The Plant

Collaborative research + production facility for small food businesses. A project of Bubbly Dynamics.
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The Plant houses indoor and outdoor farms, beer and kombucha breweries, a coffee roaster, chocolate maker, algae R&D labs, and other emerging food producers and distributors.

07/15/2026

Call for plant helpers! Message us if you're interested or have questions, or just show up Friday, July 24th at 1pm at The Plant!

06/29/2026

Check out this Union Stockyards board game! You play as one of the meat packing businesses, developing technologies to use every part of the animal while battling labor unions (booo) and manipulating the market to your advantage (yay, capitalism...). Market strategies, labor strikes, and other historical events all affect the gameplay. The details make this a real treat for Chicago history buffs!

06/24/2026

Don’t trash your old batteries, recycle them! The Plant is now a collection site for The Battery Network -- read more about the Illinois legislation that makes safe battery recycling *free*.

We are accepting primary (single-use) and rechargeable batteries as listed here: https://batterynetwork.org/battery-basics/what-to-recycle/

06/19/2026

We're excited to announce that we've received a Designing a Better Chicago Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Built Environment Grant from the Design Museum of Chicago for our energy visualization work with DePaul University's SPARK Center!

Our project transforms invisible waste heat into a tracked, managed resource at The Plant. Through deploying a sensor network, this project includes a real-time open-source "digital twin” of the building that visualizes real-time energy flows, while using this data to inform a heat pump system that will redistribute, consume, and store waste heat throughout the building.

The grant for this project will allow us to complete the public-facing component of the project, including an online model and an interactive lobby display that will allow anyone to see the digital twin's real-time temperature flows at The Plant. Our model is nearing completion, stay tuned for updates!

06/18/2026

Been meaning to stop by The Plant? Make a day out of visiting this summer! We've extended the hours of the Packingtown Museum to include Sundays.

Come by to learn more about the industrial history and cultural heritage of Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and surrounding neighborhoods, providing thoughtful historical lessons that mirror modern issues.

06/09/2026

Turtles are back! We've gotten our wetlands cleaned up so Justine and Laflin could officially return home today-- Laflin is filmed here playing with the waterfall and scaring away fish!

06/05/2026

The Vegan Museum is back in The Plant's lobby for a three-month residency. Stop by to learn about the history of veganism and vegetarianism!

06/04/2026

Visit Whiskey Row Café, a popup coffee and sandwich shop on Sundays in the lobby of The Plant! The Packingtown Museum will also be open during café hours, stop by their grand opening this Sunday, make a day of it!

06/03/2026

Welcome Little Press to The Plant! Little Press is a small-batch Chicago coffee roaster. The name Little Press is inspired by the owner Dylan's graphic design background and the small scale of the operation. Beans are roasted and delivered by bicycle by Dylan across Chicago, rain or shine!

06/02/2026

Check out Bike a Bee in the news! After a massive number of bees swarmed a front yard in minutes, Jana came to the rescue to save the colony and educate residents on bee behavior, creating an unforgettable experience for the neighborhood. Click the link here to read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Qh4V2H

06/01/2026

Join Farm Sanctuary for their 40th Anniversary Celebration on Sat. June 6. Enjoy a special discussion with Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder, Gene Baur. Eats and drinks will include vegan hot dogs from Upton’s Naturals (a nod to Farm Sanctuary’s early days selling meatless hot dogs at Grateful Dead concerts), along with a variety of delicious plant-based bites from Meet Stop by SteMartaen! Grab your tickets at this link: https://bit.ly/3PF2s1W

A public tour of The Plant will also be offered, visit insidetheplant.com for tickets.

Address

1400 W 46th Street
Chicago, IL
60609

Website

http://www.insidetheplant.com/

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