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Virtual Presentations for Groups

Delve into Chicago history from wherever you are!

Our new exclusive lectures can be enjoyed from the comfort of your home, your virtual office, or incorporated into your next virtual event.

Through the use of technology, we’re telling stories about the city’s past in compelling and innovative ways to an even broader audience. Chicago History Museum curatorial staff will take you through some of Chicago’s defining moments in history through the lens of its tragedies, triumphs, social justice, and diverse populations. These private sessions include a 30-minute lecture by one of our experts followed by a Q&A.

THE EXPERTS & THEIR TOPICS

Rebekah Coffman
Rebekah Coffman
Curator of Religion and Community History

In her work, Rebekah explores connections between religious identity and our historic landscape. She has written and presented on how belief and spirituality remain a fundamental framework for understanding our world today. Rebekah has a wealth of knowledge in collections acquisition and research and has curated exhibitions, including the Religion, Art and Technology Lab’s digital series Tangible/Intangible.

Elena Gonzalez
Elena Gonzales
Curator of Civic Engagement and Social Justice

Gonzales is currently focused on curating Aquí en Chicago, which will open at the Chicago History Museum in Fall 2025. The exhibition tells the story of 100+ years of resistance to white supremacy and colonialism by Latino/a/e communities. It is part of a larger effort to appropriately connect the Museum with this third of Chicago. Beyond Aquí en Chicago, Gonzales’s research addresses environmental justice, racial injustice, and the intersection of these concerns with the world of museums.

Rebekah and Elena's Topic

NEW in 2025! Accelerate Action: Women in Chicago History

Facilitated by Chicago History Museum curators, join us to learn more about women from Chicago history who #AccelerateAction, the theme of International Women’s Day 2025. We’ll discuss household names such as Jane Addams and Ida B. Wells-Barnett and lesser known but equally important champions such as Lucía González de Parsons, Mitsuye Endo, and Emma Lozano as we take a more well-rounded trip through local stories of national and international importance.

NEW in 2025! Accelerate Action: Women in Chicago History

Facilitated by Chicago History Museum curators, join us to learn more about women from Chicago history who #AccelerateAction, the theme of International Women’s Day 2025. We’ll discuss household names such as Jane Addams and Ida B. Wells-Barnett and lesser known but equally important champions such as Lucía González de Parsons, Mitsuye Endo, and Emma Lozano as we take a more well-rounded trip through local stories of national and international importance.

CHM Staff | Peter T. Alter
Peter T. Alter
Gary T. Johnson Chief Historian and director of the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History

In his role as the chief historian, Peter T. Alter works on exhibitions and online projects and teaches in DePaul University’s public history program. As the director of the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History, he develops new Museum oral history projects.

Peter's Topics

Working in Chicago

Incorporated in 1837, Chicago was a frontier town that soon became home to numerous industries, such as meatpacking, garment making, goods manufacturing, professional services, and more. Learn how Chicago became known as the “City That Works.”

They Came to Chicago

Like many cities in the US, Chicago has welcomed people from all over the world. With his background in US immigration history, Alter discusses how migrants, immigrants, and refugees have adapted to life in Chicago and contributed to the city’s culture.

The Black Sox and Chicago Baseball

Discover how and why eight Chicago White Sox players allegedly threw the 1919 World Series through an arrangement with a nationwide gambling syndicate. Alter will discuss what we know about the scandal, the historical context in which it occurred, and relevant items in the Museum’s collection.

Naming Chicago Neighborhoods

What’s in a name? Discover how Chicago’s 77 community areas came to be and their relationship to Chicago neighborhoods. Alter explores the intellectual and social history of the community areas and neighborhood naming during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This talk runs from 30 to 45 minutes.

What’s Behind the Stars?

Many of us know what Chicago’s flag symbolizes, including the four historical events represented by its stars. In this talk, Alter looks behind the standard historical interpretations of those events. He examines how people of color were typically misrepresented at the world’s fairs of 1893 and 1933–34 and how they fought back. He’ll also broaden the common interpretations of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and Fort Dearborn by looking at their commemorations. This talk runs from 35 to 45 minutes. 

Working in Chicago

Incorporated in 1837, Chicago was a frontier town that soon became home to numerous industries, such as meatpacking, garment making, goods manufacturing, professional services, and more. Learn how Chicago became known as the “City That Works.”

They Came to Chicago

Like many cities in the US, Chicago has welcomed people from all over the world. With his background in US immigration history, Alter discusses how migrants, immigrants, and refugees have adapted to life in Chicago and contributed to the city’s culture.

