VIDEOS
Exhibit Trailer
Making Illinois explores the Illinois experience by examining the state’s history and culture through the landscape, the built environment, the people who live here, and their unique relationships with one another. The exhibition emphasizes the East-Central Illinois experience. Throughout history, Illinoisans have transformed the land to reflect their values, needs, and relationships. Change is realized through various types of production - agricultural, industrial, intellectual, and artistic.
Land
The people who lived in and came to Illinois laid out fields to farm, made homes to live in, and constructed roads to travel by. The state built dams and canals, highways and bridges. Our modification of our landscape shapes how communities interact with each other and with the world around them.
Experience
The way we understand our world is shaped by the events around us, the dynamics of our communities, and the experiences we share. Playing music, watching sports, creating art, and telling stories make us who we are.