Friends of the Chicago River
The Chicago River

Chimney SwiftBridgehouse Museum

Nestled inside the southwest bridge tower on the Michigan Avenue Bridge, the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum tells the story of the Chicago River. Visitors get to climb to the top of the tiny five-story building. On each floor the tale of a critical moment in the history of the Chicago River is revealed. Not to be missed is the rare view of the gears and 108-horse power engine that lift the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

Classroom lessons which explore exhibition themes at the Bridgehouse Museum are available.

The Bridgehouse Museum can accommodate up to 34 visitors. General admission is $4. Admission for adults over 62 and children 6-12 years old is $3. For groups of 20 or more visiting during our regular hours, tickets are $3 per person. For school groups, tickets are $2 per person. Please call (312) 977-0227 at least 24 hours in advance of your group’s visit to the Bridgehouse Museum to make arrangements. To schedule a class visit contact Ozana Balan King, Museum Director and Program Manager. Classroom lessons which explore exhibition themes are available, see below for links to PDFs. For more information and to browse the online exhibits, please visit the museum’s website at www.bridgehousemuseum.org.

Bridgehouse Museum Classroom Lessons

Bridges

A Bridge Going Up and Down (K-3) (155k PDF)
Students look at photos of bridges and sing a song about Chicago’s famous bascule trunnion bridge to understand how moveable bridges work.

A Bridge in Balance (3-5) (177k PDF)
Students will make a model of a bascule trunnion bridge. They will then balance their bridge by calculating the weight of the necessary counter weight.

The Mag Mile and Torque (9-12) (171k PDF)
Students learn about gears and torque. They then build a model of the Michigan Avenue Bridge gears and calculate the increased torque provided by the gear chain.

History

I’ve Felt the Same Way (K-4) (988k PDF)
Students will hear stories from people living in four different historical time periods. Students will then match the stories to their related photo and write or draw about a time when they felt a similar way.

Backwards Goes It Does (5-8) (235k PDF)
or Backwards Goes It Does (9-12) (235k PDF)
Students will use the web to investigate the topography of the Chicago River watershed. Then students will make a model of the Chicago River watershed to observe how the Chicago River was reversed. This lesson includes three articles and maps that you will need to download separately:
Location Article (5-8 and 9-12) (727k PDF)
Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal Article (5-8 and 9-12) (727k PDF)
Is Chicago a Swamp? (5-8 and 9-12) (440k PDF)
Reference Map (5-8 and 9-12) (129k PDF)
River Template (5-8 only) (197k PDF)