On Display Now
Coming Soon
Previous Exhibits
| 2019 (July 1 – August 13) | |
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Slide into the national pastime and discover Major League Baseball’s oldest city rivalry: the White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs. This interactive exhibit, will let you explore ballparks, the history of this epic rivalry, the teams’ logos and uniforms, and more. Also learn about the women's professional team Rockford Peaches as well the accomplishments of the Negro Baseball League! |
2019 (Jan. 14 - Mar. 14) |
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Discover the principles and forces that make flight possible for airplanes, helicopters and rockets with this interactive exhibit from Science Works Hands-On Museum. |
2018 (Oct. 15 - Dec. 30) |
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Kids will design and create any kind of LEGO structure for the future like a restaurant, theater, museum, library or school and then show off their creations and say a few words about them. |
2018 (Mar. 15 - August 13) |
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Families will dive into deep-sea adventures when the Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss exhibit visits Gail Borden Public Library from March to July, 2018. The 3,000-square-foot exhibit is designed for children ages six years and older and their families. Extreme Deep highlights the importance of geology, history, biology and chemistry as well as technology in deep-sea exploration. Interactive activities will give visitors an opportunity to learn about life at the bottom of the sea. The exhibit will focus on hydrothermal vents and the creatures they support including white sea anemone, Pompeii worms, eelpout fish and giant white clams. Visitors will enter a partial replica of a deep-sea submersible called Alvin, which has made about 4,000 dives to the ocean floor to gather information about ocean life as well as explore shipwrecks such as the Titanic. Like the scientists aboard the real Alvin, visitors will test their own skill in gathering lava rocks, clams and other items from the ocean floor using a scale robotic arm. Other interactive activities include flying a remotely operated vehicle over a model of the Titanic’s deck and building a 3-D submarine. |
2017 (Sep. 27 – Jan. 3) |
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In collaboration with Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, Congregation Kneseth Israel, St. Mary’s Church and Zion Lutheran Church. The Main Library will host two hand-bound volumes of the Saint John’s Bible. Originally hand-drawn, this work of art is a replica that features real gold and silver leaf and was created on 15 different presses. On display will be the artistry of two volumes: Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Bible also known as the Torah, and the Gospel & Acts volume. An extraordinary piece of art, the library will also display the many illustrations from the entire edition. |
2017 (May 15 – Sep. 24) |
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Did you like the dinosaurs you saw in the movie Jurassic World? Go back in time to a prehistoric world more than 100 million years old! Visit the Library to see the two-story-tall giant Jobaria—you will have to go to the 1st and 2nd floor to see all of him. You will find a flying pterosaur with a 16-foot wingspan and a fierce Suchomimus, who looked like a crocodile with enormous claws. The exhibit will feature fossils, real dinosaur bones you can touch and expedition images.The bones of the Dinosaur Giants were discovered in Africa by world famous University of Chicago paleontologist Dr. Paul Sereno. |
2017 (Feb. 14 – Apr. 30) |
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Grandmothers are successfully and vigorously campaigning around the world for political, social, and economic justice. Today, there are more than 42 million grandmothers in the U.S. alone, the majority of them are aged 44-65. They are younger, healthier, and better educated than they have ever been. Their wisdom is expressed through vision, energy, creativity, and inimitable passion. A worldwide grandmother movement is underway. Paola Gianturco, a grandmother herself, has profiled 120 activist grandmothers in 15 countries on 5 continents in Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon. This internationally acclaimed book, with its impactful stories and photos, was the inspiration for this exhibition. Grandmother Power is a multidimensional exhibit that uses a thoughtful blend of modern and authentic materials to reflect the feeling of a contemporary grassroots movement. The visitor is invited to sit, relax, and enjoy reading the compelling stories with the option of a cell phone guided audio tour, narrated by Paola Gianturco. |
2017 (Feb. 4 – Feb. 10) |
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A traveling exhibit curated by the Elgin History Museum. The traveling exhibit contains video sections from the 75-minute documentary film that begins with Civil War “contrabands”, who were the first African Americans to Elgin, and continues to the present day. The film and exhibit is filled with enthralling stories, amazing history and wonderful photographs, many that are being shown for the first time. Building on the existing work of local and regional historians, more than two years of effort uncovered new material. Using the extensive photo and archival resources of the Elgin History Museum, plus many hours of video interviews with Ernie and dozens of people in the Elgin community, Grindstone Productions wove together a three part narrative of Elgin’s past. |
2016 (Nov. 22 – Dec. 30) |
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May the toys be with you! This exhibit features every action figure toy made by Kenner from 1978 to 1985 based on the original three Star Wars movies, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It includes 100 unique action figures, 3 larger creatures, 19 vehicles and 13 playsets and more. Don’t miss the Millennium Falcon spaceship and Death Star playset! |
2016 (Oct. 8 – Dec. 11) |
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Visit the giant robot animals to explore how real animals work. The Robot Zoo, one of the most popular exhibits ever to tour science and natural history museums— having previously been at such venues as the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis—brings its giant computerized animals to Gail Borden Public Library. This free exhibit for families features seven giant robot animals and hands-on activities. |