I’ll admit it, I’ve loved this museum ever since I was a kid and will likely be quite glowing in my review here. That said, the Museum of Science and Industry turns everyone into a kid when you visit and my parents were no different 35 years ago.
The museum is located in Jackson Park on South Lake Shore Drive and is nothing less than a massive space that warrants a full-day visit from the moment it opens till they hustle you out in the evening.
While the exhibits change regularly, they also remain the same. For example, you can still take a 30-minute trip down the mineshaft to visit a working coalmine brought in from Southern Illinois in the 1930s. In fact, it was the museum’s first exhibit dating to 1933. Yes, it’s been upgraded numerous times but it’s still a coalmine dating to the 30s.
The 400,000 square feet that house the exhibits is the reason that it is host to a U-505 submarine, the only German submarine in the United States — never mind that you can actually walk through it.
There are no shortage of both permanent and rotating exhibits like the Whispering Gallery and the Art of the Bicycle and a Lego exhibit that teaches building sciences until it’s removed in February.
Pack a lunch and expect to spend a whole day or two exploring all it has to offer.
Museum of Science and Industry
5700 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, Ill. 60637
773 684 1414
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