Coming this spring! An exciting multi-library collaborative program to help you to discover “Your City @ Home”, through which you’ll have the opportunity to “visit” many Chicago-area museums virtually on Saturdays in April and May. Register for one or all museum tours. Space is limited, so register early!
Saturday, April 3, 2021, 3-4 p.m.: Shedd Aquarium: It’s time to meet the penguins – virtually! Experience a live virtual visit with the penguins that call Shedd home. During this 45-minute experience, you will meet a penguin up close and discover what makes these birds so amazing. Our animal care team will take you “behind the scenes” in the penguins’ habitat to learn more about how penguins are able to “fly” underwater, stay warm in cooler waters, and much more!
Saturday, April 10, 2021, 1-2 p.m.: DuSable Museum of African American History: “The People Could Fly” is a very relevant and layered statement used by and about people of African descent in America. Join the discussion to learn about the history of Black people flying, literally and figuratively, well above their circumstances along with Chicago’s role in this rich legacy.
Saturday, April 17, 2021, 1-2 p.m.: Garfield Park Conservatory: This exclusive tour will include a visit to Horticulture Hall, the beehives, and a behind-the-scenes peek at the propagation greenhouses.
Saturday, April 24, 2021, 2-3 p.m.: National Museum of Mexican Art: Explore the “Nuestras Historias” exhibition which includes works from the museum’s permanent collection. Nuestras Historias highlights the Museum’s Permanent Collection to showcase the dynamic and diverse stories of Mexican identity in North America. The exhibition presents cultural identity as something that continually evolves across time, regions, and communities, rather than as a static, unchanging entity, and features ancient Mesoamerican and colonial artifacts, modern Mexican art, folk art, and contemporary works from both sides of the U.S.–Mexican border. The vast diversity of Mexican identities demonstrated in these works defies the notion of one linear history and a singular identity.
Saturday, May 1, 2021, 1-2 p.m.: Chicago Children’s Museum: Get an exclusive look at the Cloud Buster climbing exhibit, the Zoom Room, and more! Chicago Children’s Museum’s mission is to improve children’s lives by creating a community where play and learning connect. Housed in Navy Pier, the Museum is intentionally designed for experimentation, creativity, and learning for all children. They focus on accessibility, inclusion, and the pursuit of childhood, ensuring valuable and memorable experiences for all visitors.
Saturday, May 8, 2021, 2-3 p.m.: Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center: Take a docent-led tour of the Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition, a place for both those familiar with the Holocaust and those learning about it for the first time.
Saturday, May 15, 2021, 1-2 p.m.: The Art Institute of Chicago: Explore ways to connect with the Art Institute of Chicago and discover little-known stories that make ours one of the most renowned art museums in the world.
Saturday, May 22, 2021, 1-2 p.m.: Field Museum: Get an exclusive tour of the Dinosaur range with mammalian paleontologist William Simpson!
Saturday, May 29, 2021, 2-3 p.m.: Elmhurst History Museum: Just before the first man landed on the moon, Charlie Brown and Snoopy soared through space with NASA’s Apollo 10 mission in May 1969. The exhibition To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA examines the history of Apollo 10 and the Peanuts characters’ role in that flight and in the NASA Manned Flight Awareness safety program. This traveling exhibit is organized by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California.
Attendees will also get an exclusive tour of By All Accounts: The Story of Elmhurst which examines how the city has changed and grown over the past 165+ years.
