ocean floor when they found something that shouldn’t have been there: octopuses – lots of them.

Peek into hanging terrariums for an ant’s-eye view of nature with the “Local Homes: Nature in Your Backyard installation" by artist Vaughn Bell at the Unearth Science festival. (Chicago Botanic Garden)

Earth Day activities, heaps of chocolate and international pop bands usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

From Chicago’s first major telescope, to the most sophisticated scientific instrument of the 12th century, a look at some seen and unseen treasures at the Adler Planetarium.

(Zachary James Johnston / United Sciences of Chicago)

After drawing an estimated 60,000 people to the inaugural event last year, Chicago’s second installment of the March for Science returns this weekend – with a few changes.

(Courtesy Shedd Aquarium)

For the first time, Shedd Aquarium will host a full week of events leading up to Earth Day on April 22. 

More than 11,000 people worldwide studied digital images of the liverwort plant as part of a Field Museum-led study that linked research professionals with citizen scientists. (Courtesy Field Museum)

From kindergartners to college professors, citizen scientists helped Field Museum researchers examine more than 100,000 plant samples that could hold clues to key scientific questions. 

A rendering of Shedd Aquarium's new "Underwater Beauty" exhibit, which opens in May. (© Shedd Aquarium / Brenna Hernandez)

Get a glimpse of life beneath the waves and see the “vibrant beauty of marine life” found in waters across the globe at the Shedd Aquarium this spring. 

Visitors can get up close and personal with cownose rays at Shedd Aquarium's seasonal exhibit "Stingray Touch." (Courtesy Shedd Aquarium)

A first-of-its-kind study involving nearly 60 stingrays at Shedd Aquarium indicates that the animals do not suffer from their interactions with humans – and might even enjoy it. 

(Courtesy Adler Planetarium)

Starting Friday, planetarium visitors will have another chance to explore the ever-evolving way humans view the universe.   

Book lovers, a Martian adventure, ciders and funny femmes usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.