Museum of Science and Industry changing name to "Julius Rosenwald Industrial Museum."

The Museum of Science and Industry will now be called the "Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry" following a donation of $125 million from the Chicago billionaire. The museum's board honored Ken Griffin by amending his name to the museum.

It's the most significant single gift in the museum's history, which opened in 1933.

The museum was incorporated as the Julius Rosenwald Industrial Museum but renamed the Museum of Science and Industry in 1928—five years before it opened—because Rosenwald did not want his name on the museum.

"This incredibly generous gift helps ensure Museum of Science and Industry. Remains a vital resource for science learning well into the 21st century," the museum announced on its website. It explained that renaming the museum "was the most appropriate way to convey our gratitude for this gift." Griffin is the wealthiest man in Illinois.
The museum also insisted its mission will not change as a result of the donation, part of which will go toward a new "Pixel Studio," which is called "a state-of-the-art digital gallery and performance space that will be the only experience of its kind in North America.

"The purpose of this gift is to allow us to continue the great work we do to support our mission and vision," the museum's statement said. "MSI's mission will remain the same as it has always been: to inspire the inventive genius in everyone, and we are grateful for this gift, which will help ensure the Museum remains a vital resource for science learning well into the 21st century."

Private support for the museum 2018 totaled $19 million, up $3 million from the previous year.

By Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, October 3, 2019
Edited by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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Kenneth C. Griffin - Chicago Philanthropy

• Griffin had contributed millions to the Art Institute of Chicago, public education, the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the Chicago Public Library, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Griffin also contributed to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the "Evolving Planet" at the Field Museum of Natural History, and endowed professorships at the University of Chicago. 

• In October 2006, the Griffins and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded and supported the opening of Woodlawn High School, a new charter school in Chicago.

• In 2007, Griffin donated a $19 million addition designed by Renzo Piano to the Art Institute of Chicago.

• In October 2009, Griffin and his wife founded the Kenneth and Anne Griffin Foundation. The foundation's contributions include $10 million for the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center, $16 million for Children's Memorial Hospital, and total funding for the University of Chicago's Early Childhood Center.

• In December 2016, Griffin gave $12 million to the Chicago Park District to help fund separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians along the city's 18-mile lakefront.

• In November 2017, the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund made a new $125 million gift to support the Department of Economics of the University of Chicago, which he was honored with the department being renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics.

• A $16.5 million donation allowed the Field Museum to purchase a cast of the largest dinosaur ever discovered in 2018, a 122-foot-long Argentinian titanosaur named Máximo.

• In October 2019, the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund announced a $125 million gift to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the largest gift in the museum's history. The museum intends to change its name to the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. 

• In 2024, Kenneth C. Griffin donated $125 million to the Museum of Science and Industry. The museum's name was changed to Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.