Tuesday, November 05, 2019, 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. $25.00.
Explore the shops, bakeries, and restaurants of Chinatown with a self-guided walking tour. Visit Chinatown landmarks like the Chinese-American Museum, the Nine-Dragon Wall, or the new Chinatown branch of the Chicago Public Library with its Feng shui-influenced interior design and expansive views of the city.
Sunday, October 06, 2019. 12:30 - 6:00 PM. $60.00.
In 1899, legendary leading lady Sarah Bernhardt’s decision to assume the title role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet left critics and patriarchs aghast and indignant. Laced with forbidden romance and backstage gossip, this behind-the-scenes look at Bernhardt’s most ambitious role combines high humor and human drama in a rollicking comedy so clever it uplifts, so timely it hurts.
Monday, September 09, 2019. 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. $30.00.
Technology’s next great revolution is as close as your clothes. Your wardrobe—and your life—will never be the same. Wired to Wear is the first-ever exhibit dedicated to smart clothing and devices designed to extend the human body’s capabilities and make us healthier, stronger and safer. Get hands-on with circuit building, analyze a prototype, and build fabricated materials into your own wearable LED circuit band.
Wednesday, August 07, 2019, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. $25.00.
Visit the largest collection of historic railway equipment in North America. See restored Pullman sleeping cars, opulent private cars, dining cars and coaches, as well as interurban trains and vintage horse-drawn streetcars. Board the streetcar next to the 50th Avenue "L" station for a ride up to the historic 1851 East Union Depot or take a ride on a streetcar line.
Friday, July 19, 2019, 8:45 AM - 2:30 PM. $20.00.
Take a tour of Mayslake Hall, a Tudor Revival style mansion, built in 1921 as the retirement home for Francis Stuyvesant Peabody one of the nation’s largest coal magnates. Designed by acclaimed architect Benjamin Marshall, Mayslake Hall stands as a rare surviving example of the magnificent country houses that were built in DuPage County during the Gilded Age.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. $45.00.
Featuring an audio tour narrated by the smash musical’s author Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton: The Exhibition on Northerly Island takes you deeper into the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, while chronicling the American Revolution and the creation of the United States of America. With a dynamic and interactive mix of lighting, sound, multimedia, and historical artifacts, you'll experience how it felt to live the way Hamilton lived.
Thursday, May 16, 12:00 - 6:00 PM, 2019. $55.00.
Leonard Bernstein’s music and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics transplant Romeo and Juliet to the backstreets of New York where wide-eyed teenagers from opposing gangs fall in love as their friends and family battle with one another. Add to that the bold, sexy, iconic dances of Jerome Robbins and you have a musical-theater experience you’ll never forget.
Friday, April 19, 2019. 8:45 AM - 2:30 PM. $25.00.
Experience the Lyric Opera House beyond the footlights. From the moment you enter the beautiful grand foyer, you’ll be in for a special, one-of-a-kind experience with an engaging Lyric docent who will give you behind-the-scenes insights into the vibrant world of Chicago opera.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019. 1:30 - 6:30 PM. $40.00.
In August Wilson's classic play, what begins as a routine recording session becomes more strained as tensions rise between the members of a blues band and the owners of the recording studio. The white producers mean to exploit the talents of the band—especially the gifted and impulsive Levee—but when Ma insists on having things her way the session builds to an unexpected and searing climax.
Friday, February 22, 2019, 4:30 PM - 9:30 PM. $25.00.
Explore the Museum of Contemporary Art after hours when the museum takes on an entirely different aspect. Enjoy an evening of thoughtful and amazing art by pivotal figures in the world of contemporary art including Chuck Close, Christo, Alexander Calder, and Andy Warhol. Please bring money to purchase a meal at Marisol, the restaurant called one of the best by in the city Chicago Magazine.
Sunday, January 13, 2019, 11:45 AM - 3:45 PM. $40.00.
The Halim Time & Glass Museum is a world class collection of historic timepieces, stained glass windows, and decorative arts. Permanent exhibits include the American Stained Glass Masters, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Gallery and Clocks of the World. Enjoy lunch at the museum (included in registration fee) and a guided tour of this Evanston gem.
Sunday, December 16, 2018, 12:00 - 5:00 PM. $40.00.
