Obama Presidential Center museum tickets now on sale as June opening approaches

Madeline King, Chicago Tribune on May 6, 2026

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CHICAGO — Tickets are now on sale for the Obama Presidential Center museum and eager ticket buyers flooded the website Wednesday morning ahead of the campus’ June 19 opening.

The four-floor museum will focus on civic participation and U.S. history from the country’s early days through Barack Obama’s presidency. It will feature a full-scale Oval Office replica, Michelle Obama’s fashion, views of the city via the Sky Room and donated artifacts, according to a news release. Tickets allow for a timed entry to the museum. The rest of the campus — located in Jackson Park on the South Side — will be accessible without a ticket.

Tickets can be purchased through an online queue for opening day through Nov. 30. Tickets for ages 12 and older cost $30 for non-Illinois residents and $26 for Illinois residents. For children ages 3 to 11, tickets cost $23 for non-Illinois residents and $15 for Illinois residents. Children under the age of 3 can enter the museum for free. All Illinois residents will be able to visit the museum for free on Tuesdays.

At 9 a.m., some ticket buyers saw wait times as long as one hour. But by midmorning, the website showed plenty of tickets available.

Free and discounted tickets are also available for certain groups. Active-duty military, veterans, Chicago-based first responders, Illinois PreK-12 teachers and Illinois K-12 students and teachers on school trips are eligible for free admission. The museum will also participate in the Museums for All and Blue Star Museums Alliance programs, which allow free admission for those presenting an Electronic Benefits Transfer or a Women, Infants and Children card and free summer tickets for military families, respectively.

In addition to the museum, the Obama Presidential Center campus — spanning over 19 acres — will include an auditorium, a recording studio, restaurant, café, Chicago Public library branch, fruit and vegetable garden, a 45,000-square-foot athletic and community space, and a 21,000-square-foot accessible public playground, according to a news release.

The center, which has cost over $800 million to build and was originally scheduled to open in 2021 and then 2025, anticipates over 750,000 annual visitors. The museum will be open 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

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