During my visit to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, I enjoyed capturing several images--particularly in the Mirror Maze exhibit.

Neon ForestMirror Maze of the "Numbers in Nature" exhibit in the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on November 12, 2014

There's not much light in many of the exhibits, so a tripod is almost a necessity for getting good images. Fortunately, I was able to enter the museum with my tripod in hand without being questioned. The woman at the information desk said that the policy states that tripods are not permitted--but that the policy is loosely enforced.

I used my tripod during most of the morning. I collapsed the tripod during my time in the Omnimax as photography isn't permitted in theater. Then, I used my tripod again during the early part of the afternoon.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, I had my tripod set up to capture one last picture of the following scene of a 40 feet indoor tornado inside the "Science Storms" exhibit:

Science Storms"Science Storms" exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on November 12, 2014

I was prevented from taking a second shot of this scene by a security guard who asked me to put my tripod away. Fortunately, my first photo of the "Science Storms" exhibit was acceptable. Even better, I had several hours of photography with my tripod before being asked to put it away.

In fact, the timing couldn't have been any better. The no tripod policy wasn't enforced until a few seconds before I was planning to finish taking pictures for the day! Although, this doesn't bode well for my next visit.

Edit: I made my next visit a few days later! This time, I was aware that my use of the tripod needed to be very strategic. I waited until the very end of my visit before attempting to capture a photograph of the "Christmas Around the World" exhibit. Before moving into a more visible position in the center of the floor, I made sure that my camera settings were accurate and that the camera was placed securely on my tripod. I then quickly moved into position and had just enough time to grab a couple of images. Security was very quick...and that was the end of my shooting for my return visit. But, once again my timing couldn't have been much better.

Christmas Around the WorldChristmas Around the World and Holidays of Light exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on November 17, 2014