Explore the science of thinking. What a fun, free museum. A great stop to learn about the how, what and why. Take a survey and earn points as you help University of Chicago researchers study how people make choices. Good for a quick stop. It is free and air conditioned. read more

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I enjoy this little gem and often take friends who are visiting from out of town. It's free and run by UChicago. The only downside is that it closes at 5pm. The staff is always super friendly and informative. I recommend booking ahead for a time slot because it can fill up quick in the small space they're in. Definitely participate in the research studies if you can. You can earn points and redeem them for prizes in the same or future visit. read more

Mindworks - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a pretty cool little free museum/research center where you can do studies to earn points that you exchange for prizes. They also have a few small interactive displays about how the mind works. I spent about an hour doing 4 studies and earned 1000 points, which got me a llama (600 points) and the rest I used to make a donation to a charity (50 points per donation). The prizes are not that exciting. One of the studies I did involved watching a VR short film, the others were online surveys. Overall a fun place to kill some time, most of the staff were really nice except for this one girl who seemed extremely unhappy to be there. read more

Mindworks - llama prize - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's quite ingenious to have a research lab area where folks walking by can just drop in for research studies. It's located across from the Art Institute. Inside you'll learn about how you make decisions, and what you can do to improve your decision making processes. Optionally, you can see what studies you are eligible for, and earn points for participating in one you are eligible for. Those studies take anywhere from 10 to 30+ minutes to complete. After completing those studies, you can exchange points for little goodies, such as fridge magnets, keychains, stuffed llama, etc. The building this place is located in is pretty impressive. You'll be able to take a peak if you are escorted to the bathroom. read more

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Mindworks is really neat place to think about how science and the mind coexist. Toured the facility as apart of Choose Chicago Open House program. Mindworks is apart of U of Chicago. At this location they do studies and have a number of exhibits. I was able to participate in a couple of exercises and really got me thinking deep about some of my life choices. All in all, it was a cool experience. My time was limited but I would recommend visiting this facility. I noticed they have teen days and try to involved the community as much as possible so check in their website for study participation and current exhibits. read more

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TLDR: RSVP not required, though encouraged. If you want the shirt, note that they are likely YOUTH sized and you may not try them on! - - - - - - Mindworks was an unexpected surprise on a Chicago visit. Who would've thought there'd be a fun psychology research lab near the Bean of all places! Mindworks has several interactive and self-paced activities that challenge and explain our tendencies in interactions and decisions. After browsing the activities, there is an option to even participate in a few fun psychology studies, perfect for both kids and adults. From visits to studies, the staff were all welcoming and friendly. The hardest part is leaving because of the points and prizes. Said gamification may lead you to stay longer than expected! At the end, I wanted a T-shirt, which I earned, though was quite disappointed with because we couldn't try it on. And... of course what happens? I obtained a large and it was too small. Turns out it was a YOUTH large? Even sized up knowing that it was American Apparel... yikes! The whole experience was fun - especially the research aspect - but it was quite disappointing to arrive home many states away to find that I couldn't even wear my hard-earned souvenir. :( read more

Mindworks - a few prizes - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Passed by and stumbled upon this little interactive exhibit run by the University. It's FREE to enter. They have a few different interactive exhibits all centered around the brain and how it works. Very interesting. You can opt into some of their research studies or just browse. The area is small so it only takes about 20 mins to see everything. read more

Mindworks - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Was exploring and found this free interactive space! It's a space run by the University and it has interactive exhibits about making decisions in your life from risk, regrets, and circumstances. I really enjoyed understanding the social research and breakdown of how we think through decision making. I decided to participate in a few studies since I had spare time. If you do the studies, you can gain points to redeem prizes before you leave! The studies were interesting, eye-opening, and introspective. read more

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I came here for a class field trip. The place was smaller than I expected but super cute. There were multiple rooms set up to conduct behavioral science related studies. They also had a lot of the interactive activities which were super cute and shed light on different tendencies such as regret over inaction vs an action with an unintended result. I would definitely recommend! read more

Mindworks - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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It's a lab. It's a mental playground. Why not both? This is run by the University of Chicago's school of behavior economics. About half of the Nobel in economics winner ever have been from U of C. No other school dominates a field as much as Uof C dominates economics. Check it out and be a part of the experiment. read more

