Exhibitions & Events
Exhibitions
Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie Permanent Exhibit
“The Waukegan Chronicles” exhibit highlights Waukegan’s rich history from the Ice Age to the First Peoples and through the 21st century. The exhibit tells stories of the land, our diverse community, and the industry, environment, and entertainment that helped shape the city. The dynamic exhibit is accessible in both English and Spanish text.
Special Exhibit
Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: The Flora, Fauna & People of the Waukegan Shores
September 12–October 31, 2025
The exhibition, presented by Lake County Audubon/ Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan, showcases the beauty of Waukegan's dunes and lakefront as seen through the eyes of our beloved piping plovers, featuring works by renowned artists, including Heeyoung Kim and the Brushwood Botanical Artists, and National Audubon award-winning photographer Steve Jessmore and Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan Monitoring Team. The exhibit runs through Friday, October 31 in the Carnegie Gallery at the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie.
Upcoming Events
Guided Beach Walk + Private Exhibit Tour
Join Lake County Audubon/Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan for a unique opportunity to experience Waukegan Beach and the story of the Great Lakes Piping Plover through the eyes of one of the region’s leading bird experts.
🌊 Guided Beach Tour
Renowned birder Adam Sell of Red Hill Birding will lead a special walk along Waukegan Beach, sharing his expertise on shorebirds, migration, and the remarkable return of the endangered piping plover.
🏛️ Exclusive Exhibit Visit
Following the tour, we’ll head to the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie to explore the special exhibit Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna & People of the Waukegan Shores.
☕ Coffee, Treats & Conversation
Enjoy refreshments while taking part in a lively discussion about local conservation efforts that are bringing the piping plover back from the brink of extinction.
Don’t miss this inspiring event that blends field birding, art, and community conservation!
Museum After Hours: Belynda Alberte on the Lake Plain Habitats
The Chiwaukee Prairie-Illinois Beach Lake Plain is a stretch of connected natural areas on the western shore of Lake Michigan which spans across the Wisconsin-Illinois Border. The Lake Plain includes Kenosha Dunes, Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area, Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Illinois Beach State Park, Hosah Park, and Waukegan Dunes and serves as the highest quality dune and swale ecosystem in the Chicago Region. Protected through the Lake Plain Coalition, efforts are underway to manage the Lake Plain as one unit across state lines.
In this talk, Lake Plain Coordinator Belynda Alberte discusses why these habitats are so special and how they support endangered Great Lakes piping plovers.
Ms. Alberte works with the Coalition on their organizational needs, seeking funding sources for habitat management and conservation strategies, and overall project management in the Lake Plain. She also assists in management and stewardship of the Lake Plain Natural Areas with agency staff, nonprofits and volunteers. A botanist by trade, Ms. Alberte’s Master's thesis explored the vegetation of the Lake Plain (University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Masters of Biology with a Concentration in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation).
Museum After Hours: Dr. Francesca Cuthbert
Join Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan for a tour of the Piping Plover Special Exhibit followed by a presentation on The Endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover Population: History and Hope.
Forty years ago, Piping Plovers were close to extinction in the Great Lakes. Only 12-17 pairs were known to nest in Michigan and the population was listed as Endangered in 1985. By the summer of 2025, the number of pairs increased to 88 and plovers were nesting on all 5 Great Lakes and in 4 states and the province of Ontario. How did this change in numbers happen and is it possible for this population to recover to the point of delisting at 150 pairs? This presentation will provide an overview of the efforts to increase nesting numbers and the lessons learned along the way. The history of plovers in the Great Lakes is marked by many challenges but significant hope exists for the future of this still small and vulnerable group of birds.
Francesca J Cuthbert is a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Haunted Waukegan Tour
A haunted tour on Halloween! Learn the haunted and strange stories of Waukegan's past on this guided tour. The tour starts outside of the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie. This tour covers two miles and lasts approximately 1.5 hours.
