Free & Open to the Public!
Peoria Inventions that Changed the World: A Journal Star Panel Discussion
Wed, Oct 30, 6 pm
Giant Screen Theater
Moderated by Dennis Anderson, Executive Editor, Peoria Journal Star
PANELISTS
Chris Kaergard, Associate Editor | Caterpillar R&D
Phil Luciano, News Columnist | Penicillin mass production
Steve Tarter, News Reporter, ret. | Distilleries
Mike Rucker, Duryea Historian | Duryea car
Free & open to the public! Secure your seat by registering ahead - click here!
Join us for a special evening with our greatest keepers of history and storytellers, our journalists, as they discuss the remarkable, life-changing inventions from Peoria that changed the world.
Peoria, founded in 1680, is Illinois' oldest settlement. It's also home to some of the world's greatest minds and inventions: the first gasoline-powered automobile, invented by the Charles and Frank Duryea; the first diesel-powered engine, invented at Caterpillar; the mass-production of penicillin, invented at the Ag Lab (USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR)); the myriad inventions spawned by Peoria distilleries; the game-changing medical education work by Jump Simulation & Education Center, the White Cane for the Blind, invented by Lions Clubs International member George A. Bonham, and many others.
Moderated by Journal Star Executive Editor Dennis Anderson, our panel of Journal Star journalists, including Chris Kaergard, Phil Luciano, and Steve Tarter, along with historian Mike Rucker, will focus on four of Peoria's most important innovators and inventions.
Free & open to the public! Secure your seat by registering ahead - click here!
You may also register in person at the front desk or call 309.686.7000.
Sponsored by the Journal Star & the 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
Join us for a special member exclusive tour through the lens of our Art Bridges Fellow, Megan Nguyen.
Megan has worked with the Peoria Riverfront Museum for several years, assisting with exhibitions, Art Bridges loans, and more. Go on a detailed tour through the museum with her and learn more about the inner workings of a museum fellowship, our relationship with Art Bridges, and some of the incredible pieces currently on exhibition.
Get tickets for the 1 p.m. tour HERE
Get tickets for the 2 p.m. tour HERE
Members are also free to visit all museum galleries. Coffee and donuts will be available starting at 12:30 p.m.
Members enjoy sneak peeks and special perks, every second Saturday of the month!
Not a member? Join on our website today,
get details at the ticket counter, or call (309) 686-7000.
Member Saturday sponsored by Visionary Society
Sunday, June 14, 2026 | 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Museum-wide
Thanks to the generous support of Art Bridges Foundation, every second Sunday at the Peoria Riverfront Museum is FREE to the public!
Join us Sunday, June 14, 2026 from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. as we celebrate Access for All day at the Peoria Riverfront Museum with the Peoria Public School Distinct, as we host Multicultural Day at the museum!
This Access for All day at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, enjoy make and take art activities, planetarium shows, films, guided tours, and so much more. We're partnering with OSF Children's HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois and OSF Steam to bring an autism resource fair, fun activities for the whole family and more to our community, completely free of charge.SCHEDULE
Autism Pathways Resource Fair | Gilmore Auditorium | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Mingle with local businesses and counselors who specialize in those on the Autism Spectrum.
EXPLORE Toytopia | Gallery | 25 Points | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
With a photo scavenger hunt, explore the new exhibit, Toytopia! Collect 25 points at the Ticket Desk.
EXERCISE your voting rights with some fun "Would You Rather?" Scenarios | Gallery | 50 Points | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Peoria Public Library will offer you a chance to let your voice be heard. "100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?" You decide! No minimum voting age! Voting and answering some toy trivia will earn you a passport stamp and a small prize.
EXPLORE with OSF JUMP Center | Lobby | 50 Points | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a surgeon or part of a surgical team? Come visit the OSF STEAM booth for hands-on, kid-friendly fun exploring the world of surgery! Try interactive games, explore augmented reality, and discover how surgeons and their teams help people every day.
No blood, no loud noises, and definitely nothing super yucky! Just a safe, playful space to learn, explore, and have fun at your own pace!
PLAY on the Plaza | Sun Plaza | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Enjoy the sunshine and play with giant versions of toys on the plaza.
Hang 10 Calm Room | Boardroom | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Feeling a little overwhelmed? Check out the Calm Room available on the ground floor of the museum (right next to the Resource Fair!)
TOURS | Tours start outside of the designated gallery.
The Promise of Liberty
| 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. | 100 Points
Join gallery guides in “The Promise of Liberty” for a spotlight tour of the gallery.
Exquisite Creatures
| 1p.m., 2:30 p.m. | 100 Points
Join gallery guides in “Exquisite Creatures” for a spotlight tour of the gallery.
Giant Screen Theater Film
Superpower Dogs| 12:30 p.m. | 25 points
Dome Planetarium
Each Dome Planetarium show is worth 10 Points.
Learn more about the museum's Achievement Passport, and how to earn points HERE
Re-member, members get double points! Earn 100 points and receive a FREE prize!
Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation's Access for All program
SENIOR FREE DAY
SENIOR MORNING PROGRAM
Third Wednesday of Each Month
10:00 a.m. Coffee and Pastries | 10:30 a.m. Discussion
Please be aware, museum doors will not be unlocked until 9:45 a.m.!
Gilmore Auditorium
COME FOR THE MORNING, STAY FOR THE DAY!
Please join us for Senior Day on the third Wednesday of each month where members and seniors 60+ can enjoy all exhibitions and daytime planetarium shows for free.
Schedule:
June 17, 2026
Come learn about the summer blockbuster exhibition Toytopia with Nate Downs, local pop-culture and history enthusiasts.
July 15, 2026
The Promise of Liberty covers over 250 years of history! Come explore this exhibition with a presentation with the curators that put it together!
August 19, 2025
Museum IT manager Jason Frank will host a "Technology Q+A"! Jason will answer your burning questions about technology in your life. Please submit questions to Sadie Helmick via email (shelmick@peoriariverfrontmuseum.org) to give him time to prepare.
September 16, 2026
The museum exhibition We Remember: 9/11 Twenty-Fifth Anniversary explores the dark day of September 11, 2001. Come and listen to a live Zoom presentation with a museum educator from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
October 21, 2026
Based on the museum case exhibitions upstairs, come learn about Peoria Sports Legends with writer and historian Kirk Wessler.
November 18, 2026
For the final Senior Morning presentation of 2026, join us for a presentation on the America 250 exhibition “Transportation Revolution” with Curator of Science and Director of the Dom Planetarium Renae Kerrigan.
NOTE: Registration is not necessary but groups are encouraged to call ahead so that we will be prepared. Senior groups, please contact Assistant Director of Education, Sadie Helmick, 309-863-3016
Sponsored by AARP, Peoria Falcon Circle, Visionary Society
Yoga Under the Stars
Join us for a one-of-a-kind yoga experience beneath the stars at the Dome Planetarium. This guided flow will invite you to slow down, ground deeply, and reconnect to yourself as we welcome summer. Under the glow of the night sky, we’ll move through intentional poses that restore balance, release tension, and create space for renewal as we step into a new season. Whether you’re a regular on the mat or brand new to yoga, this evening offers a peaceful reset, a moment to breathe, reflect, and realign beneath the celestial canopy.
This session will be led by Tammy Mitchell.
Participants are asked to bring their own mats.
Each session will be an hour and 15 minutes long.
Summer Solstice - June 20
Doors open at 5:45, Event starts at 6 PM
$20 Members | $25 Public
All sessions are an hour and 15 minutes in length.
Limited mats are available, please bring a mat and a light blanket. Doors open at 5:45 pm. All supplies provided for programs unless otherwise noted. All paid programs require a minimum number of participants to run or will be cancelled two business days prior to the start date. Pre-registration required.
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 | 5:15 p.m.
The state of the museum is strong! Join us at the Peoria Riverfront Museum as we look back on a fantastic year, and look forward to another one, even better.
"State of the Museum" presentation led by Board Chair Todd Baker and President and CEO of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, John Morris.
RSVP by Friday, June 20, 2025
Visionary Society Concierge | 309-863-3066
Development@peoriariverfrontmuseum.org
If you cannot attend in person, stream the State of the Museum live HERE or check in with the QR code below.
Peoria Riverfront Museum
The only multidisciplinary museum of its kind in the nation, the Peoria Riverfront Museum uses art, science, history and achievement to inspire confidence, lifelong learning, and talent. Since opening in 2012, the privately funded museum has provided more than one million experiences through major exhibitions, a permanent collection, interactive galleries, a dome planetarium, giant screen theater and educational programming including curricula-related student visits. The AAM-accredited, Smithsonian-affiliated private nonprofit museum is supported by more than 5,000 members and donors, and is housed in a county-owned LEED Gold-certified building on a campus overlooking the Illinois River.
A MUSEUM+ Program
Thursday, June 25, 2026 in the Giant Screen Theater | Doors open at 5:30 p.m., Conversation begins at 6 p.m., Reception at 7:30 p.m.
In conjunction with current exhibition The Promise of Liberty , the Peoria Riverfront Museum is thrilled to welcome Dr. Christopher Brown, a professor at Columbia University, NY, and a historian that has been featured in Ken Burns' newest documentary The American Revolution.
In this special Museum Conversation at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, hear from Brown live and in person on the problem of slavery in the Age of Revolutions. The paradox is familiar – a new nation born declaring that “all men are created equal” that was at the same time dependent upon and committed to the perpetuation of human bondage. In this talk, Christopher Brown places the American paradox in international context, suggesting along the way what made the American experience distinct and how the institution of slavery became, for the first time during the era of the American Revolution, the subject of political conflict.
Tickets: CLICK HERE
Adult: $25
Child: $15
Member Adult: $20
Member Child: $10
The Promise of Liberty is sponsored by the Gilmore Foundation, Ashley and Josh Bellamy, McKinnon Family Foundation, America 250 Donors, Visionary Society, Friends of History
