Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, located in Hyde Park, occupies one of the most historically significant buildings in Chicago. Designed by architect Charles Atwood for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the building originally served as the Palace of Fine Arts, showcasing painting and sculpture from around the world to millions of fair visitors. When the exposition closed, most of its structures were dismantled or lost to fire. This building survived, and today it stands as the only remaining structure from the Columbian Exposition still on its original site.

That legacy of wonder continues inside the building, though the focus has shifted from fine art to include science and technology. Griffin MSI is home to U-505, a German submarine captured during World War II and now displayed in an underground exhibit hall built specifically to house it. Visitors can also descend into a full-scale recreation of an Illinois coal mine, the museum’s first exhibition from 1933, offering a hands-on look at mining history and technology. Science Storms brings the building's scale to a different kind of spectacle, using large-scale phenomena like a 40-foot tornado to explore the physics of the natural world.

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry blends 19th century architectural grandeur with modern scientific storytelling. During Chicago Exhibition Week, visitors have the chance to explore a building that has hosted world's fairs, war memorials and scientific breakthroughs, all under one roof, all in one Chicago landmark.