Museum of Science and Industry

Just like it does in Earth candy, sugar is creating a buzz in the universe! Scientists recently discovered simple sugar particles in the gas surrounding a star 400 light years away. While this does not mean that aliens are out there whipping up lemon meringue pies, it does have implications for other forms of life in the solar system.

To be clear, these are not the pure white...

You’ve probably heard parents joking that their kids need to burn off some energy. What if, instead, the adults told them to go outside and make some electricity? Here's a neat idea: using playtime to produce power!

Energy harnessing playgrounds can use the movement of play to generate electricity, which can then be used to light the area at night or be stored for later....

Chicago doesn’t seem to have much use for seismographs, instruments used to capture current or past earthquake activity. We don’t see a lot of seismic activity here, and our main springtime concern is more windy and swirly than wiggly and shaky. Surprisingly, scientists at Indiana University have recently found a potential new use for the equipment – seismographs may be able to