The Black Sox and Chicago Baseball

Discover how and why eight Chicago White Sox players allegedly threw the 1919 World Series through an arrangement with a nationwide gambling syndicate. Alter will discuss what we know about the scandal, the historical context in which it occurred, and relevant items in the Museum’s collection.

Naming Chicago Neighborhoods

What’s in a name? Discover how Chicago’s 77 community areas came to be and their relationship to Chicago neighborhoods. Alter explores the intellectual and social history of the community areas and neighborhood naming during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This talk runs from 30 to 45 minutes.

What’s Behind the Stars?

Many of us know what Chicago’s flag symbolizes, including the four historical events represented by its stars. In this talk, Alter looks behind the standard historical interpretations of those events. He examines how people of color were typically misrepresented at the world’s fairs of 1893 and 1933–34 and how they fought back. He’ll also broaden the common interpretations of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and Fort Dearborn by looking at their commemorations. This talk runs from 35 to 45 minutes. 

Charles Bethea Headshot
Charles E. Bethea
Andrew W. Mellon Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs

Charles E. Bethea has worked in museums for more than 25 years in several positions, including education, curatorial, and administration. At CHM, Bethea is responsible for overseeing all curatorial activities, providing an overall curatorial vision and direction, and prioritizing all work in the department. In addition, he provides direction for the Museum’s collecting agenda, including new acquisitions and deaccessions and the development of new exhibitions.

Charles's Topics

Citizen Soldier: African Americans in Times of War

Citizen Soldier offers a glimpse into the history of African Americans in times of war from the earliest accounts of patriotism to the prolonged desegregation of the armed forces. Get a brief historical overview of several conflicts from the American Revolution to Operation Desert Storm, as well as the social realities for African Americans of each era and ponder the hypocrisy of the US asking Black Americans to fight for a country that treats them like second-class citizens.

A King in the Promised Land: Remembering Dr. King Jr. in Chicago

While Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism focused on dismantling the systems that kept African Americans oppressed in the American South, he also spent time in Chicago and often spoke out on the realities of northern discrimination, particularly around the issues of poverty, education, and housing. Bethea discusses the Museum’s exhibition Remembering Dr. King: 1929–1968, which features photographs depicting key moments in Dr. King’s work and the Civil Rights Movement, with a special focus on his time in Chicago.

Juneteenth

The national story of America’s Independence is well documented. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence asserting “all men were created equal.” However, equality was denied to those who were enslaved and of African descent. For them, freedom did not arrive with independence from the British. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, news that the Civil War had ended finally reached Galveston, Texas. This event is now commemorated as Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, considered the oldest celebration commemorating the ending of chattel enslavement in the United States. Bethea presents on the legacy of Juneteenth, the connections of the event to Chicago, and the importance of remembering the story today.

Citizen Soldier: African Americans in Times of War

Citizen Soldier offers a glimpse into the history of African Americans in times of war from the earliest accounts of patriotism to the prolonged desegregation of the armed forces. Get a brief historical overview of several conflicts from the American Revolution to Operation Desert Storm, as well as the social realities for African Americans of each era and ponder the hypocrisy of the US asking Black Americans to fight for a country that treats them like second-class citizens.

A King in the Promised Land: Remembering Dr. King Jr. in Chicago

While Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism focused on dismantling the systems that kept African Americans oppressed in the American South, he also spent time in Chicago and often spoke out on the realities of northern discrimination, particularly around the issues of poverty, education, and housing. Bethea discusses the Museum’s exhibition Remembering Dr. King: 1929–1968, which features photographs depicting key moments in Dr. King’s work and the Civil Rights Movement, with a special focus on his time in Chicago.

Juneteenth

The national story of America’s Independence is well documented. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence asserting “all men were created equal.” However, equality was denied to those who were enslaved and of African descent. For them, freedom did not arrive with independence from the British. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, news that the Civil War had ended finally reached Galveston, Texas. This event is now commemorated as Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, considered the oldest celebration commemorating the ending of chattel enslavement in the United States. Bethea presents on the legacy of Juneteenth, the connections of the event to Chicago, and the importance of remembering the story today.

Paul_Durcia-1024×1024-1
Paul Durica
Director of Exhibitions

Paul Durica oversees the planning, development, and production of exhibitions at the Museum. His involvement with CHM goes back over a decade. He was co-curator on the "Chicago Authored" exhibition and has created many different tours and public programs for the Museum. While still a graduate student, Durica launched a series of free, interactive walking tours, lectures, and reenactments that engaged Chicago’s past.

