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CHICAGO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM MOVING TO GRANT PARK

Mayor's Press Office
312.744.3334
September 27, 2006

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced today that Chicago Children's Museum will move from Navy Pier to a new building to be constructed on the northeast corner of Monroe Street and Columbus Drive in Grant Park.

The Chicago Park District will donate the site, which is at the south end of Daley Bicentennial Plaza, and Allstate Insurance will donate $15 million toward the construction costs, the Mayor announced.

"This is a tremendous location for the new museum – within walking distance of Millennium Park, the Cultural Center, Symphony Center, the Art Institute, Field Museum of Natural History, Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium," Daley said at a news conference at the Children's Museum. "No other city in the world has such a concentration of cultural institutions in one location – and now we’ll have one more."

The two-story museum will have 100,000 square feet of floor space, almost double the amount of the current 57,000-square-foot facility. The museum will be designed around the theme "Kids Reinvent Chicago." There will be a large number of experiences where children can explore, discover, face challenges and develop new understandings of the world around them.

"This will allow the museum to provide a richer and more varied learning experience, with more of the exhibits that help children exercise their imagination and make new discoveries," Daley said.

In recognition of the Allstate gift, the new museum will be known as Chicago Children's Museum at Allstate Place.

Daley said the new building will have a green roof and other environmental features that will make it eligible to be LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

"We are incredibly honored to accept Allstate's generous gift of $15 million toward our new museum," said Chicago Children’s Museum president and CEO Peter England. "This wonderful gift is an extraordinary testament to the power of corporate and civic partnership."

"Children and families will now have a museum that is even more dynamic and exciting. With the synergy of the Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park and Chicago Children's Museum on the one complex, families can enjoy the richness of cross-programming," England added.

In addition to the gift to Children's Museum, Allstate is donating $10 million to the Museum of Science and Industry to finance a new basic science exhibit.

"We are proud to continue our 75-year heritage of community service and commitment to the children of Chicago," said Ed Liddy, Chairman and CEO of The Allstate Corporation. "It's a privilege to partner with Mayor Daley and these two respected museums to expand children's minds and life opportunities through science education and exploration."

The announcement was made during the Chicago Science Expedition, a festival of science-related events that are taking place throughout the Chicago area for the next eleven days.

"The whole point of the Chicago Science Expedition is to show young people that science is interesting, exciting and fun," Daley said. "And two of the places where that is most apparent are the Chicago Children's Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.

"These museums can inspire our children to pursue careers in science. And even if they don’t become scientists, they'll learn new ways of looking at the world that will enrich their lives and improve their critical thinking skills."

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