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Chicago Museum of Science and Industry LEGO exhibit

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So, tickets including the Brick by Brick exhibit are $27 - $98 (CityPASS).

Basic admission is $18 but they charge extra for each good exhibit. Typical Chicago. :sceptic:

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So, tickets including the Brick by Brick exhibit are $27 - $98 (CityPASS).

Basic admission is $18 but they charge extra for each good exhibit. Typical Chicago. :sceptic:

Or typical United States. How is this more a Chicago thing than other areas? :hmpf:

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Or typical United States. How is this more a Chicago thing than other areas? :hmpf:

The museums should be an affordable educational experience for average families. Now it seems like only richies from the north shore can go. Those places are so crowded now, the price is hardly worth it. When I was young the museums used to be so much cheaper, and the transit passes were less than a dollar a day. Now, it sems like the visitors bureau wants to milk every cent from tourists while complaining taxes are too low. I've lived I Chicago too, and I know plenty of people are just out to make a quick buck. I just know if the exhibit were in Indiana or Wisconsin, the prices wouldn't be like that. :wink:

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Or typical United States. How is this more a Chicago thing than other areas? :hmpf:

It's a typical Big City in the United States thing.

The Lunchbox Museum is free when you go to the Junk Store in a certain rural Georgia town I know of.

Tip: DON'T GO THERE. It's bad and slightly mortifying.

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So, tickets including the Brick by Brick exhibit are $27 - $98 (CityPASS).

Basic admission is $18 but they charge extra for each good exhibit. Typical Chicago. :sceptic:

That is... crazy. A visit to a museum here in Sweden is usually free, or around $5-10 for some museums depending what kind of exhibition they have at the moment. Art and history should be available for all, no matter where on the social ladder you are.

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The museums should be an affordable educational experience for average families. Now it seems like only richies from the north shore can go. Those places are so crowded now, the price is hardly worth it. When I was young the museums used to be so much cheaper, and the transit passes were less than a dollar a day. Now, it sems like the visitors bureau wants to milk every cent from tourists while complaining taxes are too low. I've lived I Chicago too, and I know plenty of people are just out to make a quick buck. I just know if the exhibit were in Indiana or Wisconsin, the prices wouldn't be like that. :wink:

Which is why each museum has a free day a week, including Science and Industry (which does it differently. It has free weeks every other month) and that's when the school groups go. Granted, the temporary exhibits are still up–sells but having one free admission day a week is encouraging education and accessibility. It's a good balance with keeping themselves running in this tax bracket.

Milwaukee Public Museum Looks like special exhibits are an up–sell. What do you know? (And it's $1 cheaper than the horrible $18 that Chicago's MSI is charging. *oh2*)

Indianapolis Museum of Art Well, it doesn't look like Indianapolis has a comparable science museum (big surprise) but let's take a look at their art museum. Same story. Flat admission, (which happens to be the $18 you complained about and said Indiana wouldn't be that high) up–sell for special exhibitions.

Looks pretty damn similar to Chicago to me. What are you basing your opinion on? :wink: yourself.

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The only free museums I've been to are those in Washington DC, and the Museum of Science in Boston. Well, as an MIT student, you get free passes to many places in Boston.

Though, I agree Chicago has become 'unlivable'. In addition to entrance fee and the 45 mins drive, you need to add parking, which is NOT cheap. Yes, the town is a central destination for tourists from the midwest, but it's an expensive destination.

As for the $98 weekend citypass, it's a rip-off in itself. If you're visiting the town for a long weekend, do you really want to spend the whole time in museums? By the time we're done with museum #1, the kids are tired and cranky ...

Edited by DrJB

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That is... crazy. A visit to a museum here in Sweden is usually free, or around $5-10 for some museums depending what kind of exhibition they have at the moment. Art and history should be available for all, no matter where on the social ladder you are.

We have a much different economy than Sweden. I've seen a Swedish pay stub and I know how much is taken out for your government. Most of the museums here have one free day a week. The Museum of Science and Industry, where Brick by Brick resides has free weeks that they schedule based on their slower times. Not as good as having a free day a week but manageable. There are also senior and student discounts, lower rates for children and many other discounts for IL residents through many other programs including the Chicago City Pass which is $98 and gets you unlimited access to most of the major museums, the Sears Tower Sky Deck.

The only free museums I've been to are those in Washington DC, and the Museum of Science in Boston. Well, as an MIT student, you get free passes to many places in Boston.

Though, I agree Chicago has become 'unlivable'. In addition to entrance fee and the 45 mins drive, you need to add parking, which is NOT cheap. Yes, the town is a central destination for tourists from the midwest, but it's an expensive destination.

As for the $98 weekend citypass, it's a rip-off in itself. If you're visiting the town for a long weekend, do you really want to spend the whole time in museums? By the time we're done with museum #1, the kids are tired and cranky ...

:laugh: I'm not denying it can be expensive. If you're talking cost of living compared to the rest of the country, you might be surprised that to live here is not much more expensive than the national average, (though due to the state budget mess, our taxes have been a bit wacky the last couple of years). But we also have an amazing public transportation system and many places in the city to park at an affordable rate and jump in a cab or Uber or on a train or bus. And the CTA is still very affordable.

Best. City. Ever. No arguments. :laugh:

Sorry, I know you all have valid points but the truth lies in the middle ground, I believe. :blush:

The only free museums I've been to are those in Washington DC, and the Museum of Science in Boston. Well, as an MIT student, you get free passes to many places in Boston.

I've been to a few in St. Louis as well but I just happened to go on two occasions when they were having free days, like Chicago does.

Here's the CityPass list of destinations. There is a museum campus shuttle as well. You can park by Soldier Field and shuttle around the city all day. Or find one of the more affordable hotels in the Loop or the Warehouse District.

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I saw an Adam Reed Tucker Lego Architecture exhibit at the National Building Museum in D.C. a couple years ago. When I first read about this it seemed like it'd be great to visit, but Chicago is a bit far to travel for something like this.

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I saw an Adam Reed Tucker Lego Architecture exhibit at the National Building Museum in D.C. a couple years ago. When I first read about this it seemed like it'd be great to visit, but Chicago is a bit far to travel for something like this.

Unless it coincides with BrickWorld Chicago. :wink:

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Bumping this old thread. Several LUGs from the Chicago area are putting on a one day show at MSI this Saturday (16th July). I don't have the exact times but it should align with the hours the Museum is open and is tied to the Brick by Brick show.

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So, tickets including the Brick by Brick exhibit are $27 - $98 (CityPASS).

Basic admission is $18 but they charge extra for each good exhibit. Typical Chicago. :sceptic:

That's the reason I haven't gone to this exhibit. As awesome as I'm sure it is, it's not worth the price that museum charges. If you want a free, although smaller, Lego exhibit to check out, go check out the Americana Road Show touring malls across the country. Free and very impressive.

Edit: Didn't realize this was an old topic. Just bumped recently.

Edited by Tech Artist

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