For Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light, over fifty local cultural groups will perform live cultural musical and dance routines in the Main Auditorium in the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s West Pavilion on the remaining weekends in November and weekends during Advent in December. [For context, this year, Advent will run from Sunday, December 1, 2019 through Tuesday, December 24, 2019.] Families will also be able to make snow-filled Christmas tree ornaments and snack on seasonal treats. This is covered by Museum Entry (general admission). The Holiday Snack Shop will be selling hot chocolate and snack food. With the purchase of an additional advanced ticket, one can get a photo session with Santa Claus on select dates throughout (the rest of) November and December. There will also be two Holidays of Light performances on Monday, December, 23, 2019. A full cultural performance and Santa Claus schedule will be posted online at www.msichicago.org/holiday. Please note that times and dates are subject to change.
The Grand Tree Lighting Ceremony that kicked off the 77th annual Christmas Around the World and 25th annual Holidays of Light festivals occurred yesterday, Thursday, November 14, 2019. They will run through Sunday, January 5, 2019 (the twelfth day of Christmas).
Saturday, November 16, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnic Group Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Tsukasa Taiko Drummers | Japan |
| 12:15 p.m. | Ensemble Alioni | Republic of Georgia |
| 1:30 p.m. | Springbrook Chrous, Brass and Chamber Orchestra | U.S.A. |
| 2:45 p.m. | Pachacamak Folk Foundation | Andean Afro-Ecuadorian |
Sunday, November 17, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnic Group Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Peru Profundo | Peru |
| 1:30 p.m. | Pachacamak Folk Foundation | Andean Afro-Ecuadorian |
| 2:34 p.m. | The Chicago Cuatro Orchestra | Puerto Rico |
Saturday, November 23, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnic Group Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Vivanov Dance Group | Bulgaria |
| 12:15 p.m. | The Cambrian Benevolent Society presents the Welsh Red Dragon Dancers | Wales |
| 1:30 p.m. | Pachacamak Folk Foundation | Andean Afro-Ecuadorian |
| 2:45 p.m. | The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (R.S.C.D.S.) Chicago Branch Demo Team | Scotland |
Sunday, November 24, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnic Group Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Whispers Center for Artistic Expression | Poland |
| 12:15 p.m. | Zespól Jawory | Poland |
| 1:30 p.m. | Jasmin Jahal Dance Company | Middle East |
| 2:45 p.m. | Indian Catholic Association of America | India |
Saturday, November 30, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnic Group Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Moravian Cultural Society | Czech Republic |
| 12:15 p.m. | Nordkids | Sweden |
| 1:30 p.m. | Bonilla Foundation | Puerto Rico |
| 2:45 p.m. | Ballet Folklórico Fiesta Mexicana | Mexico |
| 4:00 p.m. | Casa de la Cultura Guatemalteca-Chicago | Guatemala |
Sunday, December 1, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Bonnie Lindholm School of the Dance | U.S.A. |
| 12:15 p.m. | Filipino American Historical Society | Philippines |
| 4:00 p.m. | Iskra School of Ukrainian Dance and Cherubic Voices Children’s Choir | Ukraine |
Saturday, December 7, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Finnladies of Chicagoland | Finland |
| 12:15 p.m. | Tambura and Dance Group, The Croatian Vines and Croatian School | Croatia |
| 1:30 p.m. | Norwegian National League of Chicago | Norway |
| 2:45 p.m. | After School Matters | Spanish Dance of Bolivia, Mexico, and Latin America |
| 4:00 p.m. | Aloha Center of Chicago (A.C.C.) | South Pacific |
Sunday, December 8, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | McNulty Irish Dancers | Ireland |
| 12:15 p.m. | Campanella Children’s Choir | Eastern Europe |
| 1:30 p.m. | Suktinis | Lithuania |
| 2:45 p.m. | Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association | India |
| 4:00 p.m. | Flamenco Chicago Dance Studio | Spain |
Saturday, December 14, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Mabuhay Singers and Friends | Philippines |
| 12:15 p.m. | Bethany Romanian Church | Romania |
| 1:30 p.m. | Colombian American Cultural Center | Colombia |
| 2:45 p.m. | Ballet Folklórico Internacional Tuwamari | Ecuador |
| 4:00 p.m. | Borozda and the Hungarian Women and Children | Hungary |
Sunday, December 15, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes Alpine Horn Music | Alpine region of Europe |
| 12:15 p.m. | Society of the Danube Swabians | Germany |
| 1:30 p.m. | The Donya Dance Ensemble | Turkey, Bolivia and other World Dance traditions |
| 2:45 p.m. | Tierra Colombiana Dance Ensemble and T.C. Children’s Dance Group | Colombia |
| 4:00 p.m. | Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society | Greece |
Saturday, December 21, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Alma Ecuatoriana | Ecuador |
| 12:15 p.m. | Thistle and Heather Highland Dancers | Scotland |
| 1:30 p.m. | Holy Cross-IHM Marimba Ensemble and Children’s Choir | Mexico and Central America |
| 2:45 p.m. | Serbian Orthodox Midwest Diocese Youth | Serbia |
| 4:00 p.m. | St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church | Egypt |
Sunday, December 22, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Country, Region of the World, or Ethnicity Represented |
| 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ornament Making | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Ensemble Horo | Bulgaria |
| 12:15 p.m. | Polish Scouting Organization of Illinois | Poland |
| 1:30 p.m. | Color’s Entertainment Group | China |
| 2:45 p.m. | Holy Nativity of Romania | Romania |
| 4:00 p.m. | Hora of Romania | Romania |
Monday, December 23, 2019 Performance Schedule
