How long do you need to see the best exhibits at the Museum of Science & Industry?

Question

I am in Chicago and I have about 16 hours available.. also need to see the Field Museum, planetarium, Hancock Observatory, and Chinatown..

Answer 1

Wow... sixteen hours isn't much. I would budget 3-4 hours for S&I, 3 hours for Field, 2 hours for the Planetarium, and try to fit in a couple of hours at the Art Institute.

Personally, despite my love of astronomy, I would skip the Planetarium to see the Art Institute if necessary. You have a chance to see Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte....truly a remarkable masterpiece when you see it in person. Make good use of the museum maps, so you can see your areas of interest in your limited time.... theses places are huge.

Answer 2

Field Museum and Planeterium are close together (along with the Shed Aquarium) Museum of Science and Industry is about 6 miles south of there, while the Hancock Observatory is a couple miles north. Chinatown is a couple miles southwest.

The museums are open around 9:30-5. (MSI closes at 4 on weekdays) The Hancock observatory opens earlier and stays open later. (However, you can also stop by the signature room restaurant in the building and get a similar view.) Chinatown is a nieghborhood and open at all times - there are a number of bakeries for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner restaurants.
Trying to get three museums in 7 hours could be suicide.
That being said, to best see the MSI, go when it opens. It tends to be pretty empty early in the day - especially on weekdays. The museum is pretty big, and well take a while to walk through, so make a plan before you go there so you don't find yourself circling around. Exhibits like the coal mine can get very long lines, so make sure you check those out first. You could probably see the best exhibits (not including omnimax) in a couple hours if you run through it. If you actually want to spend some time at every one, you will need at least half a day. You should also check out some of the smaller exhibits. (I really like watching the old silent films in the little theater.)

Answer 3

Well, let's say that you're starting point is in the center of Chicago downtown. If you take the Jeffery Express bus, it will take you about 30-45 minutes to get to the Museum of Science and Industry. Let's say you spend two hours there. Then there's another 30-45 minutes to get back downtown. Now you can get off the Jeffery bus on Michigan ave and either walk or take a bus to the Field Museum (the bus might take about 10 minutes, and depending on where you walk from, 15-20 minutes). Let's say you spend about two hours at the Field museum. From the field museum, you walk over to the Planetarium (you don't need to take a bus it's so close. it's a small place so you only need to spend one hour there. Then you take a No. 12 bus from the Planitarium back downtown to Roosevelt. Go underground and take the Red Line train one stop south to Cermak. (about 10-20 minutes). You're at Chinatown. Walk down the train platform and spend about and hour and a half there (not too much to see but some interesting shops... maybe you can even have dinner/lunch). Go back to the Red line and take it north to the Chicago stop (20 minutes). Get off the train and walk up to the street level. walk three blocks east to Michigan Ave and 2 1/2 blocks north to the Hancock building. Skip the observatory. Walk to the South side of the building and take the elevator to the Signature Room (it's marked). There is a restaurant and bar up there. You can buy a drink (or soft drink) and see the same view as you would on the observatory deck but in much more relaxing surroundings (a guy playing the piano, plush leather chairs, people snacking on little plates of munchies and no whiny little kids). And it's FREE (well, you do sort of have to buy a drink or something).

That should take up less than your 16 hours so you can relax as long as you want.

Answer 4

You will not benefit from a 16 hr. marathon. The museums and planetarium stop entry at 4 pm. They close at 5pm. Spend the day at Museum of S&I, have a snack in Chinatown, drive north on Lake Shore Drive to Navy Pier for a Ferris wheel ride then go to Millennium Park, then Hancock Observatory....save $$ by going to the bar or enjoy the sights of where you were by having dinner in the Signature Room atop the Hancock.

The Adler Planetarium has many exhibits and shows but closes Daily 9:30a-4:30p; open until 10p on 1st Fri of each month; open until 6p during summer. If you're here on Oct 6th you're in luck!

Answer 5

I agree with other response, skip the planetarium - and I love Chinatown, but it's really not worth it. Museum of Science & Industry=3 hours / Field Museum=3 hours/ Hancock = 1 hour, but for a truly awesome experience, stop on 96th floor for a drink at the Signature Room, so add an extra hour to relax and soak in the view / Art Institute = 2 hours and then worry about the rest....oh, go to www.chicagotrolley.com, they have a great map with all top spots in Chicago highlighted

Answer 6

You'll need a few hours at each museum you decide to visit.

At MSI, the renovated U-505 is the best thing, and you could easily spend 2 hours seeing that exhibit alone, if you watch all the video installations and actually read the interpretives; there's also games to play and an on-board tour (which costs extra).

I, too, would skip the Planetarium (especially now that Pluto isn't a planet & all their exhibits are officially obsolete) to free up more time for other things.

Chinatown is a great place to spend a hour wandering around. When you go, be sure to eat at Lao Sze Chuan (2172 S. Archer Ave.), by far the best Chinese food in town. http://www.laoszechuan.com/