Kohl Children’s Museum to Host Pop-up Museum in Waukegan

Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago (2100 Patriot Boulevard) is proud to announce plans to host a month-long pop-up satellite museum at Urban Edge (220 W. Clayton), a 5,000-sq.-ft. storefront gallery located in downtown Waukegan, IL. The pop-up Museum will operate during the month of February 2018 and will be free of charge to school and childcare groups during weekday hours and to families during evening and weekend hours. Opening day ceremonies that will include remarks from Museum and City of Waukegan leadership will take place on Saturday, February 3 beginning at 12 p.m.

The pop-up Museum will include hands-on STEAM activities for children ages three to eight years old and their families. Kohl Children’s Museum in Waukegan will be open approximately 20 hours each week during the month of February, including free public hours on Thursdays and Saturdays. Kohl Children’s Museum’s popular traveling exhibit, “Chagall for Children,” and a related art studio for creative exploration will occupy half of the Urban Edge space. “Chagall for Children” features interactive stations depicting 14 of Chagall’s works, each with an accompanying hands-on activity in a variety of media that encourage the visitor to explore and work with specific art principles such as color, composition, light, and texture.

The remainder of the space will focus on open-ended experimentation with science, design, and construction. Large wind tubes, an air maze, and a Bernoulli blower will encourage children to explore airflow, drag, symmetry, and gravity. Imagination Playground blocks and magnetic building blocks will offer a wealth of fun collaborative learning opportunities. The exhibits and facilitated activities will provide young children with hands-on experiential learning using items that spur the development of hypotheses and the space to test them in a comfortable setting alongside other children, educators, and families.

“Outreach to lesser served children in Lake County has long been a priority for Kohl Children’s Museum,” said Museum President and CEO Sheridan Turner. “In order to serve children in the Waukegan District, the Museum has deepened its ties with North Chicago Community Partners and the City of Waukegan, providing exemplary educational outreach experiences to thousands of children, including through field trips, access to traveling exhibits, and programming at schools and libraries. With their assistance, we have been able to make this pop-up museum concept a reality that we plan to replicate later in 2018 at other venues in the greater Chicago area.”

As part of its commitment to ensuring that every child and family has access to a high quality children’s Museum experience, the Museum has also provided programming each summer since 2013 through Waukegan’s Campaign for Grade Level Reading, helping to ensure that children return to school in the fall ready to learn. Recently, the Museum partnered with the United Way of Lake County in its Kindergarten Kickoff Summer Camp, held in Round Lake, providing in-school Museum experiences benefiting children who did not attend preschool and who might be at a disadvantage when beginning kindergarten.

Information about Kohl Children’s Museum and local partners (such as the Waukegan Public Libraryand the Waukegan Park District) will be available on site for families. Fun “Learn At Home” activities will also be provided to encourage families to continue the hands-on learning after they leave the pop-up Museum experience.