Interactive Carts Get your hands on history! Look for carts throughout the Museum to try your hand at a variety of historical activities and learn more about our collections. Peek through a stereoscope, use a press to print a card, and try copying a letter the way Jefferson did! Carts are available most days—check in at the Welcome Center when you arrive for that day’s schedule.
Spark!Lab Spark!Lab, the newest hands-on space for families and others, hopes to show the real story behind an inventor’s work. You can play games, conduct science experiments, explore inventors’ notebooks, and even invent! The Lemelson Center's Spark!Lab will also feature a regular series of speakers, including contemporary inventors, to let you know just how they got the “invention bug” and put their creativity to use.
Historic Theatre Step right into history! Help Mary Pickergill, the maker of the Star Spangled Banner, arrange the stars on the blue and unfurl the stripes while listening to her story of how it all came to be. Or make a move for freedom as a Civil Rights worker trains you in the fine points of “Sitting in”! Four times a day on weekends Fall 2008. Four times daily starting Winter 2009. Check in at the Welcome Center when you arrive for locations.
Invention at Play This interactive exhibition for families is located in the new Lemelson Hall of Invention. With its highly interactive and engaging activities, it focuses on the similarities between the ways children and adults play and the creative skills and processes used by inventors. Visitors of all ages will experience various playful habits of mind that underlie invention, such as curiosity, imagination, visual thinking, model building, and problem solving.
American Popular Song Wrap your ears around history! Throughout the day, on the first floor, live performances will highlight the genre of American Popular Song including important compositions, songwriters, performers and productions that both reflected and shaped the American identity. Check in at the Welcome Center when you arrive for that day’s schedule.
Spotlight Tours Docents stationed in selected exhibitions lead 15-minute overview tours and circulate through the galleries to answer questions and discuss the exhibition. Check in at the Welcome Center when you arrive for locations.
Exhibitions The Museum has over 30 exhibitions, both big and small. Ride a Chicago “L” train car from the 1950s and meet some of your fellow passengers, step into a president's shoes by reading a famous speech, learn how four college students sparked a civil rights movement by sitting at a Woolworth’s lunch counter, and much more.
Self-Guided Tours
Take one of our free, self-guided tours of the Museum. Each tour takes about an hour. Pick up a guide from the Information Desks at the Museum. You can also download selected titles below.
America On the Move This family guide will lead you to several locations as you journey through the America on the Move exhibition. Read the questions aloud to learn new skills of observation, reasoning, and creativity.
Discover! Faces of American History (Age 0-5) Our "Faces of American History" family guide is designed especially for families with young children. This guide takes you on a tour of the Museum while you hunt for some of our best-known faces.
