Nine Months until the Exposition

Martians, Wells, and Cucumber Sandwiches!

In the countdown to May 2025, the Exposition shall host several smaller (mostly) FREE* events throughout the year, such as the upcoming Steampunk Picnic at the Museum of Science and Industry to celebrate the 158th birthday of Steampunk founding father HG Wells.

This event is BYOP (bring your own picnic), but picnickers are encouraged to bring food that can be shared. We shall provide a long table, but it also BYOC (bring your own chair) to gather around the Mad Hatter style set up.

Parking is very nearby: take Lake Shore Drive to Science Ave and turn left to the south side of the parking lot (it’s cheaper than the north side).

Learn more about our (mostly) free events by clicking these links to our Facebook event pages:

Saturday, September 21st, 2024 – Steampunk Picnic for HG Wells’s Birthday (FREE)
Saturday, October 19th, 2024 – TBD Halloween Event
More events being added soon!

* ~ Some of the Exposition events are within other ticketed events run by other organizations.

Tickets & the Exclusive Pin

Badges and Tea Tickets are already on sale for the 2025 Exposition! Until the end of this year, ALL badges are $10 off the regular price AND the first 100 Weekend Badges sold will receive an EXCLUSIVE brass colored Exposition 2025 pin that matches the theme. The pin design is almost done and we should be able to reveal it in our next countdown update, but we can describe it as the Exposition Ferris wheel and of course . . . tentacles!

Click on the Box Office image below to purchase your tickets today! Please note that for 2025 we will be printing your name (in a fancy font) on the badge, so include “badge names” in the “Order Notes” section of the check out form. In addition to your name, badges will also be labeled with your order number for reference in case lost badges get turned into Registration; that said, however, please remember that lost badges that are not turned in can not be replaced and a new purchase will be required.

Afternoon Tea Parties & Banquets

New for 2025, the Exposition will offer a limited ticket banquet on Friday and Saturday evening. We are currently working on the menu and pricing, but this meal will also offer patrons the opportunity to sit with one of our guests of honor for a meal and pleasant conversation. Details coming in our next countdown update, but meanwhile tickets for our Afternoon Tea Parties are on sale now.

Get Involved!

We are looking for Presenters, Performers, Games Masters, and other people to run sessions for the 2025 Chicago Steampunk Exposition program. Applications are now live; please click on the appropriate image to access the form.

Hotel Rooms

For April 2024, the Exposition hotel was actually sold out. Admittedly not all the people staying at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg that weekend were there for the Exposition, but nonetheless the hotel was sold out. To avoid getting locked out in 2025, we recommend booking your room early (you can always cancel later if needs be) which you can do starting at the end of this month (needs to be 13 months out from the event).