Arab Heritage in Chicago: Preserved by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
Development of Cuneiform (top) and Yelda Khorsabad Court (bottom).
Chicago Oriental Institute is a fascinating museum to visit, especially to those who have interests in historical records of the Middle East and would like to explore the Middle East heritage. There are various eye-‐catching displays, including Qur’an fragments, statues, sculptures, and tablets containing the hieroglyph. The museum was built in 1919 and opened to the public in 1931. Since then, the museum has been the home of Middle East collections and archives, which were mainly obtained from expeditions from the 1920s and the 1940s. Located at the heart of Chicago, the museum is easy to reach, and there are parking spots nearby if you are driving. You can see some of their collections in the pictures below:
Mesopotamia collections at the Oriental Museum.
The museum also holds events that are suitable for families. Recently, it organized an event called Egyptomania, in which home-‐schooled children got the opportunity to learn mathematics from Egyptian concept, explore Bedouin tents, make musical instruments such as the hand clappers, and many more. Do you know that many mathematical concepts today were invented by the ancient Egyptians? Do you realize that the ancient Egyptians built sphinx and pyramids without having pie measurement (Hint: it was exceptionally challenging to build structures without knowing the value of pie)? The event was fun, but educational for children. Children were able to learn history while building their social skills with their fellow peers and having a laugh.
By: Anthony Sudarmawan
Writer and photographer
If you would like to participate in the future programs, please visit https://oi.uchicago.edu/programs-‐events/events or you can simply visit the museum at anytime during its opening hours at 1155 E 58th St, Chicago, IL 60637.