Champaign: Theater History, Art and Science for Children

Champaign can be explored through a wide range of cultural themes: the Virginia Theatre offers a look at the history of theater and silent film, while the Krannert Art Museum and the Orpheum Children's Science Museum put art and science at the center. The Prayer For Rain fountain in West Side Park adds another option. You can shape your stay around theater history, a museum visit, or activities for children.

Theater and Silent Film at the Virginia Theatre

The Virginia Theatre first opened on December 28, 1921. The opening featured a live stage performance of “The Bat,” followed by the silent films “Tol’able David” and “The Boat.” This sequence brings a stage play and films together, offering a concise look at the opening program of the time. In 2003, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This brings together a precisely dated premiere night and a later historic designation.

For a visit focused on cultural history, both aspects are of interest: the specific opening program and the later addition to the Register. The opening combined live theater and film, while the designation marks a separate, later point in the theater’s history.

Art and Visit Options at the Krannert Art Museum

The Krannert Art Museum focuses on art and specific ways to visit. Admission is free. Free tours are offered for university classes, schools, and groups of eight or more; groups of no more than seven people can explore the museum independently during opening hours. Group size is therefore the deciding factor when choosing between a tour and a self-guided visit. You can choose the visit format based on the size of your group; if you are planning a visit, also check the opening hours.

Science and Art for Children

The Orpheum Children's Science Museum is located in downtown Champaign. Children can explore science and art there through camps, after-school clubs, special events, exhibits, and field trips. The different formats give families several specific options for planning activities. If you are traveling with children and would like to include science or art, this is another way to shape the focus of your stay.

A Historic Landmark in West Side Park

The Prayer For Rain fountain is located in West Side Park and was dedicated on June 1, 1899. Its date precedes the Virginia Theatre’s opening in 1921: the fountain and the theater are two distinct historic landmarks in Champaign. Their chronology can be traced through specific dates, even though the two places do not offer the same kind of visit or experience.

When looking for a vacation rental in Champaign, you can first decide which theme you want to shape your stay: the history of stage productions and silent film, art at the Krannert Art Museum, or science and art activities for children at the Orpheum. For a museum visit, group size provides an additional practical consideration. This lets you search for accommodation based on your planned travel interests without reducing the different cultural offerings to a single type of visit.

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Go to the main travel overview: Champaign.