Kane County Events and Cultural Center

This 50-acre forest preserve houses the Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium (home of the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball team), the Roberta Campbell Cultural & Conference Center (used for art exhibits and community activities) and a picnic/park area.

CITY: Geneva

Prairie Land Heritage Museum

This museum is home of the annual Steam Show and Fall Festival, as well as the Prairie Land Liberty Church, which was built in 1900. Enjoy antique tractors, train rides and local history.

CITY: Jacksonville

Evanston Arts Depot

This cultural center is a restored train station in the heart of Evanston. Home of the Piccolo Theatre and Custer’s Last Stand Festival which takes place each June.

CITY: Evanston

Illinois School for the Deaf at Jacksonville - Alumni Association Museum

This museum follows the rich history of the oldest school for the deaf in Illinois, featuring displays in over nine rooms on two floors.

CITY: Jacksonville

Charles Gates Dawes House Museum

The Dawes House, a magnificent Chateauesque Mansion overlooking Lake Michigan, was the home of the former United States vice president under Calvin Coolidge and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Charles Gates Dawes.

CITY: Evanston

Edgar County Historical Society

Compare pioneer and Victorian lifestyles when you visit the log cabin and brick Italianate home. An exhibition gallery in an adjacent building features rotating exhibits of the historical society's collection.

CITY: Paris

Terra Museum Of American Art

The Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection encompasses nearly 700 American works of art.

CITY: Chicago

Heartland Antique Auto Museum

Walk among early cars from the turn-of-the-century through the early 1950s. This museum is also the site of a restoration shop for classic V12 and V16 Cadillacs and Duesenbergs, as well as custom-built vintage Indy cars.

CITY: Paris

Mann's Chapel

Mann's Chapel, located just south of Rossville, is the oldest church in Vermilion County, constructed in 1857.

CITY: Rossville

Silvercreek Museum

This museum, operated by the Stephenson County Antique Engine Club, which also operates the Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad, offers 20 rooms of early Americana. Exhibts include 500 pieces of crockery, dolls, a recreated schoolroom and kitchen, art exhibits, quilts, tools and agricultural equipment, and many other historical exhibits. Also on the grounds is a display of antique machinery and an exhibit of Henny Motor Company vehicles which were manufactured in Freeport. Plus visitors can view the Cooper-Corliss engine, a giant 130-ton steam engine with a 25 foot flywheel which originally operated a rolling mill in a zinc plant. Special exhibits and events are featured throughout the year.

CITY: Freeport

Stephenson County Historical Society Museum

The museum complex consists of five buildings; The Italianate home built by Oscar and Malvina Taylor in 1857. The Taylor home was the social center of Freeport in its time and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places; The One-Room Schoolhouse from the 1920s; The Industrial Museum featuring products manufactured in Freeport by such companies Henney Motor Company, Stover, W. T. Rawleight and Burgess Battery; The Arcade Toy Museum featuring cast iron toys made in Freeport by Arcade Manufacturing, and stamped-metal toys also made in Freeport by Structo; an authentic Log Cabin which was originally an Irish immigrant homestead. The three plus acres of the museum campus also features an arboretum and butterfly garden.

CITY: Freeport

Cedarville Historical Museum

This museum is located in an 1889 school building and features a permanent exhibit honoring Jane Addams, who was born and raised in Cedarville. Miss Addams was an internationally famous humanitarian and social work pioneer who founded Chicago's Hull House and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Museum exhibits include personal items and memorabilia from her life and the life of her family. There are also changing exhibits on topics of local historical interest and a research center and a research center.

CITY: Cedarville

Arlington Heights Historical Museum

The Coach House, a replica Log Cabin, the 1882 home of F.W. Muller and the 1908 Banta House tell the story of Arlington Heights over the last 150 years. Tour guides introduce you to the life of early residents. Tours: Sat. & Sun. 2pm & 3pm Heritage Gallery & Gift Shop: Fri.-Sun. 1:30pm-4:30pm

CITY: Arlington Heights

Union Street Gallery

Union Street Gallery hosts 10 art exhibits per year, classes and workshops. There are 18 artists' studios to compliment the experience. Free Admission and free tours and field trips available.

