Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry to be renamed

CHICAGO - The Museum of Science (MSI) and Industry is getting a new name to honor the man behind a historic donation.

In 2019, the MSI, located in Chicago's Hyde Park, received a $125 million donation from Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst.

"We are incredibly grateful to Ken Griffin for his historic and generous investment in our Museum, our mission, and our long-term future," said Dr. Chevy Humphrey, President and CEO of the Griffin MSI. "This gift helps us create exhibits of the future geared toward the next generation of scientists and leaders; it allows us to dig our heels in deeper to support science education in local schools and neighborhoods in new, more profound ways; and it enables us to carry out our mission to inspire the inventive genius in all of us."

Griffin's donation was the largest in the museum’s history. In celebration of its first official day as the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum will offer free admission for all on Sunday, May 19.

The donation has helped the institution launch several new immersive experiences, including the Griffin Studio, a one-of-a-kind digital space. It also aided the renovation of the Henry Crown Space Center.

The gift supported a new home for the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft, the mission-flown Dragon spacecraft that undertook two missions to deliver cargo and scientific experiments to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017 and 2019.

"The renaming provides an opportunity for us to celebrate the Museum’s legacy and embrace its future," said David Vitale, Griffin MSI Board Chairman.