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Inside Obama’s presidential museum opening this month: The cost, the books and a beehive

CHICAGO (AP) — The Obama Presidential Center will open June 19 more than a decade after the former president chose his hometown of Chicago for the project. The museum displays campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts, while its campus showcases a new community basketball court, public library and playground.

A look at the numbers behind the former President Barack Obama’s presidential museum.

$850 million

The approximate cost to build the 225-foot museum tower and nearly 20-acre campus, which the Obama Foundation is paying for with private donations. The cost ballooned from the initial estimates of $350 million.

600,000

The number of projected annual visitors to the admission-based museum. As many as 1 million people are expected to visit the free amenities on the campus each year.

3,500

The approximate number of book titles the Obamas personally selected to be featured in a “Presidential Reading Room” at a new public library branch on campus.

440

The number of different campaign buttons on display from Obama’s campaigns, including those designed for individual states.

28

The number of commissioned works of art from 30 different artists.

1

The number of beehives on campus. An apiary is part of the gardens and extensive landscaping on campus.

Presidential museum showcases political and personal sides of Obama with sprawling community campus

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama’s influence in his presidential museum runs deep, from the location on Chicago's South Side to textured stone adorning its dramatic tower to striped reading chairs that are similar to ones in his own home. The Obama Presidential Center opens to the general public on Juneteenth after a celebratory dedication in Chicago with dignitaries. But tens of thousands of people — friends and family of museum staff, students and journalists — have already been offered a sneak peek at the nearly 20-acre campus as crews finish final art installations and landscaping. The roughly $850 million project covers both the political and personal realms of the nation’s first Black president. Campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts are displayed in the admission-based museum tower while public spaces of the sprawling campus feature other things important to Obama: a new library, basketball court and picnic area with grills. “This is a safe space for people to come and, yes, reflect on the historic moments of this presidency and the campaigns, but also to come together as a community to think about what change you can bring to your own neighborhood,” Josh Harris, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of public engagement, said during a recent tour with The Associated Press.
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