Located just south of downtown Chicago in the Hyde Park area, the Museum of Science and Industry is home to a remarkable array of around 35,000 artefacts spread over a 5.6 hectare site. But this is not your standard, stuffy museum – this is a hands-on experience with remarkable set-piece exhibits unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Here you can see the Apollo 8 space craft, the first vessel to take human travellers all the way to the Moon, and go deep underground exploring a replica coal mine.
The hands-on science experiments, interactive displays and walk-in exhibits make the experience of visiting the Museum of Science and Industry a unique and special one, It can teach you so much about the world around you, with exhibits looking at technology, industry, climate and the human body.
For a comprehensive and carefully planned visit, you can pay extra for a guided tour of the museum – ideal if you have no idea where to start. The WOW Tour lasts an hour and will introduce you to the museum’s most popular attractions, including a Boeing 727 aircraft which you can climb aboard, as well as the Baby Chicks exhibit where you can watch as chicks hatch from their eggs. You’ll also visit the replica coal mine, but bear in mind that this is one of the museum’s add-ons and you’ll have to pay a little extra when buying your ticket in order to see it – ask at the box office for more details.
Alongside the Boeing 727 in the Transportation Gallery, you’ll have the chance to admire a Steam 999 Locomotive, the Spirit of America, which is one of the fastest vehicles in the world – as well as many more smaller aircraft.
Elsewhere, you can visit exhibits which show you how the Internet works, how toys are made, and how the human heart keeps you alive. In the Science Storms exhibit, you can create a mini tornado, as well as look at the machines producing lightning, demonstrating avalanches and creating fireworks.
Ideally situated in the city, the museum is easy to reach by the ‘L’, by bus or by train. If you want to drive, parking is available for a small fee.
