Chicago, IL, Aug. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center announced today that they will open a satellite museum Illinois Holocaust Museum presents Experience360 on August 26 in the heart of downtown Chicago at 360 N. State St. Launching as the Skokie Museum undergoes renovations, the new location ensures the Museum’s vital mission continues at a time when rising antisemitism and hatred make Holocaust and genocide education more urgent than ever. 

With cutting-edge technology and immersive storytelling, Experience360, situated within the Shapiro Family Foundation Center, offers visitors an opportunity to step into history and engage in deeply personal and interactive ways. 

“We’re thrilled to bring some of our most impactful exhibitions to new audiences in downtown Chicago,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Illinois Holocaust Museum. “Experience360 is a bold reimagining of how we connect people to the lessons of the past using the technology of the future.” 

Experience360 features a sampling of the Museum’s award-winning exhibitions, including: 

• Northern Trust Virtual Reality Theater  

• • Journey with survivors through childhood hometowns, concentration camps, and sites of hiding in this immersive 360-degree film experience.  

• ITW Special Exhibition Gallery featuring Stories of Survival: Object. Image. Memory 

• • Follow the harrowing and inspiring journeys of survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides through photographs, displays of artifacts, and treasured personal mementos.  

• Karkomi Family Fund: Holocaust & World War II Gallery

• • Explore the pivotal events between 1933 and 1945 paired with powerful historical images and personal photographs, reflections, and testimony from both survivors and victims. 

• Survivors Take Action
  • Learn how Chicagoland survivors and community members joined together to transform a threat of hatred into a life-affirming call of resistance and took a stand for historical truth and justice, culminating in the creation of Illinois Holocaust Museum. 

• Lillian & Larry Goodman Foundations Holographic Theater
  • Now featuring three new Interactive Interviews developed in partnership with USC Libraries, USC Digital Repository, and the USC Shoah Foundation. Hear the deeply moving first-person accounts of Holocaust Survivors and participate in “conversations” in this innovative and interactive setting.  

Among the new holographic additions are Holocaust Survivors Rodi Glass and Marion Deichmann, both of whom also appear in the Museum’s VR films—creating a uniquely layered storytelling experience. Visitors can first walk through their journeys in virtual reality, then "converse" with them via life-sized interactive holograms. 

Also featured is Kizito Kalima, the first non-Holocaust Survivor to be part of the Museum’s Survivor Stories Theater. A Tutsi Survivor of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, Kalima’s testimony brings new global context to the Museum’s mission and offers powerful insights into resilience and recovery. 

“In our more than a decade of developing interactive survivor biographies, we’ve seen firsthand how these conversations deepen engagement and inspire lasting reflection,” said Sam Gustman, Associate Dean of Technology at the USC Libraries and Chief Technology Officer and Senior Director of Collections at the USC Shoah Foundation. “This partnership with IHMEC enables visitors to engage directly with the singular voices of survivors’ testimonies, including – for the first time ever – the voice of a survivor of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. The immersive experience enriches Holocaust and genocide education by fostering personal connection and deeper historical understanding for audiences of all ages.” 

Illinois Holocaust Museum presents Experience360 offers a panoramic view through history and truth, inviting visitors of all backgrounds to witness stories of survival, ask questions, and reflect on the past in ways that inspire empathy, respect, and hope. To learn more and book tickets visit experience360.org 

About Illinois Holocaust Museum 

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center honors the Survivors and victims of the Holocaust and transforms history into current, relevant, and universal lessons in humanity. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, the Museum inspires individuals and organizations to remember the past and transform the future.  

Experience360 is made possible by:       Shapiro Family Foundation 

CIBC, Cathy & Mitchell Feiger and the Al & Carole Feiger Family Foundation, The Feller Family, Lillian & Larry Goodman Foundations, Karkomi Family Fund, ITW and Northern Trust 

Amanda Berman
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
847-967-4834
amanda.berman@ilhmec.org