Initially endowed by Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and supported by the Commercial Club of Chicago, it opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition.

Among the museum's most notable exhibits are a full-size replica coal mine, German submarine U-505 submarine captured during World War II, a United Airlines Boeing 727, the Pioneer Zephyr (the first streamlined diesel-powered passenger train in the US); the command module of the Apollo 8 spacecraft, and a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) model railroad.

The building which now houses the Museum was constructed as the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and designed by Charles B. Atwood for D. H. Burnham & Company.

When the Field Museum moved to a new building five miles north in the Near South Side in 1920, the palace was left vacant.

MSI's Board of Directors selected Waldemar Kaempffert, then the science editor of The New York Times, because he shared Rosenwald's vision.

Kaempffert was instrumental in developing close ties with the science departments of the University of Chicago, which supplied much of the scholarship for the exhibits.

For the first 5 decades of its operation, general admission to the MSI was free, although certain exhibits (such as the Coal Mine and U-505) required small fees.

However, president and chief executive officer David Mosena said the formal name change could take some time, due to the complexity of the process.

He also said part of the gift will go into funding "a state-of-the-art digital gallery and performance space that will be the only experience of its kind in North America.

The train was previously displayed outdoors, before being relocated indoors during the construction of the museum's underground parking lot in the 1990s.

The U-505 exhibit was dedicated as a permanent war memorial by the museum in 1954, and the submarine was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Starting in 2004, the U-boat was newly restored and moved into its current indoor exhibit, which opened as The New U-505 Experience on June 5, 2005.

The Space Center includes the Apollo 8 command module, which flew the first human beings around the Moon; the Mercury-Atlas 7 capsule which flew the second American to orbit the Earth; a NASA lunar module trainer used to test procedures for the Apollo lunar landings, and a SpaceX Dragon 1 cargo spacecraft.

The west wing of the museum's lower level includes two transportation exhibits, one displaying models of "Ships Through the Ages" and the other a collection of historic racing cars.

[23] There are multiple exhibits on the Lower Level aimed at younger children, including the Swiss Jollyball, a kinetic art piece built by a British man from Switzerland using nothing but salvaged junk which showcases a metal ball moving on a track (described by the museum as a "pinball machine", for which it holds a Guinness World Record as the largest);[24] the Idea Factory, a toddler water table play area; and the Eye Spy gallery, a hallway with humorous tableaus behind windows.

999, known as the Empire State Express, which is alleged by some sources to have been the first steam locomotive in the world to exceed 100 miles per hour (160km/h).

The first level of the Transportation Gallery also includes a replica of Stephenson's Rocket, which was the first steam locomotive to exceed 25 miles per hour; as well as several carriages and cars showcasing historic and modern road vehicles.

The second level of the Transportation Gallery consists of the Take Flight exhibit, which features the first Boeing 727 jet plane in commercial service, donated by United Airlines, with one wing removed and holes cut on the fuselage to facilitate visitor access.

Opened in March 2010, Science Storms is a permanent multi-level exhibit which occupies the Allstate Court on the west side of the museum.

On the First Level it features a 40-foot (12-meter) water vapor tornado vortex, a rotating sand avalanche disk, a Foucault pendulum suspended from the ceiling, a tsunami wave tank, tethered hot air balloons, a heliostat system with solar panel-powered cars, and a section about light and color; on the Second Level it features a Tesla coil mounted to the ceiling which fires approximately every 30 minutes, a Wimshurst machine built by James Wimshurst in the late 19th century, a giant Newton's cradle, and sections on fire, chemistry, and magnetism.

Its first and current presentation is entitled Notes to Neurons, and examines how music interacts with the human mind and body.

A week after emerging from their shells, the chicks are sent to the Lincoln Park Zoo to be fed to various animals, including lions, crocodiles, snakes, vultures, owls and tigers.

Included are: Unlike the other shops, the Nickelodeon Cinema can be entered and is functional, and plays silent films throughout the day.

On display hanging above the Coal Mine exhibit is the Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship, nicknamed "Texaco 13", an airplane which set many world records in flying.

Fast Forward... Inventing the Future, an exhibit about "cutting-edge" technologies such as hydroponics, space manufacturing and telerobotics, closed in 2022 to make way for the Griffin Studio and Notes to Neurons.

[46] It was intended as a "rotating gallery", with sections being changed throughout its run at the museum to reflect new technological developments.

The Spaceport, an exhibit about the fantasy and reality of space exploration with uniforms from Star Trek and models of spacecraft on display, also closed in 2022 to make way for The Blue Paradox.

A week after emerging from their shells, the chicks are sent to the Lincoln Park Zoo to be fed to various animals, including lions, crocodiles, snakes, vultures, owls and tigers.