Oak Lawn Children's Museum Available For Private Rentals

OAK LAWN, IL — These are tough times, especially for children's museums. While Illinois’ 17 children’s museums were ready to open during Phase 4 of the Gov, J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, it quickly became clear that children’s museums were not considered in the guidelines.

The Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn was no exception. Sneeze guards were installed at the front desk, the museum invested in an electrostatic sprayer and tripled its hand sanitizing stations for a June reopening.

“We were getting prepared for opening in Phase 4, and then it didn’t happen,” said Adam Woodworth, executive director of the children’s museum. “When we saw the state guidelines, any interactive exhibit had to be closed. It took the wind out of our sails.”

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The number one destination for school field trips in the south suburbs, the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn has been closed since March due to the pandemic. The museum offers play-while-you-learn exhibits that spark kids’ imaginations and curiosity, including a play animal shelter, topography table, imagination playground, constitution exhibit, and an earth and solar system corner where children can build their own model spacecraft, among others.

Under Illinois Commerce Commission guidelines, the state defines museums in the Restore Illinois plan as “establishments primarily engaged in the preservation and exhibition of objects of historical, cultural, and/or educational value.” Woodworth says this isn’t an accurate definition of a children’s museum because they are about play-based learning not the preservation of objects.

While the guidelines state that interactive exhibits at museums must remain closed, indoor recreation guidelines allow arcades, which are engaged in providing indoor and outdoor recreational and amusement services.

“There is a clear conflict in the guidance here in that you can touch a video game console or play skee ball for entertainment, but you can’t use a touch screen in a museum nor touch any interactive exhibit in a museum that is educational,” Woodworth said. “I think this sends the wrong message placing the value of entertainment over the value of learning. This is something the state needs to address in terms of priorities.”

Since children's museums don't seem to fit the mold of indoor recreation or museums as defined by the state, the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn has decided to take a hybrid approach between not only those two sets of guidelines, but also the guidelines for meetings and social events.

“We are going to work to fit in the best way possible," Woodworth said. "If the state isn’t going to recognize the work and value of children’s museums then we’ll create our own guidelines to open.”

Effective August 15, the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn will be available to rent for private events, such as birthday parties and family gatherings, following the state’s guidelines for meetings and social events. For the museum, this means that everyone over age 2 will be required to wear a mask, every guest and employee will be temperature checked prior to entering the museum, social distancing must continue to be the norm with some areas having limits on the number of people in them and the total number of people cannot be greater than 50.

“Given that with a private rental everyone is invited by the host, by and large everyone knows each other,” Woodworth said. “If families can hold their events at a Haunted Trails or Dave and Busters where there is entertainment value, then surely there must be a space for the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn to do the same providing both entertainment and educational value.”

The cost of renting the museum is $500, which comes out to $10 per person. Families who can get 50 people together will have the run of the museum and all its wonderment. Museum members receive a 10-percent discount off rentals.

Because Illinois’s children’s museums have been closed since March, no revenue is coming into the venues. COVID-19 has already closed the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum in Champaign.

Woodworth assures patrons that it isn’t a question of if, but when the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn will reopen. While it’s been tough, the museum has opened an online gift shop and is looking into ways it can serve families while remaining closed to the public. Private rentals and donations will bring in revenue to keep the Oak Lawn children’s museum open through 2021, when hopefully, we’ll be on the other side of the pandemic.

For information about booking an event at the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn, call 708-423-6709 or visit the museum’s website.