Griffin Museum of Science and Industry review: is it worth a full day?

The short answer: Griffin was our favorite Chicago attraction

We gave Griffin 9 out of 10, the highest score of our Chicago trip. The reason was range. In one visit we moved from a human-made tornado to a World War II submarine, a detailed model of Chicago, a full-size passenger jet, and movie history. The museum feels built around seeing how things work rather than only reading what happened.

It was also busy. A school field trip was visiting, popular rooms stayed active, and the submarine tour had a line. None of that ruined the day, but it was the one consistent drawback and the reason the museum stopped at 9 instead of 10.

Getting there: we used an Uber—and would do that again

Griffin sits at 5700 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, well south of the downtown attractions we had grouped around the Magnificent Mile. We used an Uber, which kept the morning simple and let us focus on arriving at opening instead of building the day around a new transit route.

This is not the museum to squeeze between two downtown reservations. Give it its own block of time, allow for the ride in both directions, and avoid scheduling the next admission so tightly that one interesting gallery becomes a problem. We left around 2 p.m., but the museum had enough remaining material to support a longer visit.

Science Storms: the 40-foot tornado was the coolest room

The tornado in Science Storms was the permanent exhibit that stood out most. Instead of explaining severe weather with a diagram, the museum creates a 40-foot vortex visitors can watch from several levels and influence with controls. It is large enough to change the feel of the room and immediate enough that children and adults understand the idea before reading a label.

Science Storms covers seven natural phenomena, but the tornado was the moment we kept talking about. It captures what Griffin does best: take something enormous or abstract, put it at human scale, then let the visitor interact with it.

U-505 is worth seeing even if you never board it

The U-505 submarine is the museum's most dramatic object. The captured German U-boat sits in its own cavernous gallery, surrounded by elevated walkways that reveal its scale from bow to conning tower. We did not need to step inside for the display to feel impressive.

We skipped the optional onboard tour because it had a line. That means this is not a personal review of the interior tour. What I can recommend firsthand is the main exhibit: seeing an actual submarine indoors, walking alongside its hull, and understanding how little space separated the crew from the surrounding ocean was already memorable.

U-505 was captured on June 4, 1944, and is the only Type IX-C U-boat still in existence. It was dedicated at the museum in 1954 and is now a National Historic Landmark, so the room carries historical weight beyond the spectacle of its size.

What is inside U-505—and is the onboard tour worth adding?

Because we did not take the tour, the interior details here come from Griffin's official tour information and museum imagery, not our firsthand experience. The approximately 25-minute guided experience uses lighting and sound while moving through the submarine's cramped quarters. The forward torpedo room places bunks beside a torpedo; other narrow areas are packed with machinery, gauges, valves, pipes, and controls. It looks claustrophobic in exactly the way that helps explain life aboard the vessel.

The onboard tour requires a separate timed ticket. As of August 17, 2026, Griffin lists it at $18 for adults and $14 for children in addition to museum admission. The museum recommends booking ahead, and the tour is not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible. There is also a five-to-ten-minute walk from the beginning of the U-505 exhibit to the tour entrance, so do not arrive at the gallery at the exact ticket time.

I cannot rate an experience I skipped. My planning advice is simpler: reserve it in advance if entering the submarine is a priority. If the line or extra charge does not appeal, the full exterior display still justifies visiting the gallery.

The Great Train Story makes Chicago part of the museum

The room with the Chicago model and train was another highlight. The Great Train Story does not stop at a few loops of track: it follows rail operations between Chicago and Seattle through more than 190 custom-built structures. The model includes recognizable anchors such as the Sears—now Willis—Tower and Seattle's Space Needle.

For a Chicago visitor, the fun is watching the city shrink without losing its identity. Trains move through a dense downtown, industrial areas, and western landscapes while tiny street scenes reward a slower look. Children can follow the trains; adults can appreciate the engineering and amount of work inside the model.

A real Boeing 727 hangs above the model city

The giant airplane I remembered is a real Boeing 727 in the Take Flight exhibition. The aircraft has been restored to its 1960s appearance, and part of its outer skin has been removed so visitors can see mechanical, electronic, and hydraulic systems that a normal passenger would never notice.

Its placement makes the room especially memorable: the full-size jet hangs over the detailed city and model railroad. Looking from a tiny Willis Tower to the underside of an actual airliner in the same view captures the museum's almost playful sense of scale.

