<PAGE>

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 6, 2000

                                                         Registration No. 333-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                               -----------------

                                    Form S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

         Delaware                                     95-2673173
(State or other jurisdiction of                   (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                  Identification Number)

    2200 East Pratt Boulevard                            60007
   Elk Grove Village, Illinois                         (Zip Code)
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)



                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION
      AMENDED AND RESTATED 1992 OMNIBUS STOCK AWARDS PLAN FOR KEY EMPLOYEES
                            (Full title of the plan)

                             JAMES J. WACLAWIK, SR.
              Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
                          Material Sciences Corporation
                            2200 East Pratt Boulevard
                        Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (847) 439-8270
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                                    Copy to:
                             MICHAEL A. STONE, ESQ.
                                Kirkland & Ellis
                             200 East Randolph Drive
                             Chicago, Illinois 60601
                                 (312) 861-2000

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Title of securities to    Amount to be    Proposed maximum offering        Proposed maximum          Amount of
     be registered          registered          price per share            aggregate offering       registration
                                                                                price(1)               fee(1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                       <C>             <C>                           <C>                       <C>
Common Stock, par value      425,000          425,000 shares at $11.344        $4,821,200             $1,272.80
$.02 per share                shares
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

(1)      The aggregate offering price and the amount of the registration fee
         have been computed in accordance with Rule 457(h) based in part upon
         the price at which issued options may be exercised and in part (with
         respect to issuable options) on the average of the high and low prices
         of the shares reported in the consolidated reporting system on October
         3, 2000.
<PAGE>

                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

                The documents containing information specified in Part I (plan
information and registrant information) will be sent or given to employees as
specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"). Such documents need not be filed with the Commission either
as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus
supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and
the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant
to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute
a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

               Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement shall be deemed to cover any additional shares offered under the Plan
in order to reflect share splits, share dividends, mergers and other capital
changes.

Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.

               The following documents filed by Material Sciences Corporation
(the "Corporation") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") are incorporated herein by reference:

         (a)   Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended February 29,
2000 (File No. 1-8803).

         (b)   Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended May
31, 2000 (File No. 1-8803).

         (c)   Description of Common Stock contained in the Registration
Statement of the Corporation on Form 8-A filed October 23, 1984 (Registration
No. 33-0828).

         (d)   The Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration
No. 333-15677) which was filed on November 6, 1996.

         (e)   The Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration
No. 333-88387) which was filed on October 4, 1999. All reports and other
documents subsequently filed by the Corporation pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act") prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which
indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters
all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by
reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of the filing of such
reports and documents.

               Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to
be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement
contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is
incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.

               Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

               Not applicable.

                                      -2-
<PAGE>

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

                 Section 145 of the General  Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware, as amended, permits indemnification of directors, officers, employees
and agents of corporations under certain conditions and subject to certain
limitations. The Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and the Bylaws of the
Corporation provide for the indemnification of directors, officers, employees
and agents of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145.

                 The Corporation has obtained insurance policies under which
its directors and officers are insured, within the limits and subject to the
limitations of the policies, against certain expenses in connection with the
defense of certain actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities which
might be imposed as a result of certain actions, suits or proceedings, to which
they are parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers.

                 The Corporation has entered into indemnification agreements
with certain of its officers and directors (and certain other persons serving as
director of another enterprise at the request of the Corporation) by which such
persons are indemnified against expenses and costs incurred in connection with
claims, suits or proceedings in accordance with and to the fullest extent
authorized by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.

                 Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.

                 See Exhibit Index.

Item 9.  Undertakings.

         (a)     The Corporation hereby undertakes:

                 (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

                     (i)  to include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3)
                          of the Securities Act;

                     (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                          arising after the effective date of this Registration
                          Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
                          thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate,
                          represent a fundamental change in the information set
                          forth in this Registration Statement;

                     (iii)to include any material information with respect to
                          the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
                          this Registration Statement or any material change to
                          such information in this Registration Statement;

                 provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
                 --------  -------
not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the
Corporation pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

                 (2) that, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                 (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

                                      -3-
<PAGE>

         (b) The Corporation hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining
any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Corporation's annual
report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and,
where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference
in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Corporation pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Corporation has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Corporation of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Corporation
in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Corporation will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the
matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
<PAGE>

                                   SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, the Corporation certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in Elk Grove Village, State of Illinois, on October
6, 2000.