Paul's Topics

Crime of the Century: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder of Bobby Franks

On a spring day in May 1924, a young boy, Bobby Franks, went missing while walking home from school. Within a day, his body was discovered, which launched an investigation that led to the killers, neighbors and young men of means, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. In this talk, explore the 100-year legacy of the “Crime of the Century.”

Working the World’s Columbian Exposition

In 1893, 27 million people paid admission to the World’s Columbian Exposition to marvel at the grand architecture, scientific innovations, and cultural treasures. While names of the “starchitects” like Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan are remembered, who remembers those who built Chicago’s first world’s fair? Those who worked there? And those who were excluded from having any role in this important event? Take a virtual walk through the fairgrounds to explore the collective effort, sacrifices, and successes that made the World’s Columbian Exposition possible.

Century of Progress: Chicago’s Forgotten World’s Fair

In the middle of the Great Depression, Chicago hosted its second, lesser-known world’s fair, the A Century of Progress International Exposition. Despite the challenges visitors faced outside the fairgrounds, where they encountered scientific marvels, changing cultural values, and brazen entertainments. While the fair looked to the future with optimism, its various international pavilions foretold conflicts to come. In this talk, explore the often-surprising legacy of Chicago’s forgotten world’s fair.

Prohibition: Thirteen Years of Scofflaws

To mark the 91st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, this talk looks at how everyday Chicagoans violated the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act and the consequences of their actions. Meet a grandmother who brewed beer out of her apartment, a famed writer who kept cases of whisky at his private club, and a corrupt prohibition agent who posed as an Eastern European count to shake down the Green Mill jazz cabaret on this exploration of how nearly everyone, not just those named Capone, scoffed at an unpopular law.

Crime of the Century: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder of Bobby Franks

On a spring day in May 1924, a young boy, Bobby Franks, went missing while walking home from school. Within a day, his body was discovered, which launched an investigation that led to the killers, neighbors and young men of means, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. In this talk, explore the 100-year legacy of the “Crime of the Century.”

Working the World’s Columbian Exposition

In 1893, 27 million people paid admission to the World’s Columbian Exposition to marvel at the grand architecture, scientific innovations, and cultural treasures. While names of the “starchitects” like Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan are remembered, who remembers those who built Chicago’s first world’s fair? Those who worked there? And those who were excluded from having any role in this important event? Take a virtual walk through the fairgrounds to explore the collective effort, sacrifices, and successes that made the World’s Columbian Exposition possible.

Century of Progress: Chicago’s Forgotten World’s Fair

In the middle of the Great Depression, Chicago hosted its second, lesser-known world’s fair, the A Century of Progress International Exposition. Despite the challenges visitors faced outside the fairgrounds, where they encountered scientific marvels, changing cultural values, and brazen entertainments. While the fair looked to the future with optimism, its various international pavilions foretold conflicts to come. In this talk, explore the often-surprising legacy of Chicago’s forgotten world’s fair.

Prohibition: Thirteen Years of Scofflaws

To mark the 91st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, this talk looks at how everyday Chicagoans violated the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act and the consequences of their actions. Meet a grandmother who brewed beer out of her apartment, a famed writer who kept cases of whisky at his private club, and a corrupt prohibition agent who posed as an Eastern European count to shake down the Green Mill jazz cabaret on this exploration of how nearly everyone, not just those named Capone, scoffed at an unpopular law.

Libby Mahoney Headshot
Olivia Mahoney
Guest Curator

Olivia Mahoney served for nearly four decades as a curator at the Chicago History Museum. She has written extensively on Chicago history and curated numerous exhibitions including "Chicago: Crossroads of America" and "Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines America," the precursor exhibition to "Designing for Change." Since 2019, Mahoney has been a freelance curator/researcher for the Museum of Science & Industry, the Obama Presidential Center Museum, and the Chicago History Museum.

Olivia's Topic

Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s 

Our exhibition Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s, features Chicago artists and activists in the 1960s and ’70s who used design to create powerful symbols and imagery to amplify their visions for social change. See more than 100 artifacts and images from the Chicago Freedom, Black Power, anti-Vietnam War, women’s liberation, and early LGBTQIA+ movements that often challenged the status quo, plus works from contemporary artivists responding to issues that parallel those of the past.

Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s 

Our exhibition Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s, features Chicago artists and activists in the 1960s and ’70s who used design to create powerful symbols and imagery to amplify their visions for social change. See more than 100 artifacts and images from the Chicago Freedom, Black Power, anti-Vietnam War, women’s liberation, and early LGBTQIA+ movements that often challenged the status quo, plus works from contemporary artivists responding to issues that parallel those of the past.

For More Information and Group Pricing

Please send in your request at least four weeks before the desired session date in order to ensure availability.

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