IMPORTANT NOTE: In preparation
for the Museum’s year-long 75th Anniversary celebration in 2008, the
museum will be closed from Wednesday, January 9 through Friday,
January 11. The Museum will re-open on Saturday, January 12 and offer
FREE general admission for the remainder of the month—January 12
through January 31.
The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most beloved and visited museums in the world. Its origins are tied to two great World's Fairs and the imagination of Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald, then Chairman of Sears Roebuck & Company, was inspired by a 1911 visit with his son to the Deutches Museum in Munich. He returned to Chicago determined to create America's first center for "industrial enlightenment," a vehicle for public science education. With the help of other Midwest business leaders, Rosenwald restored and converted the Palace of Fine Arts, the last remaining major structure from the 1893 World's Fair, into a new type of American museum, where visitors could interact with the exhibits, not just view displays and artifacts. In 1933, the Museum of Science and Industry opened to the public, at the same time as the Century of Progress Exposition.
The Museum of Science and Industry is the oldest science museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It features over 800 exhibits and over 2,000 interactive units located in over 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and attracts approximately 2 million visitors per year. Just a few of the many interesting items you'll see include: a WWII captured German submarine; a 3,000-square-foot model railroad; baby-chick hatchery; nearly 20-foot walk-through human heart model; the Apollo 8 Spacecraft.
The Museum also features several shops and a few dining options for a snack or meal.
See our
Guide to
the Museum of Science & Industry.
ANNUAL FAVORITES
BLACK CREATIVITY PROGRAM
Jan. 12 – Feb. 28, 2007
This year, the Museum’s annual Black Creativity celebration features
an exhibit on African Americans working in industrial design as well
as a six-week celebration that includes educational programming, a
juried art exhibition, symposia, performances, a fundraising gala and
a career bowl for Chicago-area students.
NEW! 3-D THEATER
The Museum is now offering 20-minute, high-definition 3-D films in our
West Pavilion Theater. Guests can don a pair of 3-D glasses and be a
part of the action flying off the screen!
Official Web Site
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