The Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side will welcome its first guests in June.
Planning a visit? Here’s what to know.
When does the Obama Presidential Center open?
The center opens to the public June 19.
How much does it cost?
While entry to the center’s museum will require a ticket, all other areas of the 19.3-acre campus are free and open to the public. General admission tickets to the museum are $23-30. Admission for Illinois residents is $15-26. Children 2 and under are free.
How do I get a ticket to the museum?
Tickets to the museum at the Obama Presidential Center go on sale at 9 a.m. May 6 at obama.org/visit/museum-tickets.
Any tips for getting tickets?
The Chicago-based Obama Foundation expects high demand for tickets with weekend and summer dates selling out quickly.
According to a news release, guests can purchase up to nine tickets. Illinois residents can also reserve free museum admission for the Illinois Free Days on Tuesdays.
The center expects to welcome 750,000 visitors annually.
What’s at the museum?
Highlights include a full-scale Oval Office replica, iconic fashion from Michelle Obama and artifacts donated by grassroots supporters around the world. The Forum, home to the Elie Wiesel Auditorium, a state-of-the-art recording studio, a restaurant, and café, anchors the campus alongside a Chicago Public Library branch, Home Court (a 45,000-square-foot multipurpose athletic and community space), the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, and Chicago’s first fully accessible 21,000-square-foot public playground.
Where is the museum located?
The center, honoring the work of the nation’s 44th president Barack Obama, is located in Jackson Park on the city’s South Side, about an hour and a half drive from Rockford, Illinois.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: How to get museum tickets for Chicago’s new Obama Presidential Center
Reporting by Corina Curry, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
