The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, “Science Storms”

In March 2010, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry opened the single largest interactive exhibit in the museum’s history. Science Storms allows museum patrons to access chemistry and physics through dramatic natural phenomena inside the Museum. To date, the Science Storms Exhibit has been honored with nearly twenty prestigious awards, including a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Themed Entertainment Association and two MUSE awards from the American Association of Museums and has hosted an estimated 100,000 visitors a month.

TWT was part of the core team during the initial selection process for the sixty exhibits that comprise Science Storms. TWT wrote the technical specifications for all the mechanical exhibits, then provided technical management and coordination for the various exhibit fabricators during detailed design, fabrication, installation and commissioning.

Some of the signature exhibits in Science Storms include:

• 20-foot diameter Tesla Coil with no barrier between the discharges and the visitors
• 40-foot tall guest interactive tornado vortex
• 30-foot long guest interactive tsunami simulation tank
• 20-foot diameter guest-controlled rotary avalanche
• 20-foot long magnetic levitation race cars with collision avoidance