Chicago Board of Trade Visitors Center

Chicago, Illinois, United States

A number of years ago, the Chicago Board of Trade offered an excellent tour, museum, and visitors area. There were interactive exhibits, and you could look out over the trading floor to watch the traders interacting and making orders. It was an incredible area. Unfortunately, when visiting this time, we discovered that the area had been permanently closed off due to security concerns.

The "museum" area of the visitors center

The merchandise and store area of the visitors center

A new visitors center has been built on the main floor. It pales in comparison to the former displays, and probably isn't worth visiting unless you're already in the area. There are a handful of displays, about four or five of which contain short little video clips. The displays are not that impressive. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is also in the area, has a larger museum area that is larger and contains a greater number of displays.

It is both disappointing and sad that people are no longer able to look out over the trading floor - it was a great experience.

Cost

Free

Dress

Casual - shorts and a T-shirt is fine.

Estimated Visiting Time

There is not much to see here - you will likely be able to look at the small number of exhibits and watch the view videos in 15-20 minutes.