Batavia Depot Museum Curator Wins Big Honors for Bringing Batavia’s History to Life

BATAVIA, IL – History came alive in a big way last week as the Batavia Depot Museum and its curator, Jessica Meis, earned two major awards from the Illinois Association of Museums.

Meis was named Museum Professional of the Year, a special award given to one person each year who has made a strong impact in the Illinois museum field. Since joining the museum in 2023, she has created 11 temporary exhibits about local history. These exhibits cover diverse topics like Batavian Bernard Cigrand, who helped start Flag Day and amateur Batavia artists. One of her exhibits, “Markets and Meals,” which explored Batavia’s grocery stores and food history, won a 2025 IAM Award of Excellence in Exhibits.

"This is a highly competitive award recognizing a museum professional who has demonstrated excellence and a commitment to growing in the museum field,” said Batavia Depot Museum Director Kate Garrett.

Meis was also praised for her detailed research and for making history easy to understand and interesting to all who visit the museum. Meis often gets input from Batavia residents on topics, uses technology to make exhibits interactive and finds creative ways to design displays even with a small budget.

One of her recent exhibits, “The Museum a Community Built,” celebrated the museum’s 50th anniversary. It also told the story of how the current museum building was once a train depot that was moved across the Fox River in the 1970s. To match the decade’s theme, Meis designed and built a 1970s-era den that included thrifted furniture, old photos, vintage magazines, and toys from that time. Visitors could even sit on the vintage couch and watch a video showing volunteers moving the building to its current location.

"Batavia is such a special place,” she said. “It is a joy to help residents discover the amazing stories of their community's past and how it shaped our present. I so appreciated being a part of the Batavia Park District where I can thrive and continue to inspire curiosity in the world through my work."

Meis holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History and Latin American Studies from Cornell College and earned a master’s degree in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago. She has also worked at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and completed internships at museums in Iowa.

The Batavia Depot Museum also received recognition for The Museum a Community Built exhibit, which was named an example of best practices in museums. This marks the third award-winning exhibit created by the museum staff since 2021. Batavia Depot Museum is a facility of Batavia Park District.

"The IAM awards are a great time not only to reflect on how the Batavia Depot Museum excels, but also to learn from museum colleagues,” Garrett said. “Batavia can look forward to many more outstanding projects from your local museum."

See for yourself what makes the museum an award-winning immersive glimpse into the city’s history. Batavia Depot Museum is open from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Learn more at bataviaparks.org/depot-museum.

For more information on our Batavia Park District programs and events, call (630) 879-5235 or visit bataviaparks.org.



Batavia Depot Museum Director Kate Garrett and Curator Jessica Meis help the community learn about the city's history through exhibits, events, field trips and classes.