NEWS for IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“NEW CHANGES LEAD TO NEW EXPERIENCES”

DUPAGE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

Release date: August 9, 2006

DCM Contacts: Lynne Jele or Melissa Kast, Marketing & Membership

Phone: (630) 637-8000 ext. 2600

E-MAIL: ljele@dupagechildrensmuseum.org

NEW! Changes Both Big and Small Add New Experiences

At DuPage Children’s Museum

DuPage Children’s Museum, one of Chicago's top 10 cultural attractions, is always working on new ways to improve visitors’ experiences. Sometimes it is a big thing everyone notices and often it is a small detail that can easily be overlooked. All these big and small changes add up to a wonderful, playful, and evolving learning experience for visitors to enjoy.

In the past few months, DCM has concentrated on Creativity Connections and AirWorks Neighborhoods. The Play With Light and Color booth has a new, smooth interior and floor--all the better to experiment with how things look when the light changes! In Young Explorers, check out the delightfully mellow mural by artist Margaret Swedzikowski, which is reminiscent of the cathedral windows of Chartes, in France. Don’t forget to look for the new whimsical and oh-so-touchable mosaic bench in the Multisensory Room; children working in a DCM Arts Residency class with artist Laurie Pollpeter-Eskanazy created it!

There are also lots of new things you might not notice, like easier-to-handle toggle switches on the beautiful Light Garden, a faster flash unit in Freeze Your Shadow and even a new double-duty chalk and magnetic surface on the board in the Studio. The Air Tower in the AirWorks Neighborhood now boasts newly improved windsocks and one new exhibit, Jim Eaton sculptures that move when the air nozzles are aimed at them. Visitors should also be sure to see SHAPES IN ART, the new Good Show! Gallery exhibit highlighting children’s work.

Perhaps the largest change DCM is undergoing will take place this fall when the Museum says “bye, bye” to Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture through Popular Art, here until August 27^th, and says “hello” to Animals in ArtLand: Wild Wings, opening September 16^th. Let your imagination take flight in the new Interact With Art Gallery exhibit on the Museum’s upper level. Design your very own butterfly, make a mechanical flapper, and adorn a fantastical creature with the wings you like best. Or put on a costume and fly with butterflies and soar with pterodactyls. Animals in ArtLand: Wild Wings is a new, original, eclectic display of kinetic sculptures, collages, and paintings chosen to appeal to children (and adults!) of all ages!

Artworks by nationally known artists from all over the U.S. are paired with special activities that will better allow visitors to explore and enjoy the exhibit. Whether it's opening the wings of Christine Rojek’s sculpture Pump Bird or flapping Larnie Fox’s enormous Ornithopter (flying in from California) or rolling a big magnifier to explore intricate details in Alfredo Arreguin’s painting Frida (on loan from the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum), you can explore the wonder and beauty of creatures with wings. At DuPage Children's Museum, the sky's the limit!

DUPAGE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM:

DuPage Children’s Museum is a not-for-profit organization, receiving 40% of its funding through donations and sponsorships. Your support helps us make a difference in the lives of children!

Location: 301 N. Washington Street

Naperville, IL 60540

Phone: 630-637-8000

Hours*: Monday: 9 am - 1 pm

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm

Thursday: 9 am - 8 pm

Sunday: 12 - 5 pm

*Call for special holiday hours.

General Admission: $7.50 per person, ages one through 59.

$6.50 per person, ages 60 and over.

Annual Memberships: Several membership types are available. Please visit www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org for more information.

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