Museum of Broadcast Communications facts for kids

The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is a museum in Chicago, USA. It shows the history and present-day world of radio and television. It helps people learn about how these important ways of communicating have changed over time.

The Museum's Journey: Where It's Been

The Museum of Broadcast Communications started in 1982. It first opened its doors in June 1987 in a building called River City. It stayed there for five years.

In June 1992, the museum moved to the Chicago Cultural Center. It was a popular spot there, offering free entry to visitors. The MBC left the Cultural Center in December 2003. It planned to open a brand new building of its own.

Building a New Home

The construction of the new museum building faced many delays. Work stopped for a while in 2006. The museum needed more money to finish the building.

In November 2009, the museum announced that it had received funding from the state of Illinois. This meant construction could start again! Seven months later, Governor Pat Quinn confirmed that Illinois would give the MBC $6 million to help finish the building.

The new museum was designed to be much bigger. It would have more space for its collections, two exhibit areas, and even working radio and television studios. The building was back under construction in 2010.

Reopening the Doors

After being closed for over eight years, the museum finally reopened its new location at 360 N. State St. on June 13, 2012. This was exactly 25 years after it first opened! Even before the full museum opened, the National Radio Hall of Fame gallery on the second floor had been open to visitors since December 2011.

A special event was held before the grand reopening. Famous actors like John Mahoney and Betty White, and newscaster Hugh Downs, were there.

Challenges and Changes

When the museum was at the Cultural Center, it had many visitors because it was free. After moving to the new building and charging an entrance fee, the number of visitors dropped. The museum also faced technical problems, losing access to some of its online video archives.

To help with its finances, the museum worked to pay off its building debt. In September 2017, the MBC opened a large exhibit called "Saturday Night Live: The Experience." This exhibit was very popular and helped bring more attention to the museum.

In 2018, the museum decided to sell two of its four floors. This was to help the museum stay strong financially and improve its future exhibits. The sale of the third and fourth floors was finalized in March 2019. This meant the museum would have less exhibit space.

After the "Saturday Night Live: The Experience" exhibit closed, the museum brought in new exhibits. One was "Louder Than Words: Rock, Power & Politics," from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Temporary Closures and New Beginnings

The MBC temporarily closed its doors on March 15, 2020, because of the COVID-19 health crisis. During this time, the museum focused on online learning programs. It reopened briefly in the summer of 2020, then closed again due to low attendance. It had a "soft reopening" in October 2021, followed by a "grand reopening" later that month.

In April 2023, the MBC announced that its final day of operation at 360 N. State St. would be April 30, 2023. The remaining exhibit space was sold to a developer. The museum plans to reopen in a new location in the future.

The museum has also seen changes in its leadership. David Plier, who was already the chairman of the MBC's board, became the president and CEO in September 2023.

National Radio Hall of Fame

The National Radio Hall of Fame (NRHOF) has been connected with the Museum of Broadcast Communications since 1991. For many years, the NRHOF gallery was located on the second floor of the MBC's building. Even after some changes to the museum's space, parts of the NRHOF gallery were restored on the second floor.

Encyclopedia of Television

The Encyclopedia of Television is a huge online resource. It has more than 1,000 essays about television history from all over the world. It is considered a very important source of information about television.

See also

• 20th Century Technology Museum
• Museum of Radio and Technology
• Paley Center for Media
• The Museum of Classic Chicago Television