Waukegan Historical Society’s Annual Membership Meeting
Waukegan Historical Society members are invited to the 2025 annual meeting. Join us for a fun evening of connection and celebration as we reflect on this past year’s incredible accomplishments and share exciting plans for the future.
Following a short meeting, members will enjoy a special performance by the Funology String Quartet presenting “Songs of the Old Library,” a musical journey that takes the audience through the years of Waukegan’s historic Carnegie Library.
Archaeologist Dan Melone: The Story of Early Waukegan and Lake County
Want to know what the area was like before its current settlement? The Waukegan Historical Society invites you to come enjoy a lecture by Great Lakes Archaeologist, Dan Melone, as he discusses the peoples of pre-Waukegan and Lake County, and what is left behind. More specifically, Dan will present his prehistoric and historic findings throughout the local area and region in general.
Dan Melone is an archaeologist who over the past 20 years has traveled the Chicagoland area, finding and documenting unknown prehistoric and historic sites. He has visited many of the documented sites to monitor them, recording any looting or vandalism that may have occurred. Dan is the Director of The Great Lakes Archaeological Research and Archival Institute. He and Robinson descendent Verlyn Spreeman, are the Robinson Family Historians, working closely with Chief Alexander Robinson’s family, a branch of Menominee. Chief Robinson and Billy Caldwell worked together in Chicago during the 1830s.
Film & Discussion - The Negotiator: Billy Caldwell
The Waukegan Historical Society presents a viewing and discussion of the 40-minute documentary, The Negotiator: Billy Caldwell with director Susan L. Kelsey. As one of the Illinois treaty signers in 1829 and 1833, Billy Caldwell and others negotiated the sale of 5,000,000 acres of land in northwest Illinois, resulting in the removal of all Native American tribes in the state. Billy Caldwell, son of a Mohawk woman (Rising Sun) and British Army Captain (William Caldwell), was a leader in early Chicago. Although he was not a blood relative of the Great Lakes tribes in the area in 1833, Caldwell worked to negotiate the safe passage of the United Nations of Chippawa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi out of the state of Illinois and west to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Today, Caldwell’s Band of Prairie People now live in Mayetta, Kansas as the federally recognized tribe of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. The film explores these actions through research and interviews with local subject experts. More information to follow.
Holiday Open House
Get festive at the Waukegan Historical Society's annual holiday open house on Saturday, December 6 from noon - 3pm. The Haines House Museum at Bowen Park will be filled with good cheer and dressed in holiday decor as you tour the historic house and enjoy light refreshments.
Jaxson Bailey Book Reading
Join us for a family-centric event! Booking Reading of “From Marsh to Shore, Let Nature Roar.”
Jaxson Bailey is a Waukegan resident and senior at Waukegan High School. Over the summer, he participated in The Center for Conservation Leadership's Eco-Ambassador Internship. Through this process, he completed a capstone project - a children's book about the wildlife and habitats present at Illinois Beach State Park. Through a collaboration with CCL partner, Lyndsey Murphree, his words have come to life in the style of a coloring book.
Jaxson will lead a book reading and then we invite our guests to tour the exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores.”
Museum After Hours: Film Screening
Attend a special screening of “Sharing Our Shore and the Return of the Piping Plover to Waukegan Shores.” Produced and written by Carolyn Lueck, President of Lake County Audubon Society, this a remarkable film about a truly miraculous story.
Two rare and beautiful piping plovers — Blaze and Pepper — traveled thousands of miles to mate and raise three chicks (Juniper, Sage and Willow). It's even more incredible that Blaze and Pepper raised their family on the Lake Michigan shore in Waukegan just yards from two Superfund sites. Despite all odds — thanks to the heroic efforts of tireless ecologists and Audubon volunteers — they have thrived. Carolyn will introduce the film and take questions.
Bring your entire family. Tour the special exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores” as well as the permanent museum exhibits before and after the presentation.
