Illinois Holocaust Museum opens temporary exhibition in Chicago’s River North

CHICAGO — The Illinois Holocaust Museum will open a temporary exhibition space in Chicago’s River North neighborhood Tuesday.

The satellite location called Experience 360 comes as the main museum in Skokie undergoes a major renovation.

This is the first time the Illinois Holocaust Museum has had a presence in downtown Chicago.

Organizers said its important for the messages of survivors to continue to be heard while the main museum in Skokie undergoes a yearlong renovation.

Located at the corner of State and Kinzie, the Experience 360 is a smaller, satellite location, to continue the work telling important stories.

The main, 65,000-square foot museum is undergoing a major renovation over the next year.

It opened in Skokie in 2009, having started in a smaller space, in the wake of a 1978 neo-Nazi demonstration in the north suburb, where at the time, one in six residents was a Holocaust survivor 

“Our founders did not respond with violence or silence. They responded by educating and organizing and ultimately creating this institution dedicated to memory and moral courage,” the museum’s Bernard Cherkasov said. “They wanted the world to know what happened both as history and as a warning.”

Experience 360 features virtual reality tours with survivors in meaningful locations in Europe. As well as the popular hologram exhibit, where survivors are able to answer your questions through voice recognition.

The location will be open every day.  The renovation at the Skokie Museum is expected to last about a year