Strapped for cash, a struggling actor takes a job as a Christmas elf at Macy’s. Enduring a daily gauntlet of screaming children, rude parents and suspect Santas, it’s going to take more than a glass of eggnog to get him through the holiday season. Adapted from the beloved essay by best-selling author David Sedaris, The Santaland Diaries has become a new holiday classic.
Sunday, November 04, 2018, 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM. $45.00.
Two years after the death of his wife Virginia, Edgar Allan Poe is haunted not just by the specter of his beloved, but also by his many macabre stories. As he roams from room to room, searching for release from his demons, Poe relives both his life and his tales. Follow Poe and the ghost of his wife, Virginia as they take you throughout haunted Mayslake Hall and deep into The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe.
Friday, October 19, 2018, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM. $20.00.
State Optical Co. is a first-of-its-kind brand of luxury eyewear proudly being manufactured in Vernon Hills. They celebrate the quality, character, and individual style that make their handcrafted frames – like the people who wear them – so genuinely authentic, appealing, inspiring and original. Tour the factory and bring money for lunch off the menu at the Calzone and Macaroni Company.
Monday, September 10, 2018, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. $30.00.
Journey through the far-reaching forests to find Danish artist Thomas Dambo's six colossal troll sculptures. These sculptures are crafted one to be protectors of our environment. The Arboretum tram will carry you through the woods and stop at each sculpture. Some walking is involved, including some on wood chip paths.
Tuesday, August 21, 10:00 AM–2:30 PM. $20.00.
Chicago's Lincoln Square is the perfect place for a shopping spree. Visit The Book Cellar, Savory Spice, Laurie's Planet of Sound, Merz Apothecary, Timeless Toys, The Chopping Block, Gene's Sausage Shop, the Old Town School of Folk Music, and more. Enjoy lunch at any of the neighborhood's many restaurants
Monday, July 23, 2018, 8:45 AM - 2:30 PM. $30.00.
The Museum of Science and Industry takes you behind the scenes of the best animation studio in the business today, responsible for Buzz Lightyear, Dory, and WALL–E. More than just a trip down movie memory lane, this exhibition showcases the scientific concepts used by Pixar’s artists.
Wednesday, June 27, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM. $45.00.
Immerse yourself in a habitat filled with hundreds of beautiful butterflies. Peek into the pupa room to see butterflies emerging from their cocoons. This exhibition is filled with species native to South America, Asia, North America, and Africa, as well as those native to Illinois. Registration fee includes lunch and tram rides.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. $55.00.
Enjoy the buffet lunch at Sawa's Old Warsaw Restaurant as historian Jim Gibbons presents the history of the December 1st, 1958 Our Lady of the Angels school fire. After lunch, we'll tour the Our Lady of the Angels church. Walking is involved in the tour and the church is not accessible to wheelchairs. The cost of lunch is included in the registration fee.
Saturday, April 28, 2018, 12:30 - 6:30 PM. $45.00.
This is not Shakespeare's midsummer. Swedish trailblazer Alexander Ekman astounds with this ode to the longest day of the year. Delight in joyful abandon and romance under the Scandinavian sun as dancers celebrate and let their imaginations run wild. Join us for the North American premiere of the tour de force show that took Stockholm by storm.
Friday, March 16, 2018, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM. $25.00.
Experience one of the Chicago's theatrical treasures. Stand on the world famous stage, view the autographed backstage walls, and explore the beautiful Baroque interiors.
Thursday, February 15, 2018, 4:30 - 9:30 PM. $30.00.
The Adler Planetarium's popular adults-only nighttime event offers unlimited access to all the astronomical exhibits, sky shows, and tours of the Doane Observatory (weather permitting). Not to mention the best view of the Chicago skyline in the city. Explore the Museum while enjoying drinks and entertainment.
Sunday, January 21, 2018, 1:15 PM - 6:30 PM. $50.00.
Experience the greatest movie musical with Lennie Hayton’s score performed live by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. MGM’s Singin’ in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, features some of the most iconic dance sequences and enduring songs ever to grace the silver screen.
Tuesday, December 05, 2017, 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM. $25.00.
Chicago's newest museum explores how writers influence the history, identity, culture, and lives of Americans while honoring some of the nation's best novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, and essayists from Langston Hughes to Mark Twain to Dr. Seuss. Through innovative and dynamic state-of-the-art exhibitions, as well as compelling programming, the American Writers Museum educates, enriches, provokes, and inspires.
