Museum of Science and Industry

Category: Museum

The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most beloved and visited museums in the world. Its origins are tied to two great World's Fairs and the imagination of Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald, then Chairman of Sears Roebuck & Company, was inspired by a 1911 visit with his son to the Deutches Museum in Munich. He returned to Chicago determined to create America's first center for "industrial enlightenment," a vehicle for public science education. With the help of other Midwest business leaders, Rosenwald restored and converted the Palace of Fine Arts, the last remaining major structure from the 1893 World's Fair, into a new type of American museum, where visitors could interact with the exhibits, not just view displays and artifacts. In 1933, the Museum of Science and Industry opened to the public, at the same time as the Century of Progress Exposition.

The Museum of Science and Industry is the oldest science museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It features over 800 exhibits and over 2,000 interactive units located in over 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and attracts approximately 2 million visitors per year. Just a few of the many interesting items you'll see include: a WWII captured German submarine; a 3,000-square-foot model railroad; baby-chick hatchery; nearly 20-foot walk-through human heart model; the Apollo 8 Spacecraft.

The Museum also features several shops and a few dining options for a snack or meal.