The Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago's Jackson Park will open to the public on Juneteenth 2026, presenting four levels of exhibitions across nearly 35,000 square feet. Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates with media partner batwin + robin Productions, the museum tells the story of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama — the first Black president and First Lady of the United States — through a narrative built on history, democracy, public service and the power of people to create change.
Across its four exhibition levels, visitors are invited to consider the promise and complexity of American democracy, the experiences that shaped the Obamas, the work of the presidency itself, and the shared responsibility of building what the museum describes as a more perfect union.
Four levels, one civic narrative
The visitor journey is divided into four major exhibition levels: Toward a More Perfect Union, Working for the Common Good, The People's House and We the People. Together the galleries move from the nation's founding ideals and unfinished work, through the people, movements, policies and challenges that defined the Obama presidency, and on to the civic questions of the present and future. The museum combines artifacts, large-scale and immersive media, storytelling and hands-on digital and analog interactives, presenting democracy as a living practice shaped by ordinary people working together.
Exhibition highlights
- Power of Words — an 88-foot-tall media canvas combining speech, sound, image, poetry and art to show how words can move people toward change.
- Toward a More Perfect Union — an illuminated, prismatic opening gallery linking the nation's founding ideals and contradictions to the people and movements that have pushed democracy toward greater justice and inclusion.
- Yes We Can Campaign — a circular gallery with a panoramic media installation of volunteer voices and crowd-sourced campaign objects, immersing visitors in the 2008 grassroots movement.
- Democracy 101 — a hands-on civics exhibit exploring how democracy works through approachable, interactive experiences aimed at building knowledge, confidence and participation.
- Panorama of a Presidency — a media room that surrounds visitors with a behind-the-scenes view of the activities and places that make up the daily work of the presidency.
- Miniature White House rooms — detailed small-scale rooms offering a playful, intimate look at how the Obamas opened the People's House through traditions, celebrations, performances and public programs.
- Life in the White House Artifacts — a collection of fashion, state gifts and sports memorabilia illustrating how the Obamas sought to make the White House feel open, inclusive and reflective of American diversity.
Art, interactivity and inclusive design
Imagine Your Impact runs as a recurring interactive thread across all levels, culminating in a shared media experience built around a large-scale digital art commission that invites visitors to see how individual actions combine into collective change. Contemporary artwork is woven throughout the building: Norman Teague designed custom benches, and commissioned works by Jeffrey Gibson, Jules Julien and María Magdalena Campos-Pons bring layered expressions of identity and hope into the experience.
Inclusive design is described as a foundational element of the project. Intended to serve visitors of all ages and abilities, the museum integrates multisensory experiences including tactile stations and replicas, captioning, ASL interpretation, audio description, assistive listening, clear wayfinding and opportunities for participation.
The museum places the Obamas' journey within a wider American civic narrative rooted in Chicago's South Side and shaped by national and global movements for justice. It also points to work carried forward by communities, including participants in the Obama Foundation's Global Programs, with the aim of leaving visitors with a deeper understanding of the Obamas' legacy and a renewed sense of their own agency in democratic life.