Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (formerly Museum of Science and Industry)
MSI in Hyde Park — a real U-boat, a coal mine, and the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere — with ticket and timing advice.
Photo: George Bakos / Unsplash
- ✓Officially renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in 2024 after a $125M gift — most locals still call it MSI, and the museum still uses "MSI" in its own branding.
- ✓Houses U-505, a genuine captured WWII German submarine, in a purpose-built underground gallery — the museum's signature exhibit.
- ✓One of the largest science museums in the Western Hemisphere, with hands-on exhibits spanning aviation, a working coal mine walkthrough, and the human body.
- ✓Located in Hyde Park, not downtown — budget separate transit time from Museum Campus rather than treating them as a single day.
- ✓A strong rainy-day and with-kids pick given the museum's scale and the sheer number of interactive exhibits under one roof.
- ✓Ticket tiers vary by exhibit — the submarine tour and some special exhibits often carry their own add-on cost, so verify current pricing.
U-505, and the scale of the building
The museum was officially renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in May 2024 following a $125 million donation from financier Ken Griffin, and new signage is up — but the "MSI" shorthand still holds, both in the museum's own branding and in how nearly everyone in the city refers to it. MSI's signature draw is U-505, a genuine German U-boat captured intact during World War II and now displayed in a purpose-built underground gallery designed specifically around the submarine's dimensions. Touring the interior — narrow, mechanical, genuinely claustrophobic — is one of the more visceral museum experiences in the city, and it's worth booking as close to arrival as you can manage since tour slots run on a schedule and can fill up.
Beyond the submarine, the museum's scale is the point: a walkthrough coal mine built to convey actual mining conditions, a full-size airplane hangar, and rotating hands-on exhibits that skew toward genuinely large-format, immersive builds rather than small display cases. It's the kind of museum where a family with a full day can still not see everything, which is either a selling point or a planning challenge depending on how much time you actually have.
Getting there, and budgeting the visit
MSI sits in Hyde Park, several miles south of the Loop and Museum Campus, which makes it a genuinely separate trip rather than a same-day add-on to a downtown museum day — build in real transit time rather than assuming it's a short hop. General admission covers most of the permanent exhibits, but the U-505 tour and some traveling exhibitions typically carry their own tickets, so check current pricing tiers before you arrive to avoid an unplanned upsell at the door.
Given the museum's size, a rainy or brutally cold day is actually a good time to visit — there's enough indoors to fill several hours without ever stepping back outside, which makes MSI one of the more reliable weather-contingency picks in the city alongside the Chicago Cultural Center and the Museum Campus trio.
- Book the U-505 submarine tour early in your visit — timed slots can fill up.
- Hyde Park is a separate trip from downtown — budget transit time accordingly.
- A strong rainy-day or deep-winter pick given how much of the museum is indoors and hands-on.
Hyde Park, Chicago
The University of Chicago's home turf — Gothic quads, Robie House, and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry on the lakefront. Best for architecture, museums, a campus visit.
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Chicago With Kids: Things to Do
Museum Campus, Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier, and MSI's real submarine — a family-tested shortlist, cross-linked to the with-kids itinerary.
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