| Time | Group or Activity | Holiday |
| 1:30 p.m. | Punch and Judaism | Hanukkah |
| 2:45 p.m. | Mama Sunshine | Kwanzaa |
Closures and Extended Hours
The M.S.I. is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. this time of year. It will be closed on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 28, 2019). The middle two days of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend – Friday, November 29, 2019 and Saturday, November 30, 2019 – it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Sunday, December 1, 2019, it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Normal hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) will resume on Monday, December 2, 2019 and continue through Friday, December 6, 2019 (so during the workweek or school-week); resume again on Monday, December 9, 2019 and continue through Friday, December 13, 2019; and resume again on Monday, December 16, 2019 and continue through Friday, December 20, 2019. Extended hours (9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) will resume the second and third weekends of December (Saturday, December 7, 2019 and Sunday, December 8, 2019 and Saturday, December 14, 2019 and Sunday, December 15, 2019). The fourth weekend of December – Saturday, December 21, 2019 and Sunday, December 22, 2019 – the M.S.I. will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Monday, December 23, 2019, it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Tuesday, December 24, 2019 (Christmas Eve), it will be open from 9:30 to 4:00 p.m. because the staff and volunteers will want to get home. Naturally, it will be closed on Christmas Day (the first Day of Christmas), Wednesday, December 25, 2019. From Thursday, December 26, 2019 through Monday, December 30, 2019, it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Tuesday, December 31, 2019 (New Year’s Eve), it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., because the staff and volunteers will want to get home. It will open late, at 11:00 a.m., on New Year’s Day (Wednesday, January 1, 2020) and close at 5:30 p.m. From Thursday, January 2, 2020 and Friday, January 3, 2020, it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Regular hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) will resume on Saturday, January 4, 2020. The Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry regularly makes small adjustments to this schedule, so when planning a trip there, check this Webpage and the M.S.I.’s social media for updates.
EXTENDED HOURS AND EXCEPTIONS
| Hours | Date |
| Closed | Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 28, 2019) |
| 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Friday, November 29, 2019 Saturday, November 30, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Sunday, December 1, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Saturday, December 7, 2019 Sunday, December 8, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Saturday, December 14, 2019 Sunday, December 15, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Saturday, December 21, 2019 Sunday, December 22, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Monday, December 23, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Christmas Eve (Tuesday, December 24, 2019) |
| Closed | Christmas Day (Wednesday, December 25, 2019) |
| 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Thursday, December 26, 2019 Friday, December 27, 2019 Saturday, December 28, 2019 Sunday, December 29, 2019 Monday, December 30, 2019 |
| 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, December 31, 2019) |
| 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | New Year’s Day (Wednesday, January 1, 2020) |
| 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Thursday, January 2, 2020 Friday, January 3, 2020 |
Often formerly stylized as the “Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago” or the “Museum of Science + Industry” the institution is located at the northern end of the Chicago Park District’s Jackson Park, on the south side of 57th Street, between Lake Shore Drive to the east and Cornell Drive to the west, in the East Hyde Park neighborhood of the Hyde Park Community Area (Community Area #41) on the South Side of Chicago.
The Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is housed in the Palace of Fine Arts, also known as the Fine Arts Building, which is the last palace from the White City fairgrounds of Chicago’s first World’s Fair, the World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), still standing in Jackson Park. Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932), President of Sears, Roebuck & Company, founded the Museum of Science and Industry in 1926 through The Commercial Club of Chicago, of which he was a member. The M.S.I. opened in three stages between 1933 and 1940, with the first opening ceremony on July 1, 1933. These events coincided with Chicago’s second World’s Fair, A Century of Progress International Exposition (1933-34), which opened on June 1, 1933.
On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the Museum of Science and Industry announced that the Board of Trustees had voted to accept a $125,000,000 gift from the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund. M.S.I. executives and board members felt it would consequently be appropriate to change the Museum of Science and Industry’s name to the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. A multi-billionaire, Mr. Griffin is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) of Citadel, Inc., a Chicago-based hedge fund. His gift is the largest in the history of the science and technology museum, and one of the largest gifts to any cultural institution in Chicago.
The address is 5700 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60637. The Website is https://www.msichicago.org/ and the phone number is (773) 684-1414.
In the Garden City 
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