Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago: How to Visit and What to Do Nearby

The Museum of Science and Industry occupies the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago's Jackson Park, the only surviving building from the fair. The museum's collection of over 35,000 artifacts includes a captured German U-505 submarine—one of only four U-boats on display worldwide—which visitors can tour below deck. A full-scale replica coal mine descends beneath the museum, and the 1,200-square-foot model railroad layout reproduces a route from Seattle to Chicago. The museum draws roughly 1.5 million visitors annually. is just one of many options in Chicago. Major attractions worth considering include 360 Chicago Observation Deck (Formerly John Hancock Observatory), Adler Planetarium, and Chicago River.