Building Our Collection

In the spirit of President and Mrs. Obama’s belief that change happens from the bottom up, we hosted community events in Chicago, Iowa, and Hawaiʻi to discover some of the objects that will inform the Museum’s collection and to hear the stories of the people who held onto them.

When the Obama Presidential Center opens on the South Side of Chicago, the core exhibit galleries of the museum will emphasize the grassroots nature of President Obama’s path to the presidency within the larger context of American democracy.

Check out some of the wonderful objects and stories we’ve discovered so far.