Feel free to experiment: lab-worthy decorative touches make any room a place of wonderment. Vintage 1920s anatomical chart (1) by Frohse, $475, and Cabinet of Natural Curiosities book (2) by Albertus Seba (Taschen, 2006), $60, at Scout, 5221 N. Clark St., 773-275-5700. Hand-etched floral Pyrex laboratory decanter (3) by Science Series, $333.50, to order at the Museum of Contemporary Art shop, 220 E. Chicago Ave., 312-397-4000. Side table (4) made from debarked, black-lacquered petrified logs, $850, and one-of-a-kind specimen boxes (5) containing exotic insects, $5,500 for a set of eight, at Atelier Branca, 1325 N. State Pkwy., 312-787-6123. Two’s Company amber glass specimen jars (6), $16 and $25 each, and apothecary jars with antiqued labels (7), $12 to $20, at Twosided, 2958 N. Clark St., 773-244-6431. Jurassic-period fossilized ammonite (8) found in Morocco, $26.50; 300-year-old bison leg bone (9) from western Nebraska, $24.50; and geode book ends (10) filled with calcite crystals, $160; at Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop, 704 Main St., Evanston, 847-866-7374.

Photography: Nathan Kirkman
Produced By: Barri Leiner
Shot On Location At The Suzanne Crown Goodman Science Wing At Francis W. Parker School