did not get lost in the city. We reached the museum about 30 minutes after the museum had opened its doors. We were pretty early. While the volunteers, and other staff members were getting ready for the interviews we had in store for them, we helped ourselves around the museum, and had a quick lesson in crash course Chicago history. He helped me out with the pictures I had to take with the staff members, and I helped him with his. His knowledge of Chicago history was far more than that of mine.
Eoin, at times, acted like the tour guides, telling me about the specifics of the various events that occurred in Chicago. The museum had a lot to offer. During our visit to the Chicago history museum, we entered the exhibition of The Secret Lives of Objects. This particular exhibition was the most odd one of them, but it was definitely the most interesting one. The exhibition consisted of the smallest things that helped shape the future of Chicago. The whole room was full of these tiny artifacts that no one would consider to be a part of history.
One of these were Nathan F. Leopold Jr. ‘s eyeglasses, which reminded me of Dr. T. J Eckleburg’s eyes in “The Great Gatsby”. The entire room was filled with similar “odd” things, like a marble top table, a cane, and many more with amazing stories behind them. This room stood out to me the most, as it was unlike any other that I have ever seen. The room was lit with these small things that had a significant part in Chicago’s history. The museum had a different approach towards displaying its exhibits, and portraying history.
This particular visit was one that I’ll remember for a long time. I learned more about the history of one city, Chicago, than learned in an entire year’s course of AP World History about the entire world. The museum had exhibits of all shapes and sizes, from a pair of glasses, to an entire train cart from one of the first passenger trains ever built, taking up a whole room for itself. The history portrayed at the museum was all about Chicago, which absolutely amazing as it showed how Chicago came up from being one of the dirtiest, most dangerous and notorious places to a metropolis.
Everything about what happened to Chicago, and how it happened is explained thoroughly at the museum through artifacts, short movies, and the top notch staff members. There was much more to what I had in mind about Chicago’s history. I walked into the museum with an open mind about American history. I read and re-read the information about certain artifacts, and objects that were displayed. Visiting the museum changed my perspective of Chicago history. I had known about Chicago’s terrifying past, but seeing the specific details about that time helped me understand the situation better.
Had I not gone to this particular museum, I might have never learnt about The Great Chicago fire, and how it was one of the most disastrous events to occur in America. And how some people still believe that the fire led to Chicago turning from a swamp city with the highest crime rates, to the city’s new beginning. There was so much to learn about at the museum. As soon as we had entered the floor where all the exhibits were kept, I noticed that, there, stood a massive train cart in the middle of the room, which was extremely odd but satisfying at the same time.
I stood there in amazement for a couple of minutes imaging how the exhibit could have fit through the doors of the museum. It was only until later that evening that I had thought about the idea of disassembling it and then reassembling it. It was truly a great experience to have seen a train cart from the late 1800s. I noticed how much our current CTA trains, and Metra trains are so different, yet so similar to its predecessor, the ‘L’ train. The train’s interior was truly an artwork of its own kind. It was so different from what would I had expected it to be. It was surprisingly comfortable.
The museum had all sorts of interesting information about things | did not have any idea of before my visit. As we were walking through the museum, I noticed a small projector in the corner of the room, separated from the rest of the room by a thick wall. It came to my attention that, there was a short video of about 4-5 minutes playing in the room showing how America’s railroads were one of the key elements to its victory in World War II. The movie was exceptionally informative, and taught about how America’s railroads were one the most improved and efficient railroads systems in the world.
I had previously known about America’s organised system of railroads, but I did not know how it played such an important role in World War II. From the video, I also learnt how Chicago was one of the major stations for all those trains coming from different parts of the country. These stories were completely new to me, as I had no idea about this prior to my visit. The exhibit helped me learnt about an important period from American history, and how Chicago was at the center of all this.
The trip to the museum was an interesting one, as I learnt so much more than I had expected to. From what I experienced, I think this was probably the most informative museum visit that I have ever had. I felt that the conversations I had with the staff, did not only help me complete my project, but also gave me the opportunity to be speculative about things I wanted to know more about. The museum visit helped me learn the big, and small things that happened in Chicago, and how that has changed the city today.
I learnt about numerous events that had been going on in Chicago; like the The Great Chicago Fire, and many more. The museum helped me learn about the major events happening in Chicago throughout its history. The visit helped me learn about how Chicago’s past wasn’t the brightest one of them all, but it certainly was the most interesting one. The staff members I interviewed were extremely patient and kind to me. The volunteers, and the museum directors put aside their work for us to interview them with such short notice.
The volunteers knew in-and-out of the museum. They had studied about each and every artifact present in the museum. One of them, I interviewed, Mrs. Womack, the museum director even gave me a short tour around the floor we were on at the time. She told me how Chicago’s jazz music was one of the best in the country, and how the bars were jam-packed every night. Mrs. Womack, and all the other staff members had so much information to offer. They were excited to teach, and I was excited to learn. My trip to the museum was anything but a waste of my time.
I had the best museum experience that I’ve ever experienced, as the staff was so open to our endless questions, and seemed to be extremely enthusiastic towards teaching us more and more. The volunteers had so much information to offer that it was hard to keep up with them. The Chicago History Museum had a vast variety of exhibits ranging from the very beginnings of the city to just until a couple of decades ago. It portrays what Chicago was known for, and how it built itself up to become one of the biggest cities in the world. It was truly an amazing visit, as I learned so much more about the city I live in, and about its past.
