How to Get to the Museum of Science and Industry

The Museum of Science and Industry has a new name. Since 2024 it's officially the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, or Griffin MSI, and its website is now griffinmsi.org. It isn't on the Museum Campus with the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. It's about seven miles south of the Loop in Hyde Park, at 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr., right by the lake. No L line goes there, but you have three good ways to get there from downtown.

It's worth the trip. Adult general admission is $25.95, and you'll want most of a day for the U-505 submarine and the Coal Mine. Our museums guide has the prices, and five best exhibits will help you plan.

Metra Electric is the fastest way

The Metra Electric Line leaves from Millennium Station, below Randolph Street at Michigan Avenue, at the north end of Millennium Park. It also stops at Van Buren Street and at Museum Campus/11th Street on the way south. Get off at 55th-56th-57th Street. Most trains take about 15 minutes from Millennium Station, according to Metra's published schedule. From the station, turn left and walk two blocks to the museum's north entrance.

Buy your ticket in the Ventra app or at the station before you board, since buying on the train can cost extra. If you're also riding the CTA that day, the Ventra app sells a Regional Day Pass that covers CTA, Metra and Pace together. Trains run less often on weekends, so check the schedule. If you need step-free access, look at Metra's alerts for Millennium Station too. Van Buren Street and Museum Campus/11th Street are the fallbacks when its elevator is out.

The South Shore Line, which runs to northwest Indiana, stops at 57th Street too, so it works if you're coming from that direction. See transportation for more on Metra and the South Shore.

CTA buses

Three CTA bus routes will get you there, and the regular $2.25 bus fare or a CTA pass covers all of them (CTA fares).

• #10 Obama Presidential Center/Museum of Science & Industry Express. This is the easy one from the Magnificent Mile. It starts at Michigan and Chestnut, runs down Michigan Avenue and State Street, stops at the Museum Campus, then runs express to the museum's front door. It only runs during the day, roughly 8:45am to 5:15pm southbound and until about 6pm back north, so check the schedule. The Obama Presidential Center, which opened in Jackson Park on June 19, 2026, is on the same route.
• #6 Jackson Park Express. It heads south on State Street through the Loop and north on Michigan Avenue, makes no stops between the Museum Campus and 47th Street, and runs from early morning until after midnight, every day. Get off at 56th Street and Hyde Park Boulevard, one block north of the museum.
• #2 Hyde Park Express. It stops at 57th Street and Stony Island Avenue, a block west of the museum, but it runs only during weekday rush hours.

If you're already on the Red or Green Line south of the Loop, the museum suggests riding to Garfield and changing to the eastbound #55 Garfield bus.

By bike

On a nice day, ride the Lakefront Trail. It's about seven miles from the Loop, and the museum sits just across DuSable Lake Shore Drive from the trail. At 57th Street, take the underpass below the Drive, then bear left through the underpass below 57th Street, and the main entrance is ahead on your right. There are bike racks on both sides of it. A Divvy day pass is $19.90 and covers unlimited three-hour rides on classic bikes.

Driving and parking

The museum is right beside DuSable Lake Shore Drive at 57th Street, so it's a straight drive south from downtown. Its underground garage is the only museum-owned parking, and you enter at East 57th Street and South Cornell Avenue. Parking costs $22 per car for ticketed visitors, and you scan your admission ticket for that rate. The garage opens at 8am and closes an hour after the museum does. Most sections have a 6'6" height limit, so oversized vans should use the Blue (D) section. The metered lots east and south of the building on Columbia Drive belong to the city, not the museum.

If you're planning lunch in the neighborhood, see where to eat near the Museum of Science and Industry. The DuSable Black History Museum is close enough to combine with it on the same day.

Photo by Casino Jones