The coldest months of the year in Chicago, January and February, are also when Chicago’s museums have the lowest number of visitors. Because of this, Chicago’s most famous museums usually have a large number of free admission days for Illinois residents. Here is the list of free days offered at Chicago museums in 2020: https://www.chicagoparent.com/learn/museums/free-museum-days-chicago/…
Author: Bet Arkeh
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Smithsonian is a network of 20 museums (as of January, 2020), that are run by the U.S. government. The newest museum on the list opened in 2016, and is the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Like most of the Smithsonian museums, it is located in the Nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Since…
University of Chicago: Regenstein & Mansueto Libraries
The University of Chicago (not to be confused with the University of Illinois in Chicago) was ranked the 6th best National University in the United States in 2019. Founded in 1890, this prestigious university is known for graduating Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as employing famous faculty who have made important contributions…
Musical Instrument Museum
In 2010, Phoenix, Arizona opened up a museum dedicated solely to musical instruments called the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). The MIM strives to display instruments from every country and territory in the world, so, with about 7,000 instruments on display, there over 200 countries/territories currently represented. The museum is categorized by geographic regions, meaning that…
Church of the Nativity
Slightly south of Jerusalem is Bethlehem (which means “house of bread” in Hebrew), a small town that became famous for being the birthplace of Jesus as well as King David. However, if you visit Bethlehem today, it is difficult to picture it as the small Jewish town it once was. It is now a somewhat…
Hanukkah in Jerusalem
In the United States, Christmas has become a very commercialized holiday. Sometimes, as early as September, you can already find Christmas-related items at the store. Amidst these Christmas items are often a few items related to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah, because it has the guttural “H” sound). However, Hanukkah is actually…
Auditorium Theatre
On December 9, 2019, the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago turned 130 years old. Built in 1889 by architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, the theater was the first home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as the early Chicago opera companies. Today, the Theatre still hosts ballets, orchestras, musicians, etc. Additionally, because of its…
Samaritan Museum
Many people know about Samaritans from the New Testament parable of the “Good Samaritan,” which Jesus told in Luke 10:25-37. According to that parable, Samaritans and Jews in the 1st Century A.D. hated each other. In case you’re wondering if Samaritans still exist, I can assure you that they do, because I had the privilege…
Jamestown
Because it was recently Thanksgiving, I want to write about Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the United States. Although not directly part of the Thanksgiving story, the establishment of Jamestown in 1607 paved the way for the English settlers, known as the Pilgrims, to established Plymouth Colony in 1620. (Thanksgiving originated from the…
National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial
Unfortunately, many genocides occurred during the twentieth century. One of them was the Cambodian Genocide, which took place between 1975 and 1979. Approximately, 2 million people died. In the United States, Chicago is the only place that currently has a memorial to this Genocide (although Long Beach, California is currently working on one). This is…
Bet Arkeh 