Public Transit - Museum of Science and Industry

MSI can be easily reached by the Metra Electric Line (which serves downtown Chicago by Grant Park and south Chicago and southern suburbs) and by the South Shore Line trains (from Indiana), or by several bus lines.

By Train

From downtown Chicago or south Chicago and suburban stops to the south, you can take the Metra Electric Line. From downtown, you can get on at Millenium Station under Millenium Park, or two stops in Grant Park, including 11th Street/Museum Campus which is near the museum campus (Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium). You'll take that south to the 55th/56th/57th Street station. Exit the station and take a left onto 57th St, then walk two blocks straight ahead. The museum will be straight ahead on the right side of the street. You'll walk past the car entrance to the parking garage, past a grand entrance on your right, and straight ahead until you see a low building marked Entrance which will take you down to the entrance lobby.

From Indiana, including Gary, Michigan City, and South Bend, you can take the South Shore Line towards Chicago. The South Shore Line also leaves Chicago, but by agreement with Metra, the line is not allowed to carry passengers from downtown to the 57th street station. Take the South Shore Line to the 57th Street station, taking a left after you exit to walk two blocks east on 57th street. The museum will be straight ahead on the right side of the street. You'll walk past the car entrance to the parking garage, past a grand entrance on your right, and straight ahead until you see a low building marked Entrance which will take you down to the entrance lobby.

By Bus

Three main buses can get you to MSI, the #2 (weekdays during morning and evening rush hour), #10 (which runs daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day) and #6 (which runs every day).

The #2 bus is on Michigan Avenue in the Loop, and runs up to Navy Pier. It runs only on weekdays and only during rush hour, leaving Navy Pier from around 7am-9am, and leaving MSI from around 4pm to around 6pm. The closest stop is at 57th Street and Stony Island, one block west of the museum. Walk east on 57th Street and continue going straight ahead, past the entrance to the parking garage and the start of the museum, until you reach a low building marked Entrance.

The #10 bus stops along Michigan Avenue north of the river between Chicago Avenue and Wacker, then on State Street in the Loop. It runs south from roughly 9am-4pm and north from 10am-6pm, including weekends, but only operates between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The bus will drop you directly at the entrance for the museum.

The #6 bus runs every day, from roughly 5am until midnight. It starts at Columbus and Wacker, goes South on State Street, and stops at 11th and Columbus (by the museum campus), before heading towards MSI. The closest stop is at 56th Street and Hyde Park, one block north of the museum. From there you can see the museum, walk south on Hyde Park and continue following Hyde Park onto museum property, where it becomes the bus/taxi loop which leads you directly to the small entrance building.