Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry—while not strictly a space museum—has an impressive collection on, more or less, permanent exhibit. And they've got the Apollo 8 command module on display. As space buff's know, Apollo 8 was the most dramatic leap in an otherwise step-by-step NASA program to reach the moon. No person had been more than 1,000 miles for Earth when, in December 1968, Apollo 8 and its crew of three went into lunar orbit—240,000 miles from home.
See Apollo 8 here. But don't stop with that. Also see Scott Carpenter's Aurora 7 Mercury spacecraft. Also: a lunar sample from Apollo 17; Frank Borman's Apollo 8 spacesuit and gloves; and some great satellites hanging from the ceiling.
Location: 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637-2093 USA. Phone: (773) 684-1414
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