The Obama Foundation to Celebrate the Obama Presidential Center’s 100th Day
Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have visited Chicago’s South Side campus since it opened to the public on June 19
September 26, 2026 at 9:00 AM CDT
CHICAGO — The Obama Foundation is celebrating the 100th day of public access to the Obama Presidential Center by sharing a few statistics that celebrate how people have embraced the campus and made it their own.
“The first 100 days of the Obama Presidential Center have surpassed our wildest imaginings; it’s like someone has sprinkled the campus with pixie dust that brings people joy, hope and a feeling of community,” said Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett. “Thousands of people from across the street and around the world have traveled here to see what makes this campus so special and have left inspired to bring change home.”
Whether dancing the Electric Slide on the John Lewis Plaza or sharing in the Storybooth their own stories of creating change, guests to the Obama Presidential Center are bringing to life the President and Mrs. Obama’s belief that when ordinary people work together, they can achieve extraordinary things.
To mark this milestone, The Obama Foundation has collected some data about what has occurred on campus throughout the first 100 days:
175,469 visitors to the Obama Presidential Center’s Museum and ticketed events, with visitors from 50 U.S. states and 39 countries
3,932 active U.S. military visitors
61,176 visitors who are Illinois residents
4 known marriage proposals
3 bald eagles sightings
11,424 Obama Burgers eaten
1,951 Michelle Maragaritas enjoyed
3,985 Obama Family Chili bowls ordered
71,524 T-shirts purchased
352 eclectic vehicles charged
403 Spotlight Stories told
24 free community events
996 neighborhood youth who have participated in after school programming
60 programming events that have been held at the Center
17 school group field trips, with 997 students
250 guests singing along to “My Shot” from a screening of the film Hamilton
200,000 flowers blossomed on campus
429 pounds of produce grown in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, including 131 pounds of cucumbers
82,690 listens to the free audio guide, in partnership with Bloomberg Connects
3,406 people who’ve told their story in the Storybooth
1,715 one-way Divvy trips started at the Obama Presidential Center and 1,662 one-way Divvy trips ended at the Obama Presidential Center
6,360 average weekly bus rides on the newly-expanded #10 Chicago Transit Authority bus route
3,382 new library accounts created at the Chicago Public Library, Obama Presidential Center branch
206,684 visitors to the Chicago Public Library, Obama Presidential Center branch
Number of visitors who have played on the playground, stopped to smell the flowers in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, high fived the bronze statues of President and Mrs. Obama, strolled around the Women’s Garden, or simply enjoyed the free campus: Countless
For more information, visit Obama.org (Opens in a new tab) and obamalibrary.gov (Opens in a new tab) .
About The Obama Foundation
The Obama Foundation is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. That mission begins on the South Side of Chicago, where the Foundation is building the Obama Presidential Center. But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity. From every corner of the globe, our program participants are working together to address some of the biggest challenges of our time—from renewing our democratic institutions, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, fighting climate change, and so much more.
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Contact: Emily Bittner, press@obama.org