Review: Chicago’s Museum Of Science and Industry

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.

A photo posted by Museum of Science and Industry (@msichicago) on Aug 27, 2016 at 5:53am PDT

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.

A photo posted by Museum of Science and Industry (@msichicago) on Aug 15, 2016 at 9:11am PDT

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