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copperbadge · 2 months

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Howdy! Have you ever been to see the Apollo 8 command module at the Museum of Science and Industry in your fair city? My only real "bucket list" things are to see all the Apollo CMs as I am a Space Nerd.

I have! I mean, I didn't go to the MSI specifically to see the command module, but I have seen it while at the MSI. It's kind of off in this weird little "Hey, space is awesome!" section of the museum, which didn't have much impact on me but probably would be super fun for someone who's more into space! (I like space and such, I just don't have an emotional stake in it.)

And the MSI is a lot of fun so even if you plan to spend some serious time basking in the glory of space, there's a lot else to see. Don't miss the Fairy Castle, the Hatching Chicks, and the Whole Ass Entire Wing About The Weather.

I'm of two minds about whether to also recommend to you the Adler Planetarium; on the one hand there's a lot of Space Stuff to see, including a tiny little antique planetarium ride that's very fun, but on the other hand if you're seriously into space it might feel a little lightweight. It's a nice place to spend an hour or two but not a whole-day visit the way the MSI would be.

In any case I hope you get out here to see it! I like to have a "mission" when I go to a strange city, but in part that's because it makes a nice framework for seeing the rest of the city -- like I'm there for XYZ, but I'll do some touristing and any other fun I have will be a bonus!

Pro tip: Whatever anyone tells you DO NOT TAKE THE METRA TRAIN TO THE MSI. Take the bus, take a cab, DO NOT take the Metra. It's a commuter rail, it's highly unpredictable, and they often don't announce the names of the stops so it's very hard to navigate as a tourist. Take the Jackson Park Express (#6) and play Weird Al's song Jackson Park Express (about the #6)...or use Google to plan a route if the 6 doesn't pick up near where you're staying. But do not take the Metra. It will only cause you pain.

(If you can handle a little walk, do go to Medici's for a meal after the museum, they're great.)

#chicago #museum of science and industry #apollo 8

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myothertardisisonthemun · 1 month

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pioneerzephyr · 10 months

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Informational booklet from the Museum of Science and Industry's 1984 50th Anniversary of the Pioneer Zephyr event A Celebration of Railroading.

"The Pioneer Zephyr in Detail" was a four-page centerfold that folded out from the "Zephyr Trivia" pages.

#pioneer zephyr #museum of science and industry #50th anniversary presskit #art deco #trains

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littlewestern · 6 months

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Images from the 1954 moving of the U-505 submarine to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

From the MSI website:

The U-505 arrived in Chicago on June 26, 1954, only to face another major hurdle: an 800-foot overland trip from Lake Michigan to the Museum. The task required extensive planning to cross Lake Shore Drive (now DuSable Lake Shore Drive) without destroying the pavement and tying up traffic. Engineers designed an elaborate rail and roller system to move the heavy sub out of the water and over the land. The city closed Lake Shore Drive the night of September 2, 1954 to allow the sub to cross. It took another week for the sub to complete its journey from the road to the Museum.

#msi #chicago #museum of science and industry #u-505 #chicago history #vehicles with signs #woodlawn tap apparently owns this and the 727 crossing sign. obviously i need to go see them with the immediacy

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frances-baby-houseman · 6 months

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I did not like this mirror maze but I did like my lewk so here we are.

(For réal I hated it i clung to the wall and my sil ended up helping me out.)

#denim on denim #museum of science and industry #nasa bag by baggu #my new haircut has released my entire style I believe #I’m a new woman

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urbanchicagoan · 1 year

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The Museum of Science and Industry on a snowy Saturday morning (2/25/2023)

#illinois #chicago #hyde park #hydepark #museums #museum of science and industry #snowy landscape

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porterdavis · 11 months

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U-505 a German WW2 Type IXC submarine making its way through Milwaukee in July 1954. This submarine was captured on June 4 1944 and is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. - 414 Milwaukee Mil Town

U-505 World War II German Untersee boot (U-boat) was the first foreign warship to be captured on the high seas by the United States Navy since 1815. A permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry since 1954. - Milwaukee Waterways

The submarine was displayed in Milwaukee (a city with a large German population) in 1954 on its way to its permanent home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

I spent a wide-eyed half hour aboard her during an elementary school field trip soon after it arrived. As I remember it seemed tiny inside, this despite the fact I was probably four feet tall at the time.

Photo - Milwaukee Journal

#u-505 #museum of science and industry

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p033umfac3 · 2 years

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the museum of science and industry.

📌 [Chicago, IL.]

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dber99 · 15 days

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It's Sunny Sunday

#japanese garden #museum of science and industry #photographyislife #sundaymorning #wanderlust

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copperbadge · 11 months

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The Mold-A-Rama is pretty specific to the midwest -- it’s not something I ever encountered until I moved to Chicago. The machines, which date from the 1960s, really look it. When you put $5 in (or swipe your credit card), it starts to rumble, and two huge metal plates slide together under the dome. For about thirty seconds, plastic is injected into the mold, the surface is cooled, and then compressed air blows the excess out, leaving a plastic shell in the shape of whatever the mold was, all of it hidden within the mold’s depths.

Then the mold separates, revealing your toy, and a scraper shoves it into a receptacle where you can pick it up, still hot from the mold, and hold it up to your nose to inhale the particular nostalgic smell of molten plastic. (There’s a great article about the history of the machines here.)

There aren’t many left, but the cool thing about the Mold-a-Rama is that you can pop the mold plates out and replace them. There’s a store on the north side that owns one and has modern independent artists create sculptures for the molds every so often. You can get ones from the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit that are shaped like the Wienermobile or the car JFK was assassinated in.

The MSI has nine machines, and they used to be scattered around the museum, but they’ve moved four of them into one of the exhibit spaces along with various Mold-a-Rama related displays displays. It’s not as in-depth as I would like; it’s in the “let the younger kids run around and wear themselves out” section of the museum, so it’s designed for littler kids who can sweet-talk their parents into dropping $5 on a plastic toy. Still, it was cool to see the machines I hadn’t seen, and the displays were very neat. Not worth making a trek to Chicago for, but if you’re already going to the MSI, it’s definitely not something to skip.

[ID: Four images; top, a Mold-A-Rama machine, which looks like a computer from an old scifi film. It has a sixties-style sign reading Mold-A-Rama, a large glass dome covering most of the machinery parts, and a squat, square body hiding the interior machinery. Below that, three photos of exhibit cases; one shows a sculpture of a carousel horse and two examples of the plastic figurine that is eventually produced from it, sandwiched between the open plates of the horse’s mold. The other shows a square plastic building mimicking the appearance of a large dollhouse, the Fairy Castle stashed elsewhere in the MSI. The last image shows a large glass display case full of dozens of plastic figurines, including animals, fantastical creatures, historical figures, various vehicles, and landmarks, among other things.]

#chicago #msi #museum of science and industry #mold-a-rama

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urbs-in-horto · 4 months

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