Museum of Science and Industry

Museum Mission

To inspire the inventive genius in everyone.

Museum Vision

To inspire and motivate our children to reach their full potential in science, technology, medicine and engineering.

Facilities    

The Museum is housed in the only remaining building from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. It was built as the fair's Palace of Fine Arts by Burnham & Root architect Charles Atwood and is now the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere. Our facilities include:

• Over 14 acres of hands-on exhibits
• More than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space
• Chicago's only five-story, domed Omnimax® theater
• Restaurants: The Brain Food Court, Jasmine Café and Finnigan's Ice Cream Parlor
• Gift Shops: The Big Idea, The Galaxy Shop, The Kids Stop and the U-505 Store
• A student and teacher e-learning center with videoconferencing capability
• An 800-seat auditorium and two smaller theater spaces
• Nine learning lab areas for special educational programming
• Convenient indoor parking connected to the Museum's Entry Hall
• Wheelchair and stroller rental and coat check facilities

Audience

• In 2009, 1.6 million guests visited the Museum. In our 75-year history, we have welcomed more than 175 million guests!
• We hosted more than 266,000 children in school groups in 2009.

Exhibits and Programs

• The Museum is home to more than 35,000 artifacts.
• Public programming includes costumed program interpretation, daily science demonstrations, learning labs, lectures, performances, live videoconferences and special overnight events.
• Major permanent exhibits include: U-505 Submarine, YOU! The Experience, Science Storms (opening March 2010), the Coal Mine, the Baby Chick Hatchery, The Great Train Story, ToyMaker 3000, Genetics: Decoding Life, Earth Revealed, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle, the Pioneer Zephyr, Farm Tech and Take Flight.

Education Programs

• We provide hands-on programs called Learning Labs to over 18,000 students each school year.
• Approximately 1,000 teachers each year are served through professional development activities.
• About 500 teens have learned about science and provided experiments to MSI guests through our Science Minors and Science Achievers youth development programs.
• The groundbreaking Live… From the Heart videoconferencing program, which allows students to interact with a surgical team during real-time, open-heart surgery, has reached more than 14,000 students since its inception in 2003.

Accolades

• Named one of the Seven Wonders of Chicago by readers of the Chicago Tribune
• Named one of the country's 50 top family attractions by Zagat Survey (2004)
• Voted best museum in Chicago by Citysearch.com users (2003)
• Named one of Chicago's top museums by Today's Chicago Woman readers (2004)
• Featured in the 2005 World Almanac For Kids
• Named one of the top 15 museums in the world by Life magazine's millennium edition