Museums & Galleries in Saint Charles

Between AD 700¬ and 1400, the city of Cahokia gradually rose from the floodplain of the Mississippi River to become the largest city north of Mexico. Across 6 square miles, its population of 20,000 people worked together to create a thriving community grounded in astronomy, agriculture, and economics. To this end, they erected large, lasting structures such as an enormous wooden calendar that notified citizens about the changes of the seasons. Giant earthen mounds served as the foundation of the city and the site of the big mud fight that decided the mayoral election each year.

Through careful excavation, research, and reconstruction, the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society aims to preserve the site and educate visitors about its importance. During visits, guests on self-guided tours can explore 800 acres of the city, including the 100-foot-tall Monks Mound and Woodhenge, the giant calendar.

CAM St. Louis’s sleek structure houses a dynamic forum for innovative, boundary-pushing contemporary art. Members gain free access to the museum’s ever-changing exhibitions by both well-known and emerging creatives such as the Cyprus-based Christodoulos Panayiotou, whose works examining the construction of national identity and history have made him one of the most compelling young European artists working today. Four guest passes enable members and their friends and family to share the provocative intrigue of Robert Breer’s 1957 and comment on the films' lack of a cowbell-heavy soundtrack. Because CAM St. Louis is a non-collecting institution, exhibitions in the Main Gallery and Front Room rotate regularly to afford a new experience with each visit and keep room corners free from provoked-thought buildup.