Joliet Area Historical Museum offers family friendly fun on weekends

Welcome to the Herald-News’ Will County Inside/Outside Guide. Each week, features editor Denise M. Baran-Unland (@Denise_Unland61) highlights a few ideas for you to enjoy your weekend in Will County.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum is now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, the museum does limit the number of guests per hours because of COVID-19 guidelines, so registration is required at jolietmuseum.org.

One exhibit you’ll want to see is “The Soaring Achievements of John C. Houbolt.” This is a 500-square-foot exhibit at the Joliet Area Historical Museum that features “interactive panels, diagrams and maps, audio-visuals, flat-screen narratives and period dioramas” about the Apollo 11 mission, moon landing and Houbolt’s vision, according to the museum website. Houbolt was a Joliet resident.

A Lunar Lander Simulator is part of the exhibit. Participants can use a throttle and joystick, similar to the controls the first lunar explorers used “to guide their craft to the approaching lunar surface,” according to the website.

Another exhibit, “Strike Up the Band! 100 Years of the Joliet Township H.S. Bands,” celebrates just that. According to the museum summary of the exhibit, “Initially organized on an informal basis, the Joliet Township High School Band went on to play a significant role in the development of instrumental music education in the United States.”

In addition, the museum is offering the Downtown Joliet Architectural Walking Tours at 10 a.m. Saturdays. These tours feature 90 minutes of historical facts on Joliet’s downtown buildings. To register and for information, visit jolietmuseum.org/upcoming-programs.

Tickets on sale for Troy Middle School online musical, “A Year with Frog and Toad”

This play will be livestreamed at 7 p.m. Friday and will continue to stream through midnight Sunday.

Tickets are $20 per household. Buy tickets at tmsevents.org.

Senior root beer float drive-thru

This is a free event taking place on Tuesday at Brent Hassert Park located at 19623 Renwick Road in Crest Hill.

According to a news release from the Lockport Township Park District, April is the National Month of Hope, so the first 300 participants (age 50 and older) will receive a root beer float to celebrate the hope that the chapter of virtual events will soon close. The root beer floats are sponsored in part by AARP Chapter #5294.

Thoughts? Drop me a line at dunland@shawmedia.com.