When the Obama Presidential Center opens to the public this Friday, June 19th, you’ll discover a museum space that is more about bringing communities together and inspiring the next generation of innovators than preserving the past.
Stories from the South Side of Chicago, where the new Obama Presidential Center is located, have always centered on the people, the laborers, union workers, immigrants, migrants, and dreamers, who have historically come together to change their lives in ways that left an impact on our nation.
To honor them, and all of us, “on whose shoulders we stand,” the former President and First Lady created a home for collaboration, innovation, and progress, celebrated with nods to space and science through art, storytelling, and spaces dedicated to empowerment.
As you climb each level of the museum, you are encouraged to Imagine Your Impact through the interactive exhibit central to the museum’s mission. Inspiration is delivered through the stories of trailblazers and community leaders like Mae Jemison, whom the exhibit honors. Jemison is a former NASA astronaut and Chicagoan who became the first African American woman to travel to space and has since continued to advocate for education initiatives, especially those focused on science.
Like this thought-provoking exhibit, science was central to the Obama Administration. Science-driven policy, collaboration with other nations to preserve planet Earth, and fostering in the next generation of innovators were high on the list of priorities for both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. We see this through the programs and initiatives centered around the lives of children and students.
Celebrating Space and Science in the White House
After exploring the Obamas’ stories, the cultural movements that shaped them, and their transition into political life, you reach a point in the museum where space, science, and collaboration are celebrated. It’s not even a little subtle. The three blend seamlessly into the lives of the Obamas and the traditions of the White House.
The fourth floor, The People’s House, opens with a series of miniature dioramas that feature events hosted at the White House, including the first White House Science Fair and the first Girl Scout Campout on the South Lawn. After the Girl Scouts and the Obamas spent the day perfecting their outdoor skills, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, now retired, joined the campers.
“I was so proud to share space stories and answer the girls’ questions, in the hopes of inspiring new engineers, astronomers, and astronauts to join the space family,” Coleman told Cosmic Chicago. “By hosting the Girl Scouts at the White House lawn that night, the Obamas may have changed the world. By including that special occasion in their library, they allow that marvelous evening to create ripples across the universe!”
Cady Coleman, along with NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, returned to the White House a year later, in 2016, to help plant NASA’s Veg-03 seedlings in the First Lady’s White House garden. Chinese cabbage and red romaine lettuce seeds that were prepared in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility were sent to both the White House and the International Space Station.
The First Lady honored the tradition of growing fruits and vegetables for the first family, and planted the new White House garden in 2009 before bringing that tradition home to the southside campus. Inside the museum, watch as the White House kitchen garden blooms around you with scenes projected across the walls. Then step outside and into the Eleanor Roosevelt fruit and vegetable garden, where the community is invited to gather for hands-on workshops focused on everything from soil stewardship to environmental care.
Finally, We The People invites you to learn more about the science and innovation that came to the White House in a bid to create changemakers out of each of us. Across from a photo mural depicting the first Astronomy Night at the White House, the Space Shuttle flight jacket gifted to President Obama by the final crew of the program, STS-135, is on display. It’s adorned with patches that recognize NASA’s 30 years of Shuttle missions, from 1981 to 2011.
The Obama Administration’s space policy ushered in a new era of space exploration with the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, laying the groundwork for the commercial crew program and Artemis missions we are witnessing now.
Space-Inspired Art
Perhaps the most surprising element of space science found throughout the campus is the works of art inspired by space.
As you enter the museum and step into the Hope and Change Lobby, a space meant to remind us of what we can achieve, you are greeted by a massive bronze sculpture of the Moon and stars overhead. The piece is called Receive by Kiki Smith, and is one of many space-inspired artworks that prompt us to recognize the power hope has when we all work together.
The Obama Presidential Center is located at 6001 S. Stony Island Avenue in Chicago and opens to the public on June 19th, 2026.
