The 1893 Exposition displayed several odd artifacts from around the world, but the strangest was a statue best described as a “monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind” . . . more about that coming soon.
PLEASE NOTE that ALL costuming is welcome and does not have to be related to the theme, and you don’t even have to come in costume; 21st Century “Time Tumblers” are welcome to 1893 as well 
The Chicago Steampunk Exposition provides 48 HOURS of nonstop programming that includes: entertainment, presentations, exhibitors, workshops, dances, gaming, contests, and more!
Entertainment & Main Stage Events
- BELLHEAD
- Charming Disaster
- Fashion Show
- Scott Westerfeld
- CLICK HERE if you want to perform at the Exposition!
Other Special Events
- Afternoon Tea Parties
- Banquet Dinners
- Convention Foam Fighting
- Count Gregula’s Horror Movies
- Goblin King’s Masquerade
- Scott Westerfeld Book Signing
- Steam & Sorcery (LARP) – “The Curse of Cthulhu”
- Thursday Pre-Con Reception
- More to be added . . .
Panels & Presentations
- The Cosmic Horror Next Door (18+)
- Emotion, Chaos, and Madness in Gilded Age Art: Expressionism, Dada, and Surrealism
- European Corpse Medicine (18+)
- Integrating Character, Plot, and World Building
- Inventions of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
- Giants, Leviathans, and Monstrosities of the 1893 World’s Fair
- Lovecraft, Grimoires, and Magic (Oh My): Lovecraft and the Occult (13+)
- Lovecraft’s Ties to Dark Magick (18+)
- Monsters of the Great Lakes
- Podcasting and You
- The Problems with Lovecraft: Separating the Mythos from the Man (13+)
- Real Lost Cities (13+)
- Scandinavian Steampunk – TeslaCon 15
- Scott Westerfeld Q&A
- A Seminar Illuminating the Safe Operation of the Sliding Rule (13+)
- The Shape of Things: Product and Poster Design of the Industrial Revolution
- State of the Art: What Scientists Knew in 1893
- Steampunk Economics
- Triangle House and Hull House: Chicago’s Jane Addams in Fiction and Fact
- What if? Exploring Alternate History in Media (13+)
- More to be added . . .
- CLICK HERE if you want to present at the Exposition!
Crafter & Maker Workshops (Copper & Room 1322)
Most workshops require an additional charge to cover the presenter’s materials fees (see specific workshop for details), but observers are welcome to watch the crafting for no fee.
- Cephalopodic Cockades
- Circular Hole Punch Gallifreyan
- Cthulhu Waits in the Shadows… Detailed Cutting for Shadow Puppets
- Let There Be Light!
- Mechanical Creature Puppets Made by the Mad……We mean You!!!
- Morse Code Bracelet
- Paper Casting Your Gears
- Parasol Dueling Holsters
- Steampunk a Tiny Shop
- Top That- Fascinators and Hats
- CLICK HERE if you want to present at the Exposition!
Storytelling & Readings (Cyan)
- High Magic in the Age of Steam: A Reading and Discussion of Steampunk, Magic, and Social Subversion
- Reading of The Clockwork Coffin
- CLICK HERE if you want to present at the Exposition!
Contests & Gaming
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) – “Curse of the Swamp Tentacles” (18+)
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) “Dead Light” (18+)
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) “Edge of Darkness” (18+)
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) – “Eldritch Horror!” (18+)
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) “The Haunting” (18+)
- Cthulhu by Gaslight (RPG) – “Shocking Sabotage” (18+)
- Dungeons & Dragons (RPG) – “Creeping Ruin” (18+)
- Dungeons & Dragons (RPG) – “What’s in the Swamp?” (18+)
- Mothership (RPG) “Chromatic Transference” (18+)
- Mothership (RPG) “The Haunting of Ypsilon 14” (18+)
- NERF Dueling
- Leviathans (Tabletop Game)
- Steam & Sorcery (LARP) – “The Curse of Cthulhu”
- Steampunk Hamster Wars (Contest)
- Vaesen (RPG) – TBD
- Teapot Racing
- Western Territorial Parasol Dueling (Contest)
- More to be added . . .
- CLICK HERE if you want to run games at the Exposition!
We are currently looking for new panels, presentations, and workshops for the 2025 Exposition
