Name: Educator Workshop | Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing
Start: 2026-11-07T09:30:00-06:00
End: 2026-11-07T12:30:00-06:00
Location: Chicago History Museum

Educator Workshop

Educator Workshop | Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing

Date

Saturday, November 7, 2026
9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Location

Chicago History Museum
1601 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60614 United States

Tickets

Free; RSVP required.

RSVP

See clothing and accessories associated with John Adams, the Washingtons, and the Lincolns through the lens of museum preservation and discover how staff care for collections both in storage and during exhibitions. Explore how you can incorporate objects, their stories, and the science of their care into your classroom instruction. Hear from Threads of a Nation curator Olivia Mahoney, make STEAM connections to museum work, and receive FREE classroom resources.

Free; RSVP required. Recommended for elementary through high school educators.

WANT TO GET DISCOUNTS ON TOURS AND ACCESS TO OTHER EVENTS?

become a member

Spyglass reportedly used by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, c. 1778. CHM, ICHi-187111

1946.15a-b, front with mannequin head facing right

Suit reportedly worn by John Adams, c. 1783. CHM, ICHi-187173

First US patent certificate, signed by George Washington, July 1, 1790. CHM, ICHi-032066_001

Coat reportedly presented to Abraham Lincoln in 1861. CHM, ICHi-187149

Day dress possibly worn by Mary Lincoln, c. 1863. CHM, ICHi-066127_e1

Meet the Curator

Olivia Mahoney

Guest Curator

Olivia Mahoney formerly served as Senior Curator at the Chicago History Museum. She developed numerous exhibitions related to Chicago and US history, including Edward Worst: Craftsman and Educator (1985), A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln with Eric Foner (1990), Go West! Chicago and American Expansion (1995), Chicago: Crossroads of America (2006), Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America (2018), Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s-70s (2024), and Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing (2026). Since 2019, Mahoney has been a freelance curator/researcher for the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, the Obama Presidential Center, and the Chicago History Museum.