World / USA / Illinois / Chicago, 10 km from center Coordinates: 41°47'26"N   87°34'58"W
The Museum of Science and Industry

www.msichicago.org/

The Museum of Science and Industry, one of the most beloved and visited museums in the world, has origins that are tied to two great World's Fairs and to civic spirit and 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.

One of the Most Popular Museums in the World

* Opened in 1933, the oldest science Museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere attracts approximately 2 million visitors per year.
* In 2003, nearly 330,000 children in school groups and youth organizations visited the Museum.
* The Museum is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the City of Chicago, and among seven of the most visited museums in the United States.
* The one millionth visitor entered the the Museum in 1935, and nearly 160 million visitors have experienced the Museum since its opening in 1933.
* The Museum has over 17,000 member households.
* The Museum has over 350 volunteers.

Museum Facts

* First Museum in North America to develop the idea of hands-on, interactive exhibits.
* The first museum to have participation of industry in its exhibits.
* The largest science museum in a single building in the Western Hemisphere with over 800 exhibits and over 2,000 interactive units located in over 350,000 square feet of exhibit space.
* Built in 1893, the Museum building has played a role in two World's Fairs: The World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 and The Century of Progress Exposition in 1933.

Museum Exhibit Highlights

* A WWII captured German submarine on the National Register of Historic Places.
* A working coal-mine shaft elevator from 1933.
* A cantilevered Boeing 727 that visitors can walk through.
* A 3,500-square-foot model railroad, one of the largest in the world.
* Exhibits on the brain and computer imaging that have garnered awards from the American Association of Museums.
* Whispering gallery - acoustically perfect room in "Communications".
* Baby-chick hatchery - fascinating live display of newborn chicks.
* Human heart model - nearly 20-foot-tall walk-through model.
* World's first permanent exhibit on AIDS/HIV.
* Collections contain approximately 50,000 Artifacts - many on loan from NASA.
* Apollo 8 Spacecraft - first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon
* Aurora 7 Mercury Spacecraft - one of the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Earth
* Lunar Module Trainer - Apollo astronauts trained in this mock-up of the Lunar Lander
* Piccard Stratosphere Gondola - set an altitude record in 1934
* British Spitfire WWII Fighter Plane - one of only a few surviving Spitfires to have flown in the Battle of Britain
* Texaco Racer Plane - broke Charles Lindbergh's transcontinental speed record in 1930
* 999 Empire State Express steam locomotive - set a land speed record in 1893
* Sears Motor Buggy antique car - sold in 1912 through Sears catalogue
* Spirit of America Jet Car - set a land speed record in 1964
* 1914 Ford Model T - one of the first mass produced cars

'God's Own Country' is one among the best three destinations in the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
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Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Science_and_Industry_(Chicago)
Category: museum science

place comments:
19 months ago zaheera   +1
THE INFORMATION IS VERY USEFUL TO US TO KNOW ABOUT THE MUSEUM.
I AM FROM ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLAND.
add your comment in English
Edited: 12 months ago Languages: en