Spring programs offered at the history museum

The ongoing ”By All Accounts: The Story of Elmhurst” exhibit at Elmhurst History Museum uses new technology and historic artifacts to tell Elmhurst’s history. (Daily Herald file photo/Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com)

This photo of 10 men building a wood frame house on the Omaha Reservation, Nebraska, in 1877 will be part of the “House & Home” traveling exhibit opening April 7 at the Elmhurst History Museum. (Courtesy of The National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution/William Henry Jackson)

This 1960 photo of the Carson House in Eureka, California, shows one of the many different answers that Americans have given to what makes a house a home. (Courtesy of Library of Congress, \Historic American Buildings Survey/Jack E. Boucher)

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By Patrice Roche (Elmhurst History Museum)

Elmhurst History Museum has a variety of new displays and activities planned for the next two months, including the opening of its “House & Home” exhibit in April.

Admission to the museum at 120 E. Park Ave. is free and its hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s a look at some of what’s coming up:

March

• The ongoing exhibit “By All Accounts: The Story of Elmhurst” has new components that include the story of the Glos Mansion and family; a History Highlight section showcasing a changing array of special objects and photos from the museum’s collection; and a feature on Elmhurst veterans and veteran organizations.

• A School’s Out Family Workshop: Fairy Garden Jars is offered from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Friday, March 3, in the museum’s Education Center.

Architect Marion Mahony Griffin, who is being celebrated in an exhibit at the museum, also was a talented artist and developed a strong connection to nature from her childhood playing in the wooded areas north of Chicago. She believed fairies existed as helpers to humans and that teaching children to believe in fairies would expand their creativity and imagination.

This workshop will encourage participants to use their imaginations to create tiny gardens to capture fairies. The cost is $10 per adult-child pair for members, $5 for an additional person; and $15 for nonmember pairs. Registration is required.

April

• “House & Home,” a traveling exhibit from the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., makes its Midwest debut Friday, April 7, to Thursday, May 25, at the museum.

House & Home features a tour of houses both familiar and surprising, through past and present, to explore the varied history and many cultural meanings of the American home.

A kaleidoscopic of photographs, household objects, intricate scale models, and film tell the story of the American home, and the exhibit’s interactives invite exploration of residential construction materials over time.

• School’s Out Family Workshop: Our Home Story is from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Friday, April 14, in the museum’s Education Center. Families will tell the story of their home and create a memory keepsake.

Participants are asked to bring a 3-by-5-inch picture of their home or to send a digital image to ehmprograms@elmhurst.org prior to the workshop. The program is appropriate for families of all ages. The cost is $10 per adult-child pair for members, $5 for an additional person; $15/$7 nonmembers. Registration is required.

• House & Home Story Time is from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the museum’s Education Center. Children and their caregivers will do an activity together after reading the story “In a People House” by Dr. Seuss.

The program is geared for children ages 3-6, who must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver and is presented in partnership with the Elmhurst Public Library. Reservations are required.

• A lecture called “Understanding the National Housing Crisis of 2008” is from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in the museum’s Education Center.

Steven W. Kuehl, economic development and Wisconsin state director for the community development and policy studies division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will share his insights on economic development, the Community Reinvestment Act, fair lending laws and consumer banking regulations. The program is free for members and $5 for others. Reservations are required.

• Elmhurst Neighborhood Tour: How the City Developed Over Time is offered from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 30, starting at the museum’s Education Center. Participants will explore the history of different neighborhoods in Elmhurst during this bus tour, beginning with the 1870s when people built homes to escape post-fire Chicago.

Participants will learn how different developers invested in the city as reflected by the diverse eras of 20th century development.

The tour will be led by Elmhurst History Museum’s curator of collections, Nancy Wilson, The cost is $20 for members and $25 for others. Reservations are required.

For more information on all programs, visit elmhursthistory.org or call (630) 833-1457.