Spider-Man was our favorite special exhibition—but it has closed

Marvel's Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing was my favorite part of our July visit. The exhibition combined original artwork and rare comics with movie props, costumes, and life-size figures. Seeing screen-used suits on display made it feel different from a standard comic-book timeline; Griffin's published highlights included suits from The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home, plus the Green Goblin mask from the 2002 film.

It was a separate purchase. I remembered paying about $15, but the museum's archived ticket page lists weekday adult admission at $18 and Friday-through-Sunday or holiday adult admission at $22. Because we visited on a Thursday, $18 is the more reliable historical price than my rough memory.

Most importantly, this was a temporary exhibition and closed August 16, 2026. Do not book Griffin today expecting Spider-Man to be there. I include it because it honestly shaped our 9/10 visit; future visitors should check the current exhibition list for the experience occupying that space now.

The crowds were the only reason it was not 10 out of 10

Griffin was busy even though we arrived at opening. There was a field trip in the building, the popular areas stayed active, and the U-505 onboard tour had enough of a line that we chose not to do it. This was not a situation where crowds prevented us from enjoying the museum; they simply made the day less relaxed than a perfect visit would have been.

The best response is to arrive early and decide which one or two experiences matter most. Go to the likely bottleneck first, use another gallery when a group fills a room, and reserve timed add-ons before the visit. Opening is still the right choice—it gives the day more room even when it cannot make the museum empty.

• Arrive at opening, especially during school-break and field-trip periods
• Reserve U-505 or another timed experience before arrival if it is essential
• Move to a nearby gallery rather than waiting behind a large group
• Keep Griffin as the day's main attraction so crowds do not create schedule pressure

Is Griffin only for kids? No—but families have the natural advantage

Griffin is probably easier to recommend first to a family because so many rooms are physical, interactive, and built around spectacle. A tornado, model trains, aircraft, and a submarine give children obvious points of entry before anyone explains the deeper science or history.

That does not make it a children's museum. We visited as two adults and it became our favorite attraction. U-505 carries serious wartime history, Take Flight exposes real engineering, and the scale of the model railroad rewards anyone interested in how cities and transportation work. Adults who prefer objects, mechanisms, and demonstrations to label-heavy galleries may enjoy Griffin more than a traditional museum.

We did not eat there, so this is not a museum-food review

We left around 2 p.m. and did not order food inside Griffin. The museum currently lists Museum Kitchen among its dining options, but I cannot tell you whether it is good, fast, or worth the price from personal experience.

For a visit that extends through the afternoon, plan a real break. A large hands-on museum can become tiring faster than expected, particularly with children. Check current dining hours before arrival or decide in advance whether you would rather eat after leaving Hyde Park.

How CityPASS worked at Griffin

We visited with the standard Chicago CityPASS. Most of our reservations lived inside the CityPASS app, while Griffin redirected us to the museum's website to complete its reservation. The extra step was still easy and did not create a ticket problem.

Griffin currently asks CityPASS holders to choose a visit date, enter the pass voucher numbers, and select an included qualifying timed experience. Additional paid experiences can be added during that process. The exact list can change, so use the current Griffin reservation page instead of assuming a past special exhibition or tour is included.

The standard pass worked for us because Griffin was already one of the attractions we wanted most. Do not choose it merely to complete a bundle: choose it when at least half a day of science, engineering, transportation, and interactive galleries fits the trip.

A realistic opening-to-2 p.m. plan

Our visit ran from opening until about 2 p.m. That was enough time for a broad, satisfying visit because we kept moving and did not stop for a meal or wait for the U-505 tour. A family, a careful reader, or anyone adding a timed film or tour could remain until closing without stretching the museum.

Use this sequence as a strategy rather than a claim about the route we followed minute by minute. Put the likely line first, protect the personal favorites next, and allow the middle of the day to remain flexible.

Final verdict: give Griffin the time, not just the ticket

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry was worth the ride to Hyde Park and worth making the center of its day. The tornado was the coolest hands-on moment, U-505 was spectacular even from outside, the train and Boeing 727 created a view unlike any other museum room, and Spider-Man gave our particular visit an excellent temporary finale.

I would recommend it to families first, but not only to families. Two adults gave it 9 out of 10 and left because our next plans called—not because the museum had run out of things to see. The crowds kept it from a perfect score; the variety made it the attraction I would be least willing to cut from our Chicago itinerary.