Posted in Illinois Attractions, Shops & Boutiques February 09, 2021 by Melissa Mahoney

You Can Find Strange, Hard-To-Find Items At This One-Of-A-Kind Shop In Illinois

American Science & Surplus had its beginnings in the late 1930s after its founder, Al Luebbers, noticed that the company next door to where he worked was throwing away lenses. Al, who had a particular interest in optics, asked to buy the lenses. Instead, the company told him he could have them just as long as he hauled them away. And so he did. He and his wife then cleaned the lenses and sold them using an ad they placed in Popular Science. Orders started to pour in and so they launched their business, calling it American Lens & Photo at the time.

Over time, the business expanded. With the end of World War II, war surplus items were incorporated into the inventory. Al soon opened a retail location in Chicago, calling it American Science Center which carried educational science goods and the company kept growing. A second location was added in Milwaukee, WI, and eventually, one in Geneva, which was opened by the new owner in 1991, and the business name was changed to American Science & Surplus.

With a couple more ownership changes, the business has grown to what it is today. It is focused on bringing in unusual items you can't find anywhere else, offering them at prices that are hard to beat.

Whether you are an artist, crafter, hobbyist, engineer, scientist, educator, inventor, or just like to look for uncommon and curious things, American Science & Surplus is the place for you.

This is a place you have to keep coming back to. Some items that come in will never return once they sell out.

You will find a unique blend of educational, industrial, and military items throughout the store. The main focus, however, is on science and education.

This warehouse of oddities has a truly remarkable and diverse inventory for visitors to gawk at and pick through. The experience is almost like going on a treasure hunt.

What is this? Occasionally the store has a "What's This Wednesday" post on Facebook in which a photo of a random, strange object is posted and followers can guess what it is.

Some items are nostalgic in nature, many will make you wonder, and others will make you laugh. Whatever you see here will spark your curiosity and may even make you feel like a kid again!

You can visit American Science & Surplus at any of its three locations. There is a store in Geneva along Route 38 near Kirk Road, one in Chicago on Milwaukee Ave. and one in Milwaukee, WI on Oklahoma Ave.

Have you ever shopped at an American Science & Surplus location? If so, what strange, unusual items were you able to find? Please let us know in the comments!

For more information and to shop the online store, visit the American Science & Surplus website or Facebook page.

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Address: 33w361 Roosevelt Rd, West Chicago, IL 60185, USA

Address: 5316 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60630, USA