I had not been to the museum since I was 12 years old and decided to stop back on a recent trip. I found that I still had a really good time there and would love to go back with kids. I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews because there is so much to see and do there. We went during the week which meant that there was barely anyone there. Some things are under construction but I still left feeling I had learned new things.

Under no circumstances should you go to this museum any time around Christmas. We went planning to see the Christmas tree exhibit and to leisurly explore the museum....this did not happen. There were 6,000 screaming children running around EVERYWHERE. This is not an exaggeration, a security guard told us that they had over 6,000 children in the museum that day. This prohibitted us from being able to even remotely enjoy the museum. It's also quite far away from the heart of downtown Chicago and not worth the trip. The museum itself is probably nice, if you can go there when there won't be school field trips running around everywhere.

WOW!! This place is HUGE!! As much as I love to learn new things this place isn't some place I would normally go. I took my boyfriend here for his birthday & he just loved it. This is not some small town so YES, parking was expensive but this is Chicago, what did you expect?? Parking cost $18 when I went this November, which that was the price at all parking lots. Look at it this way pay that much or take the chances of parking on the street & walking.

Our #1 reason for giong to the musuem was to see the U-505 Submarine which cost an extra $5. This is the only German submarine in the United States which is history. I thought it was worth it even though you couldn't take pictures inside the Submarine. On the floor around the Submarine was artifacts, stories & guides to answer any of your questions.

I would have liked to go into the Smart House but we didn't have enough time. It took the 2 of us about 4 hours to walk through & look at everything. I don't think I'll be going back here for a long time unless they update or change exhibits but it was fun for a first time visit.

Excellent: German submarine; most of the guides/staff

Good: coal mine; Silver Streak train; aluminium house of future;huge train set

Poor: low quality food at Brain Food cafe; some surly staff

Lots to see, and museum is not open for a full day.

Not worth making a special trip unless you have real interest in technology/industry/transport, but my partner (who has) enjoyed it.