Results tagged “museumofscienceandindustry”

Earlier this week, we got a sneak preview and tour of YOU!: The Experience, the Museum of Science and Industry's new, 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit that explores and pays homage to the human body, mind, and spirit. High on interactivity and low on "eat your peas" preach, YOU! — which officially opened yesterday — emphasizes the importance of wise decision-making when it comes to our diets and lifestyles, and how our decisions affect our health and development over the course of our lives. Through a combination of traditional just-look-at-me displays and modern-day interactive exhibits, YOU! draws attention to aspects of nutrition, human development, and health that some of us, floating adrift in the seas of high-fructose corn syrup, or simply disconnected from our own bodies, might not think about very often. Some highlights include:

The famous walk-through heart at The Museum of Science and Industry has gotten a much needed upgrade. This week, technicians put the finishing touches on its replacement: a new, three-dimensional animated heart that stands 14-feet-tall. Occupying the balcony of the museum’s North Court, the new heart not only shows the inner and outer workings of the organ through full-color animated projections, but it also matches the pulses of visitors through a pair of hand grips in front of the exhibit, and then displays their heartbeat.

We have an insatiable appetite for both miniature scale architecture and things built with Lego. So imagine how excited we are to see the ART + SCIENCE = ARCHITECTURE exhibit, opening at the Museum of Science and Industry today.

       

The 1893 World's Fair is still long remembered for many reasons, not least of which because of the way it was captured in book form. But the Museum of Science and Industry is using this year's centennial celebration of Daniel Burnham's Plan for Chicago as a reason to revisit the White City. The UCLA Urban Simulation Team, led by Lisa M. Snyder, has recreated the World's Fair as it looked originally and will be presenting their recreation at the MSI.

This Friday, the Museum of Science and Industry is hosting the inaugural session of a new farmer’s market. Tomorrow morning, starting at 7:30, there will be a grand opening celebration featuring the Hearty Boys, as seen on the Food Network. They will be doing cooking demonstrations, making Orange Blossom pancakes with Mascarpone and fresh berries (yum).The farmer’s market, featuring produce, flowers, baked goods and other local products, will be held in the Museum’s East Parking lot. The cooking demos will be in the garden of the Smart Home.

          

There's a new, magical exhibition brewing at the Museum of Science & Industry, and it's sure to please Potter-philes and non-fans alike. Comprised of over 200 costumes and props used in the filming of the movie adaptations, the Harry Potter Exhibition, opening today and running through September 27, gives visitors an up-close look at the fantastical world that hasn't been offered before. Though "exhibition" isn't quite the right word so much as "experience." Beginning with a session with the Sorting Hat (I was sorted into Ravenclaw), the exhibition is laid out in stages, guiding you through the experience of a student attending Hogwarts, the famous wizard school. From the Gryffindor common room, through the Quidditch field, Hagrid's Hut, and even the Forbidden Forest, the exhibition is as thoughtfully laid out and created as the props and costumes themselves. With video screens showing clips from the movies creating atmosphere (and context for non-fans), it's a completely engrossing experience. (The exhibition also features an optional audio tour.) Besides the numerous costumes on display, props on display include the Marauder's Map, the Triwizard Cup, the Sorcerer's Stone, Qudditch equipment, and some of the mystical creatures that populate the Harry Potter universe such as Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Fawkes the phoenix, and even a Dementor.

You still have time to catch the 38th annual Black Creativity exhibit, which runs until March 1 at the Museum of Science and Industry. This year's theme is "Green Revolution," and highlights the lives and accomplishments of 30 African American architects, designers, engineers and business leaders in the green movement. Learn about innovators such as Johari Cole, who owns Iyabo Organic Farms, organic chef Bryant Terry, and George Washington Carver, an early 20th century botanist and inventor whose studies and teaching revolutionized agriculture in the United States. In addition to the exhibition are workshops, a juried art exhibition and a Keep Chicago Beautiful certification for parents, educators and college students on Feb. 28.