CITY: Chicago Heights

Joseph F. Glidden Homestead and Historical Center

Built in 1861, the house and brick barn were constructed for local farmer and barbed wire inventor Joseph Glidden. The Illinois State Historical Society has commemorated the barn as the birthplace of barbed wire.

CITY: DeKalb

New River Model Railroad Museum

See model trains in operation, an HO-scale model of the Chesapeake & Ohio RR circa 1950s West Virginia, and running diesel and steam locomotives on a double main line.

CITY: Sterling

D'Arcy Museum, Loyola University Chicago

Medieval, renaissance and baroque art, including paintings, sculpture, and rare decorative art.

CITY: Chicago

McConnell Area Historical Society & Museum

Items on display in this local town museum include a mill stone, ox yoke, McConnell telephone switchboard, and other items relating to the history of McConnell and Waddams Township. There is a large collection of family histories, obituaries, and genealogical materials. Special activities and exhibits are planned for each of the open dates.

CITY: McConnell

Paulson's Agriculture Museum of Argyle

Home of the largest and best collection of farm equipment and antiquites of yesteryear. Over 700 cast iron implement seats, 50 antique tractors, windmills, windmill weights, and antique washing machines. Wagons, spreaders, cultivators, planters, and the most extensive collection of Rockford, Illinois-made Emerson Brandingham equipment. A model tractor and toy collection is as large as it is unique. Individual tours available. The main building is heated and available all year round for weddings, birthdays, social gatherings, or auctions.

CITY: Caledonia

On Any Sunday Motorcycle Museum

See 40 motorcycles on display, including European bikes built from 1942-1978.

CITY: Polo

NIU Art Museum

The Museum serves to educate, preserve, exhibit and enlighten by balancing the challenges of contemporary art with the riches of traditional media for a comprehensive examination of visual culture. The Museum pursues its goal of furthering understanding of the visual arts by presenting a balance of high-quality, professional contemporary art exhibitions supplemented by written educational material, gallery talks, artist lectures, panel discussions, symposia and other related activities.

CITY: DeKalb

The Polish Museum of America

The Paderewski and Kosciuszko memorial rooms, folk art, photos and documents all tell the fascinating history of the Polish immigration to America and Chicago, where the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw resides.

CITY: Chicago

Block Museum of Art

Northwestern University's Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art is one of the largest fine art museums in the Chicagoland area.

CITY: Evanston

Evanston Historical Center

Housed in the gracious historic mansion of former U.S Vice President Charles Gates Dawes, this stunning chateau overlooks Lake Michigan. Visitors and history buffs explore this National Historic Landmark appreciating its original furnishings and artwork. The home features exhibits focusing on the history of Evanston.

CITY: Evanston

Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society Museum

This local museum explores the history of Sterling and Rock Falls.

CITY: Sterling

Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad and Museum

All aboard as a 36-ton 1912 Heisler steam locomotive pulls three cabooses, including an antique red caboose reported to be the oldest in the state, for a four-mile ride through farmlands. Purchase your ticket at the Silver Creek Depot, a turn-of-the-century replica filled with railroad artifacts, and browse the Freight House Gift Shop and Silvercreek Museum that's filled with early Americana.

CITY: Freeport

Tampico Area Historical Museum

This museum that focuses on the Tampico area features exhibits related to schools, agriculture, prominent families and businesses. Items on display include newspapers, funeral records and memorabilia.

CITY: Tampico

Highland Park Historical Society

This museum is a 12 room, two story Italianate Victorian house donated to the Society in 1969. The Society’s mission is to discover, preserve, provide access to and disseminate the history of the general area and of Highland Park, in particular.

CITY: Highland Park

Lake County Discovery Museum

Hands-on interactive exhibits introduce the history of Lake County in a fun learning environment. The Museum also displays the nation's largest permanent exhibition on the history and significance of postcards. Changing exhibits throughout the year.

CITY: Wauconda

Pioneer Sholes School

Restored, One-room schoolhouse serves as living museum. Open June to early September. Groups welcome by appointment. They actually sit at desks in the one room schoolhouse while a docent explains how teaching was done in 1872. They also participate in playing the games the students played during their recess periods.

CITY: St. Charles

Grayslake Heritage Center

A state of the art history museum dedicated to collecting and sharing the history of the greater Grayslake area. The Grayslake Heritage Center offers programs, exhibitions and special events all year round and includes two galleries, a community room and classroom.

