The Obama Foundation has announced that tickets to the sprawling Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will be available for purchase starting at 9am on Wednesday, May 6.
Tickets to the four-story museum, which officially opens Juneteenth (June 19), will be available via a digital queue at obama.org/visit/museum-tickets.
“Given the intense interest in the center, the Foundation expects high demand for tickets when the queue opens at 9 a.m.," the Obama Foundation warns. "Weekend and summer dates are expected to sell out most quickly.”
Announced 10 years ago, the long-awaited museum and center in Jackson Park on the city's South Side will host a series of grand opening weekend events including “live performances, family-friendly activities, food, art, and storytelling across campus.”
According to the Obama Foundation, highlights of the center will include a full-scale Oval Office replica, a 45,000-square-foot multipurpose athletic and community space, a fully accessible 21,000-square-foot public playground, displays of fashions worn by Michelle Obama, a fruit and vegetable garden, original commissioned art, and artifacts donated by grassroots supporters around the world.
The museum takes visitors through four levels of exhibits telling the story of Barack and Michelle Obama, their family, and the "social movements that made their work possible," according to the center's website. You can expect "memorabilia from the Obamas’ time in the White House, stories of iconic moments from the President’s administration, and interactive activities."
Museum entry requires timed tickets, and visitors are strongly encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance. Illinois residents can reserve free museum admission for Tuesdays.
General admission tickets are $23–$30; $15–$26 for Illinois residents. Children 2 and under get in for free.
Apart from the museum, all other areas of the 19.3-acre campus are free and accessible.
Discounted tickets are available for some visitors as well.
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to obama.org/visit/museum-tickets.