The largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere, housed in the 1893 Palace of Fine Arts — the only surviving building from the World's Columbian Exposition, restored for permanent use in the 1930s. The MSI attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year and has exhibits ranging from a full-scale German submarine (U-505, captured in 1944 and shipped to Chicago) to a working coal mine, a simulated tornado, and the most complete human body exhibit in North America.
The scale of both the building and the collection can be overwhelming; most visitors spend four to five hours. The U-505 exhibit, which requires a separate ticket, is the most historically significant single item in Chicago outside the Art Institute. Jackson Park at 57th Street; L Green Line to 55th-56th-57th Streets.