Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

No tour of Chicago's museums is complete without a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry in Jackson Park.

No tour of Chicago's museums is complete without a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry in Jackson Park. It showcases a variety of interactive and hands-on exhibits as well as demonstrations and simulations that present scientific concepts and technology in a fun way for children. The museum occupies the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a Classical Revival building laid out as a cross with a large central dome. The Beaux Arts façade in Indiana limestone is perfectly symmetrical, featuring Ionic columns, garlands and caryatids.

There are 75 halls across 3 floors displaying over 2000 exhibits covering a variety of topics from natural phenomena and basic physics to space exploration and robotics. The 'Science Storms' exhibit features a 40-foot water vapor tornado, tsunami tank, Tesla coil, heliostat system, and a 30-foot avalanche disc. One of the newer and exciting exhibits is the Robot Revolution which presents cutting-edge robots from around the world that you can interact and play with. Other highlights include the ✓'Coal Mine' which recreates a working bituminous coal mine with original equipment from Old Ben #17 from 1933, ✓German submarine U-505 from World War II, ✓a 330 m2 model railroad of the route from Chicago to Seattle in Great Train Story, ✓replica of Stephenson's Rocket - the first steam locomotive to exceed 25 mph, ✓999 Empire State Express which was the first vehicle to exceed 100 mph, ✓a model of the Wright Brothers first airplane, ✓Apollo 8, ✓a Mars Rover, and ✓'Yesterday's Mainstreet' - a recreation of an early 20th century Chicago street.

The Simulator Gallery offers visitors the complete experience of piloting historic aircraft such as P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom II, and F-16 Fighting Falcon. You can also choose to experience the fast action of a Motion Simulator Ride, and opt from launching into space aboard Discovery - Space Mission Hubble, the World War I adventure Red Baron, or traveling across the universe in Destination - Black Hole.