Mindworks - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was such a fun and unique experience! I went here with my boyfriend, and it was so interesting learning more about each other, how we think, and psychology/decision-making in general! The place was small, but we spent quite a bit of time at each exhibit since they were all interactive. Also, visitors get the opportunity to participate in some research studies, and we both answered a couple 5-20min surveys. Plus, you get points for doing the studies, and you can redeem souvenirs! Highly recommend!! read more

I walked by this place and decided to take a look. I was really pleased with my experience. The staff are very friendly and informative. I was only going to take a look at the exhibits, but decided to participate in one of their surveys. I think I was there for about an hour total. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting Chicago. Pros: - Interactive and engaging exhibits - staff very knowledge - Its Free and if you participate in a 30 mins survey, it get enough points to get some good merchandise Cons: - I didn't have any. I really liked this place and glad I popped in. read more

PROs: Friendly staff, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they allow for random (ish...) people to come in for research so we can get data that is NOT mostly university undergrads! This is a wonderful solution to a problem that has plagued behavioral psychology/economics/science (as thinking fast and slow author Kahneman noted, yes, despite living psychology myself, psychology has a branding problem...) studies for too long. I applaud the team who came up with this wonderful idea to get a closer to representative sample of humans for behavioral science experiments! We REALLY, REALLY need this! (See: "Psychology Studies Biased toward Western Undergrads" https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/psychology-studies-biased-toward-we-10-08-07/ ) HOWEVER. (Aka, cons) I was disappointed to see that one of the first walls in the front room featured "Nudges" without any note or clarification about the semi-recent major replication issues and retractions. (Short story, fabricated data was found in at least 4 papers by a leading Harvard behavioral scientist F. Gino by an independent team. Harvard did another independent analysis, and found the allegations to be true. Gino then SUED Harvard and the bloggers...for their (factually correct--only she herself could have fabricated the data) due diligence. Gino no longer works at Harvard, and papers have been retracted from science journals, up to 3 by 2021 (aka, 3 years ago!), and one last year, with many more to be possibly a problem. See here for some info: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/3/15/gino-harvard-investigation-report/ ) Y'all, as an alum of UChicago, I love science and knowledge. But can we be honest about where we are right now in the behavioral sciences? Is it waaay less sexy to talk about replication crises and how things we thought we knew ended up being fraudulent? YEP. But is it the right thing, which promotes a NUANCED understanding of science and progress, and begins to allow the public to trust science again? I think so. Yes it's complicated and hard to explain. But this is what science is like. AND nuanced science representation has consequences beyond technicalities (Read why people lost trust in science during the pandemic in this interview with someone science skeptical, AND THEIR VERY REASONABLE REASONS WHY: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/why-did-we-lose-trust-during-the ) TLDR: I give it a 2.5 stars. GREAT use of museum to collect more representative data. HOWEVER, I feel a tad bit like it is the creationist museum version of a science museum, revealing partial truths instead of the whole truth. (While 2021 is not so long ago, one could safely say that it's been years since the nudge research had been shown to be faked*) Unfortunately, this makes it hard for me to trust that the rest of the exhibit is honest, too. *Nudging effects DO exist. They just are not NEARLY as large as studies seem to indicate before...they are much more on the mild side. I look forward to more nuanced educational exhibits in the future where I can update this review into a 5 star one. You can do it, UChicago Booth school! Crescat Scientia; vita excolatur! (Edited to add link) read more

Little place but rewarding. You learn a little about psychology and can contribute a little to it too. It's free and interesting. You'll get thru the place in less than maybe 45 minutes but if your in the area it's a great distraction from the usual. read more

It's free and it's fun if you like learning more about yourself and anyone you decide to go with!

What a fun place to visit and you're helping research for the University of Chicago! Fun activities that take a short time to complete. Stop in! read more

Mindworks - Museums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was such a fun event to do with friends. They give out prizes too, the brain was my favorite. Great science exhibit and also very interactive. Would recommend to go with others and it's great to reflect. Dylan was also great! read more

What a fun, interactive place for psychology nerds! And the staff are so helpful and knowledgeable. Best of all, it is free (and they have swags for visitors). Highly recommend to those who want to have a little bit fun while learning something new! read more