Abstract
<p>Attempts by early Progressive reformers to harness the idea of the museum as an active force in facilitating social change was epitomized by the founding of the Chicago Municipal Museum (1904). Inspired by European precedents and made possible by the civic betterment and social welfare exhibits from the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, the Museum provided an experimental site and innovative program of community-oriented exhibits during 1905 and 1906. Despite the outward success of these exhibits, illustrated lectures, and discussions, the Museum was unable to stabilize itself financially and was forced to vacate its temporary quarters at the Chicago Public Library in May 1906. The Museum continued its work with active participation in the 1907 Chicago Industrial Exhibit organized to bring public attention to pending national and state legislation on the conditions of working women and children. The experimental nature of the Museum may have worked against its permanency, but it was able, if only briefly, to provide information and public discussion to bear on the most pressing issues of modern health, social welfare, and civic improvement.</p>
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