National Museum of Mexican Art: A vibrant scene in Pilsen
When Carlos Tortolero was starting what is now known as the National Museum of Mexican Art, "there were three things people told me I was crazy for," he said. "One,...
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Zany tales and Chicago museums make education fun in kids series
Hearing Kelli Feigley talk about how her new, Chicago-made children's science TV series came together, it almost sounds easy to get a show on air. Someone brings you an idea,...
New PBS series ‘Nature Cat’ co-produced in Chicago
"Nature Cat," a series for children aged 3 to 8 and just announced as a fall offering from PBS Kids, is a Chicago co-production. The creators are Spiffy Pictures in...
Neil deGrasse Tyson brings stars, star power to Auditorium
Neil deGrasse Tyson is that rarity: a scientist who has become, in recent years, virtually a household name. The host of "Cosmos" on TV last year and the director of...
‘Moochie Kalala’ TV series stars Tim Kazurinsky and Chicago’s museums
Sunday's first episode of the new, Chicago-made kids' TV series "Moochie Kalala Detectives Club" starts with Tim Kazurinsky's character telling his grandkids a fantastical story that leads to a search...
‘Love on Paper’ at the Newberry: ‘Vinegar valentines’ and other mash notes
"Love on Paper" is the animating idea behind a new exhibition at the Newberry Library. As you type that title onto a screen, or read it from a screen, you...
Museums for 2015: From Vikings to jazz, mammoths to robots
Winter is, or ought to be, museum season. Outdoor activities do not beckon, or ought not to, especially here in the flatland. And everyone in the house is, or ought...
Much hustle, little flow on Fox’s ‘Empire’
There's enough story presented in Wednesday's first episode of "Empire," the new Fox melodrama about a New York City family feuding over control of its record label, to sustain several...
That’s so Normal: Talking to residents of Normal, Illinois, about their town’s name
When the Pizza Hut marketing apparatus descended last month on Normal, Ill., it was part of a three-pronged town-name exploitation strategy. The savory pie chain had already been to Bland,...
Chicagoan of the Year in Museums: Michael Darling
It wasn't immediately obvious that a rock-star retrospective would work at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. Aren't there music museums in Cleveland and Seattle for that kind of thing? But...