Exhibit Essentials
- Ages:
- This exhibit is suitable for all ages.
- Location:
- Lower Level, Smart Home
Museum Map - Tickets:
- This exhibit requires an additional ticket with a specified entry time.
Showtimes
Vary by date and are subject to change. See "Tickets and Tour Times" below.
"Chicago's Greenest Home" Is Back!
Newly redesigned for 2009, Smart Home: Green + Wired, Powered by ComEd is back to showcase the ways, big and small, you can make eco-friendly living a part of your life.
Take a guided tour of this real, three-story modular and sustainable “green” home in the Museum’s own backyard. You'll view and hear about the latest innovations in reusable resources; smart energy consumption; clean, healthy-living environments and easy ways to go green.
The redesign includes a bold color scheme, new furniture, the addition of a “green” baby nursery, a space-maximizing hallway office, new cutting-edge technologies, wind power, earth-friendly and city-friendly landscaping ideas—and much more.
The home—designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs™ and built by All-American Homes™— also focuses on what the future may bring to consumers. New and unique home technologies are on display, courtesy of WIRED magazine. Explore the home’s updated landscape, which offers techniques for urban gardening, including vertical gardens and EarthBox planting.
Learn more about Smart Home
Plan A Class Trip
Take a guided tour of the Smart Home for an engaging lesson in environmental science and technology.
Tickets and Tour Times
This exhibit is not included in general admission and requires an additional timed-entry ticket. Tour times vary and are subject to change. Confirm available tour times for specific dates by clicking here, or call the Museum at (773) 684-1414.
Activities
How To
- Construct a Worm Farm
- See how worms keep your garden healthy.
How To
- Cook Food Using the Sun
- Absorb heat energy to create a solar oven.
- Museum Hours
-
- Monday – Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Harry Potter: The Exhibition open evenings
- Open every day except Christmas Day
- Museum Location
- Getting Here
New Online Activities
- Online Activity
-
Smart Home Time Lapse
Watch the Smart Home come together in less than 90 seconds.
Exhibit Resource Guide
- Download our updated guide to the Smart Home and its eco-friendly products, along with more "green" ideas and resources!
- Exhibit Resource Guide (PDF)
Smart Home Podcast
- Meet the architect of "Chicago's greenest home" in our interview with Michelle Kaufmann.
Download the Smart Home Podcast
Learn More
- Find out more about the mkSolaire and the architect who created the home.
Read Michelle's blog - See the Smart Home on NBC Nightly News.
- Check out the story