Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to rebrand as Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
The Museum of Science and Industry is now named the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in recognition of a $125 million donation, the largest single gift in the history of the museum, by the billionaire CEO of Citadel.
Sun-Times file
Five years after receiving the largest gift in its history, the Museum of Science and Industry is officially changing its name to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.
The rebranding is in recognition of a $125 million gift from Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, in 2019.
"I am proud to support MSI in its mission to inspire the inventive genius in everyone,” Griffin said in a news release. The former Chicagoan has since moved his companies and family to Florida.
The donation went toward building the Griffin Studio, an immersive digital gallery with its exhibit Notes to Neurons, which explores music and emotions.
It also helped renovate the museum’s Henry Crown Space Center, which features a new exhibit called the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft, a flight-proven vehicle that played a key role in two missions to the International Space Station.
The museum will offer free admission on Sunday for the rebranding and reveal of the Griffin Studio. The tickets must be reserved for the special event.
“This gift helps us create exhibits of the future geared toward the next generation of scientists and leaders,” said Chevy Humphrey, president and CEO of the Griffin MSI in a news release.
Griffin founded the Citadel hedge fund in Chicago in 1990. It became one of the most successful alternative investment vehicles for wealthy people and institutions.
The billionaire announced in 2022 that he was moving his family and companies to Miami, one of several departures by wealthy, philanthropic Chicagoans with a history of giving the most in recent years. Before he left, the spotlight was long on Griffin's philanthropy and his political donations — and the controversies they generated.