CITY: Grayslake

Momence Railroad Depot

This privately-owned, 1890'a depot was restored in 2001 and contains photos and artifacts relating to Momence's railroading history.

CITY: Momence

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian

Focusing on the art, history and culture of the American Indian. Permanent exhibits are dedicated to the Native cultures of the Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Northwest Coast and Arctic regions of North America. Each gallery contains a “touching table” where visitors can handle real examples of Indian artifacts, as well as feel the raw materials—including snakeskin, caribou fur, birch bark, turquoise and buffalo skin—that were used by native Americans. Temporary exhibits showcase emerging and established contemporary Native artists. Lectures and performances throughout the year provide a venue for multicultural education.

CITY: Evanston

Cuneo Mansion and Gardens

The opulent Cuneo Museum and Gardens, located on 75 acres and dotted with formal gardens and statuary was the perfect setting for the wedding scenes in "My Best Friend's Wedding." The gazebo where the best friends were caught kissing was built specifically for the film, but Cuneo's owners liked it so much they decided to keep it permanently. Take a guided tour through the historic Mediterranean-style Cuneo mansion to see Renaissance artworks and lavish European furnishings.

CITY: Vernon Hills

Historic Museum of Torture Devices

Displays of torture devices from around the world, pictures and written explanations are part of this self-guided tour. Hours: Jan. 1 - May 31: Saturday & Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m. June 1 - Aug. 31: Friday - Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.

CITY: Alton

Bethalto History Museum

A log cabin originally built in 1873 is this city's history museum. The cabin is authentically furnished as it might have appeared 150 years ago. The building once housed Bethalto's water, fire and police departments. The tiny one room jail can still be seen. Open M - F 1 - 4 p.m. for tours. Call for tour appointment.

CITY: Bethalto

Wood River Museum and Visitors Center

The Wood River Heritage Council has worked diligently to preserve the town's past at the Wood River Museum and Visitors Center. It is here that you will find exhibits on the Wood River massacre of 1814, Olde Downtown, the Flood of 1915, the World's largest swimming pool, and the impact of Standard Oil on this growing community. Hours Thursday - Saturday, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

CITY: Wood River

Village of Elsah Museum

Discover what life was like in historic Elsah when it was founded in 1853 by James Semple. The museum, housed in the Elsah Village Hall built in 1887, showcases former residents, architectural styles used in constructing buildings, and implements used by residents in the mid-1800s. The museum is open Saturday and Sundays only from 1 - 4 p.m.

CITY: Elsah

Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center

Designed to reflect the Route 66 era, the museum houses exhibits which focus on the roles the railroads, Route 66, businesses, agriculture, and the military have played in Litchfield's history.

CITY: Litchfield

American Toby Jug Museum

Showcasing the largest collection of Toby and Character Jugs in the world including many rare and unique jugs within the complete Royal Doulton collection. On display are over 6,000 pieces illustrating their evolution from inception circa 1765 to the present day. Admission is free.

CITY: Evanston

Joliet Area Historical Museum

Travel through time and space! Walk through a replica of the I & M Canal, window shop on a turn-of-the-century street, take a virtual ride on a replica trolley, live the legend of Route 66, land on the moon in a walk-in simulator, and experience space exploration and the Apollo missions. Temporary exhibit(s) change often in our Special Exhibition Gallery. There's always family fun in our discovery room, and remember your visit with a souvenir from our Gift Shop.

CITY: Joliet

Elmhurst Art Museum

Exhibiting late 20th Century American Art, Elmhurst Art Museum offers exhibitions ranging from national touring works to local emerging and mid-career Chicago and Illinois artists. The Museum offers public tours, programs, guest lectures and art classes. It's award-winning structure contains a dramatic glass entrance gallery, three museum galleries, an educational pavilion, and the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick house.

CITY: Elmhurst

French Heritage Museum at the Stone Barn

Here you can explore the French involvement in the history of the Kankakee River Valley-the first explorers and missionaries; the coureurs de bois and fur traders and the pioneer settlers from France, French Canada, and Belgium.

CITY: Kankakee

Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport

This airport offers general aviation, flight school, air charter, restaurant and Illinois Aviation Museum all within the airport.

CITY: Bolingbrook