Next month, there will be fifteen Illinois Free Days at the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. On Illinois Free Days, Museum Entry (general admission) tickets are free for all Illinois residents who show valid proof of residence such as a driver’s license or state identification card. No further Chicago residence discounts apply on Illinois Free Days. [Yesterday, I wrote about thirty-three other institutions across Illinois that are participating in Smithsonian Magazine’s 2019 Museum Day®, and thus one need only download a Museum Day® ticket to get free general admission for two on Saturday, September 21, 2019.] In September of 2019, the Illinois Free Days are the 3rd through the 5th, the 9th through the 12th, the 16th through the 19th, and the 23rd through the 26th. The people who benefit the most from these free days will be families with children too young to be in school, home-schooling families, and adults who are retired, semi-retired, self-employed, or with open schedules. This schedule is subject to change.
SEPTEMBER, 2019 ILLINOIS FREE DAY SCHEDULE
Month | Dates |
1st Week of September | Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 Thursday, September 5, 2019 |
2nd Week of September |
Monday, September 9, 2019 Tuesday, September 10, 2019 Wednesday, September 11, 2019 Thursday, September 12, 2019 |
3rd Week of September |
Monday, September 16, 2019 Tuesday, September 17, 2019 Wednesday, September 18, 2019 Thursday, September 19, 2019 |
4th Week of September |
Monday, September 23, 2019 Tuesday, September 24, 2019 Wednesday, September 25, 2019 Thursday, September 26, 2019 |
On Illinois Free Days, Museum Entry (general admission) tickets are free for adults and children alike; Giant Dome Theater movie tickets, Wired to Wear, Makers United, Coal Mine tour tickets, Fab Lab workshop tickets, WOW! Tour tickets, and Future Energy Chicago tickets are $12 each for adults and $9 each for children (ages three-to-eleven); and U-505 Onboard Tour tickets are $18 each for adults and $14 each for children (ages three-to-eleven). This is limited to six children under eighteen, per one adult.

Figure 1 Credit: J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry Caption: This is the Museum of Science and Industry and Columbia Basin, as seen on May 7, 2018.
Regular hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) resumed. The Museum of Science and Industry regularly makes small adjustments to this schedule, so when planning a trip there, check this Webpage and the M.S.I.’s social media for updates.
EXTENDED HOURS AND EXCEPTIONS
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Saturday, August 31, 2019 |
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Sunday, September 1, 2019
Monday, September 2, 2019 |
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Sunday, September 29, 2019 |
9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Saturday, October 5, 2019 |
Closed | Thursday, November 28, 2019
(Thanksgiving Day) |
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Friday, November 29, 2019
Saturday, November 30, 2019 Sunday, December 1, 2019 Saturday, December 7, 2019 Sunday, December 8, 2019 Saturday, December 14, 2019 Sunday, December 15, 2019 Saturday, December 21, 2019 Sunday, December 22, 2019 Monday, December 23, 2019 |
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Tuesday, December 24, 2019 (Christmas Eve)
Tuesday, December 31, 2019 (New Year’s Eve) |
Closed | Wednesday, December 25, 2019
(Christmas Day) |
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Thursday, December 26, 2019
Friday, December 27, 2019 Saturday, December 28, 2019 Sunday, December 29, 2019 Monday, December 30, 2019 |
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Wednesday, January 1, 2020
(New Year’s Day) |
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Thursday, January 2, 2020
Friday, January 3, 2020 |
Often stylized as the “Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago” or the “Museum of Science + Industry” the institution is located at the northern end of the Chicago Park District’s Jackson Park, on the south side of 57th Street, between Lake Shore Drive to the east and Cornell Drive to the west, in the East Hyde Park neighborhood of the Hyde Park Community Area (Community Area #41) on the South Side of Chicago. The address is 5700 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60637. Founded by Sears, Roebuck & Company President Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) in 1926, through The Commercial Club of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry opened in three stages between 1933 and 1940. It occupies the Palace of Fine Arts from Chicago’s first World’s Fair, the World’s Columbian Exposition (1893). The M.S.I. is open every day of the year with two exceptions: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. On most days, it is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but during peak periods it is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Website is https://www.msichicago.org/ and the phone number is (773) 684-1414.
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