Independence Day @ CHM

What actions will you take to be a more engaged citizen? How will you stay informed about issues affecting your community? Find inspiration for your civic participation. Connect with community-serving organizations, learn about the civic superheroes of our past, and explore your creativity during multiple art workshops.

Included with admission, which is FREE for Illinois residents on this day!

Schedule
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Outdoors in the Rear Plaza
– Family Friendly Games and Crafts hosted by Lori
– Pretty Cool Ice Cream Giveaway
– Collaborative Mural Activity: “My Civic Participation Looks Like . . .” – Reflect on how you envision civic and community support for Chicago by contributing to a collaborative mural with local teaching artist Natalia Virafuentes.

12:00–3:00 p.m.
– 10 Questions for Civic Love: Read and Respond
Inspired by the National Public Housing Museum’s 36 Questions for Civic Love, our 10 Questions activity offers visitors the opportunity to respond to a civics-themed questions and show support for responses from others.

– Printmaking with Purpose
Sit in on a printmaking session with teaching artist Jomo Cheatham and make your own to take home!

– Button Making
Buttons are a stylish way to show your support for topics of interest! Design your own civics-focused buttons to wear home. This activity is inspired by our newest exhibition Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s.

– Guided Exhibition Tour
Come along for a facilitator-led tour of Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s! Get a focused look at important Chicago examples of activist art.

– Civic Superheroes at CHM
Go on a self-guided exploration of CHM’s galleries to locate and learn more about Chicago’s past civic superheroes. A digital geolocational map accompanies this activity. Pick up your guide at the Ticketing Desk!

– Face Painting
Wearable art is a great way to show your support for the things that matter to you! Have a seat and let face painters from Party Picassos and Face Painting by Valery create a unique design just for you.

12:00–2:00 p.m.
– Poems While You Wait
Come get your own, unique poem typed in 10–15 minutes typed by a professional poet on a typewriter right in before your eyes! All poems are free and can be of any topic, especially those related to civic engagement, US history, and justice for all. Poems While You Wait supports Rose Metal Press, a 501(c)3 nonprofit independent publisher of literary hybrid genres specializing in flash fiction and nonfiction, prose poetry, novels-in-verse or book-length linked poems, and more!

12:30–1:30 p.m.
– Hot Dog Trivia
Join CHM director of exhibitions Paul Durica as he leads us through a trivia contest about one of the city’s most recognizable foods―the Chicago hot dog! Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.

12:30–1:30 p.m.
– Musical Performance
ChiArts Performance joins us for an hour of civics-inspired music. Come listen to the music that gets us pumped to go out and change the world for the better!

3:00–4:00 p.m.
– Chicago in Action – Toward an Equitable Future: Youth Empowerment and Democracy
Mikva Challenge CEO Verneé Green joins us for a conversation about ways to encourage our city’s young folks to become more engaged in their communities and to continue the ongoing work of ensuring democracy, like Chicago’s youth, has a bright and promising future.