A popular suburban Chicago museum will soon close for months of extensive renovations and open a downtown Chicago satellite location in its stead in one of the city's most bustling areas.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, located in suburban Skokie, will close to the public this summer temporarily for two major renovation projects that will "significantly" upgrade its facilities, a release said.
“To accommodate more visitors and provide them a world-class experience, we will create a new visitor welcome center, redesign a state-of-the-art auditorium, and create a reflection space within our core Holocaust exhibition, among other exciting upgrades," Museum CEO Bernard Cherkasov said in the release.
According to the release, the renovations will also "modernize" the museum, helping it to hold more guests of various ages and abilities.
"In order to enhance and improve the visitor experience through increased accessibility, more intuitive wayfinding and amplified educational engagement opportunities, expanded facilities are needed to meet the growing needs of visitors and the community," the museum said in an FAQ on its website.
The Skokie museum will close all exhibitions beginning June 2, 2025, but remain opening for public programming and trainings by reservation. July 1, 2025, the museum will fully close for construction and demolition, officials said, with a partial reopening planned for Jan. 2, 2026.
"The Museum will fully reopen in the late summer of 2026 with a grand reopening to be announced," the website said.
While the Skokie location is closed, the museum will open a downtown satellite location at the former site of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, located at 360 N. State St. in River North, officials said. The Chicago location will open in July of 2025, and remain open for one year, the museum's website said.
The satellite location is set to include several of the museum's exhibits, including Virtual Reality and Holographic Theatres, and feature stories of survivors of the Holocaust and genocides across time and geography, the site said. Ticketing information and hours for the satellite campus can be found here.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
More information about the renovation can be found here.
