For help registering see the How to Register for Non-Credit Courses Guide.
Hidden History - The Southwest Suburbs (LLC 3974)
Learn about the rich cultural, artistic, and architectural wonders hidden right in our own backyard – the Southwest Suburbs. Discover a hidden 28-square-mile forest with a rock canyon. Cruise through local history on the I&M Canal and learn about Chicago’s most famous ghost story. Even if you are a longtime area resident, you are guaranteed to learn something new about the hidden history of the places you call home.
Hidden History - Downtown Chicago (LLC 3975)
Discover the cultural and architectural wonders hidden right in our own “big” city – Chicago. Come along on a virtual walking tour of downtown Chicago and learn about city’s most famous architecture. Learn about the downtown’s rich history, and how Chicago rose from the ashes to become a powerhouse of finance, entertainment and culture.
Chicago (World's Fair to 1909)
(LLC 3809)
Learn about Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, “The White City”. Individual buildings and the overall site plan will show how the Fair was shaped. Engineering marvels will be highlighted, including the first Ferris wheel and the moving sidewalk into Lake Michigan. Daniel Burnham’s leadership of the Fair led The Merchant Club’s charge to improve the “Real City”. Learn how Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago evolved from the White City.
Have You Seen the Tully Monster? (LLC4062)
Illinois is the site of one of the most world-famous fossil producing regions in the world, called the Mazon Creek area. This area runs through Kankakee, Livingston, Will, Grundy and La Salle counties and has produced some the most amazing fossils ever found! The Illinois State Fossil, the Tully Monster comes from this area and is found nowhere else in the world! This session will discuss where and how to fossil hunt in the Mazon Creek area. We’ll discuss finding and preparing your fossils, and how to obtain more information about them. Bring your Mazon Creek fossils and we’ll identify them at the end of class. Each participant will receive a free Mazon Creek Fossil and you’ll get to see a real Tully Monster!
New! Iconic Images - Great Photographs and the Stories behind Them (LLC 4332)
Any picture can speak 1,000 words, but only a select few say something poignant enough to galvanize an entire society. During this brown bag lecture, learn the true stories behind some of the world?s most iconic photographic images, and discover the details about photographs that screamed so loudly that the entire world stopped to take notice. Enrollment also includes soup and sandwich lunch.
New! Hidden History -The I&M Canal and America?s Canal Era (LLC 4333)
The Illinois and Michigan Canal brought unparalleled growth to Chicago and Illinois and played a crucial role in the development of America. Learn more about America's many great canals and the people who built them during the Canal Era which ran from 1790 to 1850. Examine this largely overlooked chapter in our nation's history and the network of canals that once connected a young nation.