Winter is the very best time to get lost in a museum. Whittling away an entire afternoon without having to step outside once? Sign us up. From the crosstown coincidences to the closing-soon, here are our top picks. Pspspspspspsps Your cat might think it’s mighty as a sabertooth, but evolution has worked its magic in the millions of years since. What happened in all that time, anyhow? And what makes a cat a cat? A new exhibit at the Field Museum investigates. Bonus: submit a picture of your cat for its never-ending glory — or eternal humiliation — on the exhibit’s photo wall. “Cats: Predators to Pets,” through April 27 at the Field Museum, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; exhibit requires $10 adults, $8 children All-Access Pass on top of general admission, $14-$30; fieldmuseum.org  An exhibition extinguished After opening for the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, “City on Fire: Chicago 1871” closes later this month. If you haven’t visited over the last three years, it’s your last chance to absorb the most definitive telling of the catastrophe yet. (For example: No, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow did not start the blaze.) “City on Fire: Chicago 1871,” through Jan. 26 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.; open Tuesdays-Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.; $19 admission, $17 students and seniors, and Illinois residents under 18 get in free; chicago1871.org A hymnal is part of the Chicago History Museum exhibit on the Great Chicago Fire, closing soon, here at the museum on Sept. 21, 2021. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) The century-long subtitle Like the construction of La Sagrada Familia, the University of Chicago’s Epigraphic Survey in Luxor, Egypt — the location of the ancient city of Thebes — just keeps going, going and going. Last year marked 100 years since the start of the project, which intends to create translations and reference materials for all inscriptions at the sprawling archaeological site. These days, the survey has expanded to encompass conservation and restoration duties. The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures dives into the project’s history and walks visitors through a day in the life of an epigrapher. “Chicago on the Nile,” through March 23 at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at the University of Chicago, 1155 E. 58th St.; Tuesdays-Thursdays and weekends 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Mondays; suggested admission fee $10 for adults, $5 children 12 and under; isac.uchicago.edu  What was lost After their mass incarceration at the hands of the U.S. government, two phrases became part of the Japanese American vocabulary: shikata ga nai, or “it cannot be helped,” and gaman, to quietly persevere. In this exhibition at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, eight third-generation (sansei) Japanese American artists give that painful silence voice through various mediums and means. “Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy,” through June 1 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie; open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Tuesdays; $18 adults, $12 seniors, $8 students, $6 children 5-11, free for children under 5; ilholocaustmuseum.org  “Barrier Against The Wind” (2019) by Tom Nakashima, part of the exhibition “Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie. (Provided by Tom Nakashima) Ink at the margins This winter, two local institutions honor overlooked pioneers in the printing industry. The exhibition room at the University of Chicago’s Special Collections — accessible upon request at the Joseph Regenstein Library — trains its gaze on women in the field, displaying books and ephemera from the last 500 years. Across town, the Newberry Library spotlights immigrant printers and publishers in Chicago. “Making an Impression: Immigrant Printing in Chicago,” through March 29 at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St.; Tuesdays-Thursdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free admission; newberry.org “A Pressing Call: Five Centuries of Women Printing,” through April 18 at the Joseph Regenstein Library, 1100 E. 57th St.; open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., closed weekends; free admission; lib.uchicago.edu  Beyond borders A major exhibition on now at the Art Institute uses art as a frame for Panafricanism, the philosophy advancing solidarity among all people of African descent. A sister exhibition on the museum’s lower level features photographs that address Black relationships to land, whether inherited, alien, reclaimed, or something else entirely. “Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica,” through March 30; “After the End of the World: Pictures from Panafrica,” through April 21. Both at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; Fridays-Mondays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays; general admission $32; $26 for students, seniors and teenagers, with discounts for Chicago and Illinois residents; children get in free; artic.edu  “Nefertiti – Miles Davis (Gold)” (2022) by Awol Erizku, provided by Sean Kelly Gallery and part of “Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica” at the Art Institute. (Robert McKeever) Snap judgment Missed Open House Chicago? Some small comfort: this year, the Chicago Architecture Center, which organizes Open House Chicago, organized its very first photography competition affiliated with the expo. The winning shots, on display in a new exhibition, were selected from some 1,300 submissions. “Framed Views,” through June 1 at the Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E. Wacker Drive; open Fridays-Mondays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays-Thursdays; $14 adults, $10 students, children under 5 get in free; architecture.org  A living tradition What was formerly the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston has been renamed the Gichigamiin (gi-CHE-gam-MEEN) Indigenous Nations Museum, from the Ojibwe word for “Great Lakes.” The museum’s first opening under its new name pairs traditional artworks with origins east of the Mississippi in dialogue with recent pieces by Native artists. “Living Stories: Contemporary Woodland Native American Art,” opening Jan. 27 at the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, 3001 Central St., Evanston; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sundays; $8 adults, $6 youth and seniors, free for children under 3 and tribal citizens; gichigamiin-museum.org “Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair” (1940) by Frida Kahlo (gift of Edgar Kaufmann Jr.), part of the upcoming exhibition “Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds” at the Art Institute. (Digital Image / MoMA) My friend Frida Somehow, this is Frida Kahlo’s first appearance in the Art Institute’s hallowed halls. The painter’s friendship with American expatriate artist and bookbinder Mary Reynolds, whose books and papers posthumously ended up at the Art Institute, is the museum’s way in. The forthcoming exhibition reconstructs Kahlo’s influential encounter with the French Surrealists and their circle, leaning on loans of her work and selections from the Reynolds collection. “Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds,” March 29 to July 13 at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.; Fridays-Mondays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays; general admission $32, $26 for students, seniors and teenagers, discounts for Chicago and Illinois residents; children always get in free; artic.edu Dinner is the show The Shedd Aquarium continues to add immersive elements to enhance its guest experience. The latest: two live programs inviting guests to watch as Shedd employees feed their giant arapaima and electric eels. “River Giants Live” and “Electric Eels Live,” both at Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weekend hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; $20 adults, $15 children for Chicago residents; non-Chicago residents are advised to check sheddaquarium.org/tickets for most accurate ticket pricing. Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.