Billet d'entrée American Writers Museum

As an avid reader for 55 years, and a huge fan of niche museums, I expected to love this museum. The children’s section was fun with displays and back stories on the authors of childhood favorites. The”which March sister are you?” was worth looking at. Learned that the illustrator for Charlotte’s Web also illustrated the Little House on the Prairie series. Wonderful mural of a tree featuring many childhood favorite books amongst the branches. The section on adult books, however, I found boring. It was somewhat interesting to consider that advertising slogans, song lyrics and screenplays are all “writing work products “too. But the interactive pieces didn’t hold my attention and my friend and I gave up after looking at a half dozen of them. The museum was crowded this Saturday but few people were looking at the adult book displays. While both my friend and I are well educated and lifelong readers, we guesstimated that we had read <5% of the books featured. There is a 1950’s soda shop booth with a tabletop jukebox and a “menu” with song lyrics. This might have been engaging but one of the buttons was stuck and it wasn’t working well. The gift shop was tiny but well stocked with several amusing things for sale like a spiral notebook mocked up to look like a Nancy Drew book and a purse that resembled a typewriter. Guests were invited to take a complimentary bookmark featuring their favorite author which was generous. Who knows what the mission of this museum is, but I would recommend skipping it.

Lots of fun ways to interact with the work of American writers and see what their inspiration and influences were. If you like reading and literature, this is the museum for you.

Fascinating museum about writers in American. Stayed much longer than we expected. Free tours on the hour - highly recommend.

The staff gave a helpful 3 pm tour that explained the organization and features of the many exhibits. Inspiring. Especially enjoyed the section on Chicago writers as an out-of-town tourist.

Vet informative in a very creative presentation.. you learn what an art writing ia. Great value too.

There is so much packed into this small space. Great reminders of the literary legagy of many writers. Interactive, including gaming, LARP, and a children's room. An unexpected gem.

It was very informative. Love the displays and presentations. Great history on American writers. I highly recommend!

Interesting idea. There were some cool interactive things to do. I was hoping for more, especially about authors I wasn’t familiar with.

This museum was even better than I anticipated. If you have a passion for literature, language, and the creative writing process, then you should visit this Chicago museum. It is filled with books (from children to adults), interactive games, and beautiful exhibits that celebrate the heritage of authors as well as their contributions. We spent about an hour but if you find a nice book to read, you may be tempted to sit and stay longer. I recommend this tour for educators, students, history buffs, and travelers who seek a unique cultural experience.

It's a cute, small museum. There's so much information contained within I got a little overwhelmed. I loved the interactiveness of the exhibits, especially the old typewriters they had for public use. It was very quiet when I went, with only a small handful of people around