Cherry blossom trees draw crowds to Jackson Park, new Museum of Science and Industry features coming

CHICAGO (WLS) — A sunny April day is a busy one in Jackson Park. The big draw is the annual blooms of the cherry blossom trees. ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch There’s also the Obama Presidential Center, which is nearing completion, and there are projects underway to make things easier for visitors, including a big project at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. “It’s beautiful. You look at the color: They go from white to pink. Even when they start leaving us, you can see the ground. It looks colorful,” Ashburn resident Alicia Raya said. “I’ve always wanted to go to Washington, D. C., but we’ve got it here close to home. So, it’s awesome,” Fernando Raya said. What started with a dozen trees became 200 trees, with their delicate spring flowers around the Columbia Basin. The oldest two are 130 years old, and the Chicago Park District is adding 30 more new trees. “There is nothing more beautiful than to see people out of the house looking around, looking at the flowers, smiling, taking pictures, being with their kids. No one is texting on their phone,” said Karen Szyjka, Chicago Park District operations support manager and curator of the Japanese Garden. “We were thinking of doing it Sunday, but we know the weather in Chicago is very difficult and so bipolar. So we decided to go today,” Worth resident Shankara Nelson said. Some of the trees are along the south side of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry that is preparing to open the museum’s south portico. “The idea of opening this south portico was really a voice of the community,” Griffin Museum of Science and Industry CEO Chevy Humphrey said. Humphrey says they are making the south entrance more accessible to all. “It’s ADA accessible, and we have a ton of families with strollers. So, we want to make sure that everyone has an accessible way to come in,” Humphrey said. “Once they open up this entrance over here, I think it will really connect the entire park in a way it was really envisioned,” Naperville resident Doug Fitzgerald said. The south entrance was the original entrance at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. In 2027, it will reopen to the Columbia Basin with its cherry blossom trees, a new Obama Center, a new midway playground and the Japanese Garden, which is preparing for more visitors, with more staff and technology to preserve the historic garden. With the Obama Presidential Center opening in June and more things on the horizon, you can discover features of Jackson Park on your own at anytime.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/2026-cherry-blossom-trees-draw-crowds-jackson-park-chicago-obama-presidential-center-new-msi-features-coming/18858272/