The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, located in Skokie, has temporarily closed its exhibitions as it undergoes a major renovation project aimed at enhancing visitor experience and accessibility.
Situated at 9603 Woods Drive, near the intersection of the Edens Expressway and Golf Road, the museum ceased public access to its exhibitions on Monday. It will continue to host public programs and training sessions by reservation only through the end of June, before fully closing its doors on July 1.
The renovation will include the construction of a new, more spacious lobby designed to accommodate a larger and more diverse range of visitors. Additional upgrades include a redesigned auditorium, a visitor welcome center, and a new reflection space within the Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition.
To maintain public engagement during the Skokie location’s closure, the museum will open a satellite site in downtown Chicago. This temporary location will occupy the former Museum of Broadcast Communications space at 360 N. State Street in River North. Scheduled to open later this summer, the downtown site will operate for one year.
The downtown satellite will showcase some of the museum’s most acclaimed exhibitions, including its award-winning Virtual Reality and Holographic Theatres, as well as personal narratives from Holocaust survivors and other genocide survivors from around the globe.
The Skokie museum is set to partially reopen on January 2, 2026, with a limited selection of content to be announced. A full reopening, complete with all new renovations, is planned for the summer of 2026.
