Run the Planets!
Interplanetary 5K Race + 1 Mile Fitness Walk
Registration is open for 2026! April 18, 2026
Be a volunteer! Apply to be an Interplanetary 5K volunteer HERE
LOCATIONS
Peoria Riverfront Museum (packet pickup), Gateway Building (start & finish Line)
Course: Entirely flat (no hills) along the Riverfront Trail (from Gateway Building to Detweiller Marina)
TIMES
Packet Pickup: Friday, April 17, from 12:30-5:30 PM, and race day starting at 7:30 AM, in the museum's auditorium on the lower level.
April 18, 2026:
• 7:30-8:30 am: Race day registration; packet pickup
• 9 am: 5K Race start
• 9:05 am: 1 Mile Fitness Walk start
• 9:30 am: Kids' 1/2 Mile Fun Run start
• Refreshments after 5K race; awards after the Kids' Fun Run
Participants can choose to receive a race shirt, or skip it for a discount on registration. Must register by March 25 to guarantee a shirt.
FEES
REGISTRATION
Inquires: please contact Renae Kerrigan at rkerrigan@peoriariverfrontmuseum.org or 309.863.3030.
Checks can be mailed to:
Peoria Riverfront Museum
222 SW Water St
Peoria, IL 61602
The Interplanetary 5K is sponsored by the Rucker Family and the Visionary Society
A MUSEUM+ Program
Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. in the Giant Screen Theater
In conjunction with new series of Peoria Plays America exhibitions highlighting the some of the best performers and entertainers in the world, all from central Illinois, the Peoria Riverfront Museum is honored to host iconic American photographer, Henry Diltz.
Diltz has taken some of the most famous images in music history, from Woodstock to The Beatles to The Doors, and has shot over 250 album covers. His portfolio is so vast that is it hard to capture in words, having shot with music icons from Joni Mitchell to Jimi Hendrix, as well as contributing to publications like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Life Magazine. Notably for Peoria, Diltz has photographed native sons Richard Pryor and Dan Fogelberg.
In this special Museum Conversation at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, hear from Diltz live and in person, with an opportunity to be a part of a Q&A after the program, and a Meet and Greet with Diltz to conclude the event.
Tickets: CLICK HERE
This ticket does not include admission to museum galleries.
Adult: $20
Child: $15
Member Adult: $15
Member Child: $10
Sponsored by Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria, MUSEUM+, Visionary Society, Friends of Performance, Illinois Arts Council.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the Peoria Riverfront Museum's Giant Screen Theater
Join us for a virtual talk with Christopher Marley, the artist behind current exhibition Exquisite Creatures.
TicketsAdult: $10
Child :$5
Free for members!
Get tickets HERE
Explore how Marley interprets the beauty of the natural world through an artistic lens: symmetry, color and form.
This program is worth 100 points in your Achievement Passport.
In Exquisite Creatures, Marley uses organisms and elements as his medium, exploring our need to connect with the natural world on a personal level, inspiring biophilia — a love of life. Immerse yourself in a world where order, diversity, symmetry, and balance come to life in vibrant, awe-inspiring displays. With specimens ranging across the natural world, from snakes to fish to insects to birds, Marley creates an immersive environment that inspires wonder, and fosters a desire to preserve the natural world.
All vertebrates used in this artwork are reclaimed, meaning they passed of natural or incidental causes, most often in captivity. None were killed for this purpose.
About the Artist
Christopher Marley is an artist, naturalist, photographer, and author who uses preserved natural specimens as his medium. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest, immersed in nature from his earliest memories. During a decade spent traveling the world as a fashion model, Marley’s passion for discovering unfamiliar elements in the natural world became an obsession.
His work was born of a desire to share nature’s majesty in a way that inspires both the urbane and the nature aficionado equally. Marley believes that in the proper light, beauty is found in every organism and that the deeper our appreciation for the aesthetics of nature, the more eager we are to immerse ourselves in it and conserve it.
All of the vertebrates that Marley uses in his work are reclaimed after dying of natural or incidental causes. He has innovated techniques for a host of organisms that are not typically considered good candidates for preservation. He also utilizes insects that are collected or bred in an environmentally sensitive manner using a worldwide network of people and institutions that share his passion for nature.
Sponsored by Art Bridges, America 250 donors, Mike Rucker Endowment Fund for Science, Visionary Society and Illinois Arts Council
Friday, April 24, 2026 - Sunday, April 26, 2026
Peoria Riverfront Museum | Peoria Zoo | Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum | Wildlife Prairie Park
Membership Swap Weekend is April 24, 2026- April 26, 2026!
If you are a member with the Peoria Riverfront Museum, enjoy FREE general admission to these awesome Peoria-area attractions: Wildlife Prairie Park, the Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum, and the Peoria Zoo!
All you have to do is present your membership card & a photo ID and then go enjoy your weekend!
Charges may apply for additional experiences.
Monday, April 27, 226 at 6:30 p.m.
Looking to the future of our nation beyond America’s milestone 250th anniversary, the Peoria Riverfront Museum is proud to produce an exciting new speaker series: America Forward, continuing with renowned architect Jeanne Gang.
In America Forward, nationally renowned leaders and visionaries—each at the peak of their field—will join us for inspiring conversations about the future of our country.
Jeanne Gang will be joining us at the Peoria Riverfront Museum to share her insight into the future of American architecture.
Get tickets on our website HERE
Born in Illinois, Gang is an internationally known architect, and founding partner of Studio Gang. Her numerous projects include the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock; the St. Regis Chicago, which stands as Chicago's third-tallest building and the 82-story Aqua Tower, also in Chicago. The St. Regis is also the tallest building in the world designed by a woman.
She also designed the celebrated Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Sponsored by Linda Beth and Ed Sutkowski, America 250 donors, Visionary Society
PLANET PASSPORT SERIES
Join our planet passport series! Each month, come to the planetarium for a show focused on one planet or place in space. Shows will be included in museum admission, and free for museum members. Non-Members can purchase admission to the museum or a planetarium show ticket to attend. These shows are great for all ages.
New for 2026: Participants should sign up for a Peoria Riverfront Museum Achievement Passport.
For each planet show you attend, you will earn a stamp in your passport and 25 points. Every three stamps you earn, you will gain a little extra prize! At the end of the year, we will host a telescope observing night to celebrate all we have learned. Everyone who participated in the planet passport program will be invited.
Shows will be on the second Thursday (5:30 PM) and second Saturday (10:30 AM) of each month. Each show will be about 45 minutes in length.
Sign up here to get email reminders about this cycle of Planet Passport.
March 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Mercury
April 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Venus
May 9 (10:30 AM) and 14 (5:30 PM) – Earth and Moon
June 11 (5:30 PM) and 13 (10:30 AM) – Mars
July 9 (5:30 PM) and 11 (10:30 AM) – Ceres and the Asteroid Belt
August 8 (10:30 AM) and 13 (5:30 PM) – Jupiter
September 10 (5:30 PM) and 12 (10:30 AM) – Saturn
October 8 (5:30 PM) and 10 (10:30 AM) – Uranus
November 12 (5:30 PM) and 14 (10:30 AM) – Neptune
December 10 (5:30 PM) 12 (10:30 AM) – Pluto and Kuiper Belt
