The 49th Annual Star-Spangled Independence Day celebration, featuring music from the Chicago Pops Concert Band, a children’s costume parade, and visitors from the pages of Chicago and American history; such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, will provide fun for the entire family on Friday, July 4, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 12noon. The keynote Speaker is Leon Despres, former Chicago Alderman. This outdoor event is free and open to the public.

Chic Chicago: Couture Treasures from the Chicago History Museum, opening September 27, 2008, provides the rare opportunity to see more than 50 of the greatest couture treasures from the Museum’s collection. The exhibition will feature Gilded Age gowns by Worth and Pingat to modern masterpieces by Chanel and Versace.

The Chicago History Museum is proud to present its award winning website, Great Chicago Stories, an interactive tool containing powerful historical fiction narratives for use by elementary and high school students, teachers, and families to encourage students to critically engage with history and enhance their classroom curriculum. The website can be accessed through www.greatchicagostories.com.

The Chicago History Museum is working on a very exciting project to catalog and digitize 15,000 of its 250,000 Hedrich Blessing photographs within the Museum’s collection over the next three years. The project would not have been possible without the generous support of a $90,000 grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. This project will help preserve the collection and make these significant photographs available for public access.

The Chicago History Museum will be hosting a variety of exciting programs and tours during April, May, and June 2008. New boat and bike tours of the Devil in the White City tour; Kayak tours looking at the history and architecture of the city from the water; and the Culinary Chicago lecture series explores the history of food in Chicago.

The Chicago History Museum explores how the presidency has affected public perception, history, and the movies. The Chicago History Museum presents a 3-part series that examines the county's highest office, the presidency. Programs will take place at the Chicago History Museum on Tuesdays March 11, 18, and 25 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Each program is $10/$8 for Museum members.

The Chicago History Museum presents The ’68 Experience, a 3-part series celebrating 40 years from the infamous year 1968 when love, peace and rock n’ roll were in conflict with war and protests.

The Chicago History Museum presents Catholic Chicago, an exhibition that explores Chicago from the perspective of the Catholic community, examines how being Catholic in Chicago has transformed over time, and how it has shaped the city’s urban landscape. The exhibition opens on Saturday, March 8 and will run through January 4, 2009.

The Chicago History Museum will present an exciting array of programs, tours, and special events during the first three months of 2008. The In the K/Now program series returns on select Tuesdays exploring the issues that face Chicagoans as the city grows and changes.

The Chicago History Museum has teamed up with the band Chicago to commemorate the band’s 40th anniversary by presenting the installation CHICAGO 40: The Band and its City, at the Museum’s entrance which will be on display, Tuesday, December 4, and will run through Sunday, March 30, 2008.

The Chicago History Museum welcomes New York based writer, musician, and conceptual artist, Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid to perform his newest multimedia performance piece, Subliminal Strings: Link City on Saturday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Museum.

The Chicago History Museum (CHM) in collaboration with the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) will provide visitors a rare opportunity to see 50 of the greatest couture pieces from the Chicago History Museum's acclaimed collection of more than 22 million artifacts.