A new location for the Illinois Holocaust Museum will help ensure the museum’s vital mission continues at a time when rising antisemitism and hatred make Holocaust and genocide education more urgent than ever, according to the museum’s communications manager, Amanda Berman.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum opened a satellite location in River North on Aug. 26 and plans to keep it open through June 2026. The pop-up, called Experience 360, features five exhibits from the museum’s Skokie location that focus on remembering the Holocaust and other genocides, including the Rwandan and Armenian genocides.
The satellite location was opened to continue the museum’s educational pursuit while the main site in Skokie undergoes renovations. The modifications to the museum include a more accommodating lobby and a modernized structure.
Experience 360 features five exhibits, with a few alterations from the Skokie location, chosen for their quality and impact. The first exhibit upon entrance, A Call to Action, details the story of how the people of Skokie decided to open the Illinois Holocaust Memorial Museum to educate people about the events of the Holocaust after a group of neo-Nazis planned to march through their town in the late 1970s.
The museum also showcases the Holocaust & World War II, through an exhibit that displays a timeline of the events surrounding the Holocaust’s progression. Another gallery, Stories of Survival: Object. Image. Memory, features items kept from survivors of genocide with messages from them and their loved ones about the significance of the object.
The museum emphasizes hearing and seeing the full stories of survivors. Two exhibits highlight this mission: a virtual reality theater, where visitors can walk through the story of a genocide survivor’s experiences, and a holography theater, where visitors can hear the stories of survivors and ask questions. Notably, the holography theater includes three new survivor stories, including Kizito Kalima, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, who is the first non-Holocaust survivor story in the holography experience.
Mark Friedman, an education docent at the museum, noted the significance of having these interactive exhibits.
“The most important way that people can learn about any part of history, but especially events like this, is to be able to talk directly to somebody who was an eyewitness,” Mr. Friedman said.
The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. but will be closed for holidays. Admission is $8 for students, $12 for adults and $6 for children.