Skydeck Chicago + Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

OverView

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY Come experience these unique and amazing Exhibits:   Explore the power of play with giant Lego built structures and building challenges. Coal Mine - Descend the mine shaft, take a ride on the rails and learn the technology of coal mining. U-505 Submarine - Experience the real U-505, the only German submarine in the United States. Future Energy Chicago - Collaborate in a fast-paced simulation to create a more sustainable city. Genetics and the Baby chick Hatchery - Discover the complex interplay between genes and environmental cues that produce new life. Numbers in Nature:  A Mirror Maze -0 Discover the mathematical patterns that abound in the natural world. Science Storms:  Feel the physics and consider the chemistry of nature phenomena like tornados and avalanches. The Great Train Story:  Travel from Chicago to Seattle in intricate detail on this massive model railroad. YOU! The Experience:  Examine the experience of life itself and the connection between mind, body and spirit. All Aboard the Silver Streak:  Pioneer Zephyr:  Step aboard one of America's first diesel-electric streamlined passenger trains. Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle:  Experience the enchantment of fairy's dream home in Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle. DARPA:  Redefining Possible:  (through Sept. 6):  Meet the agency behind some of our favorite technologies. The Idea Factory:  Young children can splash, stack and spin their way to testing scientific principles. Transportation Gallery:  Explore how humankind has flown, soared, sped and chugged throughout the years. Farm Tech:  Step into a modern farm and explore the innovations that bring food to your table. Fast Forward Inventing the Future:  Immerse yourself in a world of tomorrow's inventions and today's visionaries. Henry Crown Space Center:  Recapture the excitement of the Space Race and learn about the future of space exploration. The Art of the Bicycle:  See the art and function of rarely displayed historic bikes alongside new cutting-edge bicycles. Earth Revealed:  Get an up-close and near "real-time" view of our planet Earth. Materials Science:  Explore the history and future of materials that impact our lives every day. Ships through the Ages:  Follow the store of man's quest to travel the seas with the Museum's collection of model ships. Swiss Jolly Ball:  See the world's largest pinball machine right before your eyes. ToyMaker 3000:  An Adventure in Automation:  This assembly line of robots manufactures fun while assembling custom toy tops before your eyes. Whispering Gallery:  Investigate the reflection and focus of sound by sending the tiniest whisper across the room. Yesterday's Main Street:  Journey back in time and experience America in the early 1900s. The following additional experiences can be purchased at the Museum.  They require an additional timed-entry ticket:  $9 Adult, $7 Child (ages 3-11). Subject to availability.  Brick by Brick Future Energy Chicago Coal Mine  The WOW! Tour U505 Submarine On-board Tour     Skydeck Chicago  At 1,353 feet and 110 stories above the streets of downtown Chicago, The Ledge at Willis Tower's Skydeck will transform any visitor's--or local's for that matter--experience with the Windy City. In January 2009, Willis Tower owners began a major renovation of the beloved Skydeck, which originally opened in 1974, and served as a premier tourist attraction throughout the skyscraper's tenure as the Sears Tower. When ownership changed hands, the fresh blood added a fresh look--and adrenaline rush--to the 103rd floor in the form of retractable glass balconies extending about 4 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River below. Still the 8th tallest building in the world, and the absolute tallest in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower's Skydeck will reward anyone brave enough to step onto its Ledge with unparalleled views of Illinois' enthralling metropolis. Willis Tower, Skydeck, and The Ledge Fast Facts The hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind each week on Skydeck windows served as this inspiration for The Ledge. The Ledge boxes can each bear about 4-1/2 metric tons of weight, and adventurers who trust that statistic enough to prove it can often be found jumping and bounding around the entirely translucent enclosures as Chicago's heavy traffic and infrastructure bustle below. The Ledge’s glass panels weight 1,500 pounds apiece, and each box is comprised of three layers of half-inch thick glass laminated into one seamless unit. In addition to serving 1.3 million tourists per year in its 4.5+ million square feet of space, Willis Tower is home to more than 100 companies, including prominent law, insurance, transportation, and financial services. The Ledge's glass boxes retract into the Skydeck main floor for easy maintenance, probably mostly cleaning off the 974 dead birds that must fly into them every month. The Moonwalk is the most popular dance performed on The Ledge, followed closely by the Running Man. Riverdance clocks in at a distant third. Bringing people who are afraid of heights to The Ledge is not recommended, unless you are mean-spirited or really don't like them. In which case, you should probably just take them here. Willis Tower was known as Sears Tower for decades, until the 30th anniversary of Diff'rent Strokes, at which point it was rightfully renamed.