On a Friday morning on Chicago’s South Side, President Obama and Mrs. Obama kicked off the public opening of the Obama Presidential Center with a special story time for children and families.
Together, the Obamas read Maurice Sendak's beloved classic Where the Wild Things Are – which celebrates the power of imagination, curiosity, and storytelling – while welcoming a new generation to the Obama Presidential Center.
The event reflected one of the Center's core missions: inspiring young people to dream bigger, explore new possibilities, and recognize their own potential to lead and create change in their communities.
Reading Rainbow icon LeVar Burton and librarian and literacy advocate Mychal Threets joined President and Mrs. Obama to highlight the importance of passing opportunities, knowledge, and leadership from one generation to the next. With the doors officially opened, the center is meant to serve as a place where young people can discover their voices, explore new ideas, and develop the skills and confidence to shape the future.
Reading Where the Wild Things Are has become a tradition for President and Mrs. Obama. While in the White House, President Obama read the book to his children, and Mrs. Obama narrated a special 60th anniversary unabridged audiobook edition of the book.
After Story Time, President and Mrs. Obama welcomed the first visitors to enter the Obama Presidential Center, personally greeting guests as they arrived – a beautiful way to celebrate the official opening of the campus to the public.
This moment marked the culmination of years of planning, partnership, and community engagement, all while underscoring a central message of the Center: that it belongs to everyone.
Throughout the day, visitors from Chicago and beyond explored the campus, participated in programming, and experienced the Center's museums, gardens, library, and public spaces for the very first time.
The Obama Presidential Center was created to be a place where people from across the street and around the world can gather, learn, connect, and be inspired to make a difference in their communities. Opening Day represented not only the launch of a new cultural and civic destination but also the beginning of a new chapter focused on empowering future generations of leaders.