In spite of the current recession, Chicago's museums are still managing to bring in a healthy number people. Total attendance in 2008 at the city's top 10 "major cultural attractions" was only off by one percent for a total of 7.7 million. The Shedd Aquarium saw a drop of seven percent, but was still had the highest overall attendance at 1.9 million; The Museum of Science & Industry had a larger drop at 15 percent, but was second overall with 1.4 million. In spite of these drops, the eight other attractions saw increases. The Art Institute of Chicago drew 1.4 million for third place overall and the Chicago History Museum saw a healthy 22 percent increase in visitors for a total of 266,000. The overall attendance on "free days" also saw a hefty increase of over 15 percent.

Green Revolution, Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive, January 15 - March 1

Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through 12/20, 11:30 p.m., $16

Looking for an fun, educational, and cheap way to entertain the family tomorrow? Look no further than Hyde Park. The Museum of Science and Industry is open tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and offering up free admission all day. Can't make it by tomorrow but still looking to entertain those out of town guests? The MSI will be open all weekend (at regular admission, of course) and with some great exhibits like the Smart Home and Christmas Around the World, it's a great time to pay a visit. The MSI is open Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

      

Since May 8, thousands of visitors have been amazed by the style, innovation and comfort of the Museum of Science and Industry's Smart Home: Green and Wired. The Museum, in partnership with Wired Magazine and architect Michelle Kaufmann, built an entire house, complete with landscaping, on the lawn outside the Henry Crown Space Center. Visitors can tour the entire house (including the utilities spaces, the roof and the grounds) with a guide for a small additional fee. We had the opportunity to visit the Smart Home a few weeks ago, and our recommendation is simple: If you haven't been, go right now.

History buffs, Devil In The White City fans, and those in search of an atypical Sunday date, you can now take a virtual tour of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition at the only remaining pavilion, The Museum of Science and Industry. The 90-minute tour, called "Blueprints to Our Past" is offered on select Sundays throughout the rest of the year, but you must order tickets in advance and groups are limited to twenty. Museum heads put the tour together in part due to the increased public interest thanks to Devil In The White City and worked with Lisa Snyder of the UCLA School of Architecture to recreate the fair based on old maps, blueprints, and photographs. The tour consists of walking in and outside of the museum as well as taking a virtual ride on an "electric-powered" gondola throughout the fair's canals.

Eco-friendly advancements are being made in building design and construction—think sustainable materials, efficiency of resources, and energy-reducing wiring and appliances. If this topic interests you, the new Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit, opening tomorrow at the Museum of Science and Industry, is a neat opportunity to learn more about green buildings.

Oh my god, nerdgasm. The MSI is planning a 40-foot artificial tornado that visitors can stand in. Dibs! Those bad boys don't come cheap, though. The Museum announced its plan for the 'nado as part of its $205 million fund-raising effort. So far, the MSI has raised $128 million, according to its press release.

Our lame science fair projects always consisted of withered lima bean plants gasping for water, so that’s probably why we were never chosen to exhibit at the city's Chicago Public Schools Student Science Fair, currently running now through Sunday at the Museum of Science and Industry. Elementary and High School students will be competing in sixteen specialized categories such as Botany, Chemistry, Electronics, Environmental Science, Mathematics, and Physics.

This Thursday, The Glass Experience opens at the Museum of Science and Industry. We are super excited to see work by artisans like Dale Chihuly and Tiffany, among others, and maybe Benjy can go pant at the pieces by Frank Lloyd Wright. Glass pieces from renowned schools and studios from around the world will also be on display.

We loved the Museum of Science and Industry even prior to having our kid (the submarine! the Omnimax! Clarence Darrow’s ghost!), but MSI’s "Idea Factory" is, arguably, the best kid-centered exhibit in Chicago. Since the museum has closed this exhibit for repairs until the end of March, we wondered how toddler-friendly the rest of the museum would be. In short, not much.