Elgin Public Museum presents “The Leopold Birds: 100 Years of Mystery” program
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Elgin Public Museum presents “The Leopold Birds: 100 Years of Mystery” program
May 21 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On the 100th anniversary of an infamous Chicago crime, we take a look at one of Elgin Public Museum’s most enduring mysteries — our Leopold Birds collection.
On May 21, 1924, sociopathic teenagers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb committed a gruesome murder, cruelly taking the life of 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Caught, tried, and sentenced to life, avid bird taxidermy program collector Leopold donated most of his collection to our museum. But our records showing which birds were his were deliberately obfuscated to avoid any hint of glorifying this conscienceless killer. A century later, how many of Leopold’s 1500 donated birds are still with us? And how do we know? How many others might there be? How many times was Leopold known to visit the museum to see his old “feathered friends”?
Lineup:
-Doors will open at 6 pm
-We will explore that Museum Mystery at 6:30
-At 7 pm, author Erik Rebain (Arrested Adolescence: The Secret Life of Nathan Leopold) will discuss his book and the question of whether Leopold was such a reformed man when, in the late 1950s, he was released on parole. Rebain will also have copies of his book available for sale and signing.
Admission is $5; $3 for museum members. Due to the sensitive nature of this program, ADULTS ONLY, PLEASE.
