Illinois Science Council (“ISC”) is an independent 501c3 organization that engages, educates, and entertains the public about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in our everyday lives. ISC serves as the adult complement to student-focused science efforts, and the science & tech counterpart to the region’s arts & culture offerings by raising STEM understanding and appreciation.

ISC explores a wide variety of topics with a fun, non-stuffy approach. We create engaging programs (aimed at adults and accessible to teens) such as: hands-on chemistry (Chemistry of… Beer, Chocolate, Whiskey, Coffee, Honey, etc.); panel discussions on science subjects in the news (Your Brain on Happiness, on Creativity, on Addiction, on Exercise, etc.); author talks (Lisa Randall, Mary Roach, Randall Munroe of XKCD); film screenings (“The Atom Smashers”), plus the Chicago Science Festival; and more.

Carl Sagan observed:

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent upon science and technology in which hardly anyone understands anything about science and technology.”

ISC is certainly working to change that.

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Featured Events

Here are upcoming and most recent ISC events. Or visit our main event calendar below for lots of science events happening citywide. Full Event Calendar
science cocktail party 2019

Science Cocktail Party 2019

D.I.R.T.T. Environmental Showroom, 325 N. Wells Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654

Chemistry of Beer

Metropolitan Brewing Tap Room, 3057 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618
Beaker Cocktail with Syringe

Chemistry of The Cocktail

Koval Distillery, 5121 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
Science Cocktail

Science Cocktail Party 2018

DIRTT Environmental Solutions, 325 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL 60654

Science Unsealed

A blog about the science of everyday life...and some from out of this world. View More
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2017/07/12/EFSA-sets-safe-intake-level-for-MSG-and-glutamate-additives-urging-new-maximum-levels

Should I Eat MSG?

Leave a comment Marissa Tranquilli

Sometimes I hate grocery shopping. Every time I wander down one of the aisles, I am visually assaulted with a barrage of various claims: Low Sodium! Heart Healthy! No fat! After a point, foods are laying claim to any appealing phrase they can use to convince you that their food should be purchased, and the most confusing and misleading of all is the claim ‘MSG Free!’ because so few of us actually know what MSG is. If the companies proclaim they don’t have it, it must be bad, right? Right?

Continue reading “Should I Eat MSG?”

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american eugenics movement

The History of the American Eugenics Movement

Leave a comment Kristen Vogt Veggeberg

Conservationists. Nobel Peace Prize winners. College professors. All these roles have a distinctive honorable, humanistic atmosphere around them. When you consider this group, you probably don’t think of “racial purists.” But the truth is, many who held these titles were also supporters of the American Eugenics movement, a social and political movement that focused on advancing the human race through selective reproduction.

Continue reading “The History of the American Eugenics Movement”

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Smile! You’re on Camera: How Repairing a Smile Can Save a Life

Leave a comment Amer Mansour

You smile 30 times a day, and normally, you don’t even think about doing it. It happens involuntarily when you hear a funny joke. While it is easy for many to smile, I saw firsthand that for children around the world who suffer from cleft lip and palate deformities, including one-year-old Matias, smiling is almost impossible, and other vital functions like eating and breathing can be just as hard.

Continue reading “Smile! You’re on Camera: How Repairing a Smile Can Save a Life”

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Gallery

For a sense of our events and all the great people who make up our science-loving community, check out this gallery of photos from ISC events. View More