Center for the Advancement of Science Education
We excite students, empower teachers and engage the community with innovative programs.
- Field Trips
- Explore your health, experiment with the physics behind nature, travel into a coal mine, join a live science experience and more.
- Learning Labs
- Students experience the passion and thrill of scientific discovery in workshops that align with Illinois Learning Standards.
- Teacher Courses
- Our courses will show you how to get your students excited about science and complement your classroom curriculum.
What's New
- Classroom Resources
- Our free classroom activities are aligned with learning standards and will get your students excited to learn science.
- Teacher Workshops
- These half- to full-day sessions on a variety of science topics are linked to your classroom curriculum.
- Graduate Courses
- Enhance your science teaching with graduate-level programs offered jointly by MSI and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
- Live Science
- Be part of the action in our live science experiences happening every day at the Museum as you experiment with chemistry, physics, biology and more.
- Science Minors
- This youth development program lets teens learn about science and meet science professionals while interacting with Museum guests.
- Fab Lab
- Dream up, design and make almost anything you can imagine using cutting-edge software and equipment in our small-scale workshop.
- Community Programs
- We're making science fun in our after-school science clubs, youth development programs, Museum sleepovers and other special initiatives.
- Bus scholarship program
- We offer free bus transportation to economically disadvantaged schools in the Chicago Public Schools system.
Featured Classroom Activities
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- Three Colors of Light
- See what happens when you mix together the three primary colors of light.
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- Cookie Mining
- Simulate the economics of coal mining by "mining" for chocolate chips in a cookie.
CASE
The Center aims to inspire the next generation of inventors and innovators with programs that empower teachers, engage the community and excite students.
Video
Learn how MSI is transforming lives through science education.
- Happening Now
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MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition
Try your hand at busting or confirming myths in wildly entertaining experiments.
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Rocky Mountain Express
Jump onboard this journey through the Canadian Rockies by train!
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Tornado Alley
Ride along with researchers of VORTEX 2 to hunt for some of nature's most destructive storms.
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- Coming Soon
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Born To Be Wild
Journey to Borneo and Kenya with wildlife teams rescuing endangered elephants and orangutans.
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Member Day Trip: From Sidewalks to Skyscrapers
Learn how to design buildings that withstand the forces of wind, fire and earthquakes.
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Family Snoozeum Night
Join us for a special Snoozeum open to families with children ages 6-12.
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New Online Activities
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Habitat Overcrowding
See what happens when plants compete for survival in an area with limited resources.
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Straw Bridges
Tap into your inner engineer as you design, build and test model bridges.
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What Goes Around
Create a traveling circulatory system to learn how blood flow and nutrient exchange happens.
New Online Activities
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Would You Eat That?
Do you know what's in the food you eat? Try naming the ingredients in these popular items.
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Simple Machines
Help Twitch do his late-night work in the Museum workshop by creating simple machines.
- Online Activity
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Three Colors of Light
See what happens when you mix together the three primary colors of light.