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Game On Exhibit At Chicago Science And Industry Museum

Posted by Zonk on from the i-love-that-place dept.

If you have the chance to make it to the Windy City in the near future, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is playing host to the exhibit entitled "Game On". The playable gaming extravaganza will run through September of this year, and covers almost the entire history of video games. From the article: "Visitors to Game On will be able to play more than 100 games that illustrate how far games have come both artistically and technically, and see how the video game phenomenon has influenced aspects of popular culture around the world."

16 comments

  1. The site is Slashdotted... by brilinux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So I could not read it, but I do hope that ADVENT and hack/rogue are there; in my opinion, they are still at the top of the gaming ladder.

  2. MSI used to be fun by idiot900 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I remember being enamored with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry as a child. They have changed very little about it in recent years, and it's now an unmitigated crapfest compared to other science oriented museums (Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle, etc.) I have been to recently. Maybe this exhibit won't suck?

    1. Re:MSI used to be fun by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      The Boston museums do change, but certainly not on a daily basis. If they have any new exhibits, you'll hear about it in a commercial. Aside from that, the museum prices have skyrocketed in the past 10 years. If you can't get a free pass from the library, it's like robbery.

  3. Coral Cache Works by mhesseltine · · Score: 1

    The link Coralized works fine. There was no specific mention of ADVENT or rogue in the article, however.

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  4. MSI by chigun · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Unless this exhibit is REALLY awesome, I'd skip it. The Museum of Science & Industry is VERY dated and many of their exhibits are in poor repair. Their best exhibit (a real Navy submarine) was decommissioned and sunk in the lake to keep it from completely falling apart. It doesn't help that the admission is bloated as well.

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    1. Re:MSI by mjackson14609 · · Score: 2, Informative

      The sub (a German vessel captured during WWII in a successful mission to obtain codebooks) is currently not on exhibit because it's been moved to a new underground display area. There's a wealth of information, including video of the move, at the exhibit website.

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    2. Re:MSI by chigun · · Score: 1

      It was my understanding that it was not on display any longer. At least this was so when I brought my students to the MS&I some months back.

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    3. Re:MSI by Trillian_1138 · · Score: 1

      It's not on display because, as the previous poster said, it's being moved to a new underground (inside) exhibit hall that is currently being built. This is posted all over the MS&I. I also strongly disagree about the museum being boring or dated as I went over the summer with some friends (all early 20s) and had an absolutely great time.

      *Shrug*

      YMMV
      -Trillian

    4. Re:MSI by chigun · · Score: 2, Informative

      I have to admit, I've been there so many times now that I just very well may be sick of it, but you have to admit that many of the interactive displays (push this button to see how this machine works) simply do not work anymore. And the "virtual reality/internet" exhibit is so dated it's absolutely hilarious these days. Do I really need a huge section of a museum devoted to explaining me the concept of email? I think not. I think many millions of 10 year olds would also agree. I'm not really saying they don't have a lot of great exhibits though. The coal mine will always be a favorite of mine, but I think they need to have some more hard science exhibits that have some educational AND interesting qualities.

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    5. Re:MSI by Trillian_1138 · · Score: 1

      You do have a point. I'm from the Chicago area, so have been to the museum a number of times, but admit that until I went this past summer I hadn't been there in many years. A large part of the fun was, "Oh! I remember this mode/exhibit/etc!"

      I do think the new train setup is awesome (I love model trains, so I'm slightly biased...) and look forward to the new sub exhibit. I also think the movie exhibit (which was temporary and may now be gone) was very well done and I had tons of fun exploring it and participating in the "Make A Movie" section (although I think my friends and I were the oldest participants by about 10 years...oh well. We had fun.)

      Trying to rethink the museum from a slightly more objective view, I would agree that a lot of there stuff hasn't been touched in years. I just disagree with your statement, "Unless this exhibit is REALLY awesome, I'd skip it. The Museum of Science & Industry is VERY dated and many of their exhibits are in poor repair." I very much enjoyed the museum when I was younger, and enjoyed it again recently. I think they are trying, as the revamped trains, the revamped chick hatchery, the new toymaker exhibit, etc show. You're right that they could be pushed further (and that the admission is pricey) but, as I said, I strongly disagree with your attitude that the museum isn't worth the time to go to, even if I think I see where you're coming from.

      On the other hand, if you're making a trip to Chicago specifically for the museum I could see being disapointed, especially with the Field Museum and Aquarium, which (having also been to in the past year) are doing great things.

      -Trillian

  5. "Game On"? by MuNansen · · Score: 0

    Gah, they stole the name from the Volvo machinima project ;p

    1. Re:"Game On"? by Loadmaster · · Score: 1

      Or maybe Wayne's World.

  6. I've visited Game On by neonstz · · Score: 4, Informative

    I visited Game On in London in 2002 and in Edinburgh 2003. It is a nice tour of video gaming from it's beginning to today. The Edinburgh exihibit was updated with some new games, so the current exhibition probably has been updated too.

    There are a lot of games to play, but the older ones are usually played on emulators. There are also a hand held section with some early hand held electronic games.

    If you're into gaming, especially retro gaming, this exhibition will not offer anything new, but it is fun to walk from game to game, playing a little bit here and there.

    (Note. I speak for the exhibits in London and Edinburgh, but they were quite similar so I guess this one is a lot like those.)

    1. Re:I've visited Game On by Aim+Here · · Score: 1

      I was at the Edinburgh one, yes, it was nice. The one big disappointment was that the 'Spacewar' exhibit was running on a Vectrex, rather than on the hulking PDP-foo that had been stuffed and mounted beside it. Still, a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

  7. Went There Last Summer by BrainsVolpe · · Score: 1

    I went to Chicago last summer, in July. The museums were quite good locals even better, but by far the place I most enjoyed was the Museum of Science and Industry. I wish I could go back to see this exhibit, and the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum. Great city.