Waukegan Tour of Homes
The Waukegan Historical Society’s Tour of Homes is an annual fundraiser that began in 1969 and is a self-guided tour that allows participants to go through carefully curated homes at their own pace. Come join us for a delightful afternoon exploring some of the most charming homes in Waukegan. This year's tour includes three historic private residences, as well as the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie and the Haines House Museum in Bowen Park, where you can marvel at the rich history and unique architecture of our city.
Artists Walkthrough of Special Exhibit
Meet the artists of the special exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores” and hear their stories behind the artwork creation! Heeyoung Kim and participating artists will walk the audience through the exhibit in person.
The botanical art form requires precise control over everything involved: accurate scientific description of the species and the execution of the medium/media of watercolor, ink or pencil. When the group, Brushwood Botanical Artists, took on this shorebird project, the artists had to go through a little different process beyond plants. Come and hear about it at this public event!
Oakwood Cemetery Walk
The Waukegan Historical Society and the Waukegan Park District are partnering to host the 29th Annual Oakwood Cemetery Walk at Oakwood Cemetery. The Oakwood Cemetery Walk is a “living history” event, showcasing the rich history of Waukegan using costumed actors to portray local historic figures with connections to the cemetery and city. This year’s theme is “1925 Waukegan.”
Museum After Hours: J'orge Garcia on Migration
Join Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan for a tour of the Piping Plover Special Exhibit followed by a presentation about the latest technologies used for tracking migration.
J'orge Garcia is a Chicago-area birder who brings his unique skill set from working to support Chicago's maker community into our great birding community. He first discovered birding after modeling a 3D-printed lens mount to attach vintage lenses to a mirrorless camera. Jorge shared his birding journey online through Twitter as he explored printing postcards and learning about Chicago's avian diversity.
His online sharing led him to become increasingly involved in the local birding community. He previously served on the board of the Illinois Ornithological Society and coordinated the Birds in My Neighborhood program at Openlands. J'orge now serves as the Director of the Windy City Bird Lab, leading projects like the Chicago Bird Migration Monitoring Network, which studies bird migration across the region.
Exhibition Opening
The special art exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores,” presented by Lake County Audubon/Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan, shares the beauty and fragility of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers with the community.
Join us for the opening reception and an exploration of the themes of Habitat, Piping Plovers, Migration, and Community. Through the use of watercolor paintings, photographs and interactive information panels, the exhibit highlights the need to protect a unique habitat that supports a rich biodiversity - including human life - and connect our community to this local success story. Featuring artwork by Heeyoung Kim and the Brushwood Botanical Artists, Photographer Steve Jessmore and the Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan Monitoring Team.
Something Wicked This Way Comes Walking Tour
In celebration of Waukegan-born author Ray Bradbury's birthday. Visit the sites of Bradbury's Green Town (Waukegan) from his novels "Dandelion Wine," "Farewell Summer” and "Something Wicked This Way Comes." The tour covers 1.5 miles and includes uneven ground and stairs.
Then & Now, Lakefront and Nature Tour
The Waukegan Park District, Waukegan Historical Society, the Lake County Audubon Society, and Sharing Our Shore – Waukegan are partnering to offer the Then & Now Lakefront and Nature Tour at the Waukegan Municipal Beach, located at 201 E. Seahorse Drive.The free tour will begin at the Stiner Pavilion. Participants are encouraged to stay after the tour to enjoy the Waukegan Band’s concert. Preregistration is not required.
Roaring Twenties Walking Tour
Join us as we visit Waukegan in the Roaring 1920s in this guided walking tour that covers stories including the Genesee Theatre, Prohibition, and Al Capone.
Junior Curators
Imagine stepping into a museum and there is no stuff to see, what would you put on display? Our junior curators will be able to select from a few objects and create their own mini-exhibit for the public to view. Additionally, please bring something from home that you would want to put on display. This item can mean something to you, your family, or just be for fun. The junior curators will brainstorm ideas as a team with the help of the museum curator.
African American History Walking Tour
In celebration of Juneteenth, join us as we walk and visit important African American sites on Waukegan's south side. Tour in partnership with the African American Museum at the England Manor. The tour covers 1.5 miles.