Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have arrived in Chicago ahead of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center this week.
The former president and first lady toured the brand-new campus over the weekend and saw completed exhibits for the first time, according to a press release.
Obama also spent time with neighborhood children and families at a playground on the campus around the presidential center, and also shot hoops on the newly built “Home Court,” which provides an NBA-sized court for the community in the area.
“As we prepare to welcome visitors to the Obama Presidential Center, the President and Mrs. Obama can’t wait to see community members make the campus their own,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation. “The Center was built to be a place where people can gather, have fun, find inspiration, make connections, and bring change home.”
The grand opening for the Obama Presidential Center is set for Thursday, with the former president and first lady expected to be joined by a host of dignitaries for the ceremony. The presidential center will open to the public on Friday, the culmination of more than a decade of work to bring the facility to life.
In addition to the playground and basketball court, the Presidential Center campus will also house a branch of the Chicago Public Library, acres of green space and art installations, and a full museum highlighting Obama’s years in the White House.
The museum will open to the public on Friday and will be open through the weekend for what organizers have called an “open house-style” opening event. There will be live entertainment, food trucks, “fan zones,” face-painting and a host of other activities.
While campus events will be open to the public throughout the weekend, tickets to the museum itself are sold out, according to officials.
The roughly $850 million project covers both the political and personal realms of the nation’s first Black president. Campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts are displayed in the admission-based museum tower while public spaces of the sprawling campus feature other things important to Obama: a new library, full-size basketball court and picnic area with grills.
The museum will also feature an exhibit dedicated to his time in the Oval Office, with a replica of the office included within the museum itself.
It will also be the first fully digital museum of its kind, ditching scores of official papers on display. Instead, visitors will experience high-tech and hands-on exhibits spanning the campaigns, key moments of Obama’s presidency and life at the White House.
Iconic gowns worn by Michelle Obama will also be on display. Roughly a dozen outfits on mannequins are behind glass, including a black and red dress designed by Narciso Rodriguez that the former first lady wore on Election Night in 2008 in Chicago.
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