The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is the largest science museum in North America, with over 2,000 exhibits and 35,000 artifacts. It opened in 1933 and is housed in a restored building from the World’s Columbian Exposition. The museum offers permanent exhibits such as a reenactment of an early 20th-century Chicago street and an interactive anatomy exhibit. It also has temporary exhibits, an Omnimax theater, and live science experiences. The museum offers programs for youth development, after-school programming, and learning workshops for school groups and educators.
Located in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood near Lake Michigan, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is known as the largest science museum in North America. The interactive design of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry was modeled on international examples such as the Technical Museum in Vienna, the Deutsches Museum in Munich and the London Science Museum. The science departments of the University of Chicago contributed heavily to the coordination of its initial exhibits, which now number over 2,000 with a total of 35,000 individual artifacts. This local landmark is open every day except Christmas and offers free general admission on select days in January and September each year.
The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry first opened in 1933 with a donation from the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. This museum continued to be housed in a restored building that was initially known as the Palace of Fine Arts during the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Its exhibition halls cover approximately 14 acres (about 56,656 m2).
Among the highlights of the permanent exhibits at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is a model reenactment of an early 20th-century Chicago street featuring several shops, including a movie theater featuring silent films and a working ice cream parlor. The ToyMaker 20 allows viewers to watch toys being built on an assembly line. An interactive anatomy exhibit called YOU! The experience allows visitors to see the larger than life human body. The Science Storms exhibit explores natural disasters. Some of the more unique exhibits in the permanent collection include a working underground colliery, a huge miniature railway called The Great Train Story, two WWII British warplanes, and a WW1 German submarine.
In addition to numerous permanent features, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry offers an ever-changing variety of temporary exhibits, some of which require an additional fee for admission. One of the museum’s other permanent attractions is an Omnimax theater, which shows educational films on an immense five-story high wrap-around dome screen. Live Science Experiences, where visitors experience the wonders of science firsthand, are also available at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
This museum’s community offerings include programs for youth development, late sleepers, and after-school programming. School groups visiting the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry can experience learning workshops that match the educational standards of the state of Illinois. For educators, there are teacher workshops and graduate-level courses offered in partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology.
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