                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION

                         By:  /s/ Gerald G. Nadig
                             ------------------------------------
                                 Gerald G. Nadig

                              Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in
the capacities indicated on October 6, 2000.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                  Signature                                                     Capacity
                  ---------                                                     --------
<S>                                                         <C>
     /s/ Gerald G. Nadig                                    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Director
---------------------------------------------------
         Gerald G. Nadig                                    (Principal Executive Officer)


     /s/ James J. Waclawik, Sr.                             Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
---------------------------------------------------
         James J. Waclawik, Sr.                             Secretary (Principal Financial Officer)


     /s/ David J. DeNeve                                    Controller
---------------------------------------------------
         David J. DeNeve                                    (Principal Accounting Officer)


     /s/ Michael J. Callahan
---------------------------------------------------
         Michael J. Callahan                                Director

     /s/ Eugene W. Emmerich
---------------------------------------------------
         Eugene W. Emmerich                                 Director

     /s/ G. Robert Evans
---------------------------------------------------
         G. Robert Evans                                    Director

     /s/ E.F. Heizer, Jr.
---------------------------------------------------
         E.F. Heizer, Jr.                                   Director

     /s/ Ronald A. Mitsch
---------------------------------------------------
         Ronald A. Mitsch                                   Director

     /s/ Mary P. Quin
---------------------------------------------------
         Mary P. Quin                                       Director

     /s/ Howard B. Witt
---------------------------------------------------
         Howard B. Witt                                     Director
</TABLE>

                                      -5-
<PAGE>

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
     Exhibit                                                                                        Sequentially
     Number                                   Description of Document                               Numbered Page
   ----------      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------   -------------
<S>                <C>                                                                              <C>
       3.1         Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, incorporated by
                   reference to the Corporation's Form 10-Q Quarterly Report for the Quarter
                   Ended August 31, 1997 (File No. 1-8803).

       3.2         Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series
                   B Junior Participating Preferred Stock, incorporated by
                   reference to the Corporation's Form 8-A filed on June 25,
                   1996 (File No. 1-8803).

       3.3         Bylaws of the Corporation, as amended, incorporated by reference to the
                   Corporation's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on
                   June 17, 1998 (File No. 1-8803).

       4.1         Material Sciences Corporation 1992 Omnibus Stock Awards Plan for Key
                   Employees, as amended.

        5          Opinion of Kirkland & Ellis.

      23.1         Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP.

      23.2         Consent of Kirkland & Ellis (included in Exhibit 5).
</TABLE>

                                      -7-
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "filename": "0001.txt", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 17010}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "MATERIAL SCIENCES CORP", "cik": "0000755003", "assigned-sic": "3470", "irs-number": "952673173", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "0228"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-47536", "film-number": "736181"}, "business-address": {"street1": "2300 E PRATT BLVD", "city": "ELK GROVE VILLAGE", "state": "IL", "zip": "60007", "phone": "8474398270"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 6, 2000

                                                         Registration No. 333-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                               -----------------

                                    Form S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

         Delaware                                     95-2673173
(State or other jurisdiction of                   (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                  Identification Number)

    2200 East Pratt Boulevard                            60007
   Elk Grove Village, Illinois                         (Zip Code)
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION
      AMENDED AND RESTATED 1992 OMNIBUS STOCK AWARDS PLAN FOR KEY EMPLOYEES
                            (Full title of the plan)

                             JAMES J. WACLAWIK, SR.
              Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
                          Material Sciences Corporation
                            2200 East Pratt Boulevard
                        Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (847) 439-8270
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                                    Copy to:
                             MICHAEL A. STONE, ESQ.
                                Kirkland & Ellis
                             200 East Randolph Drive
                             Chicago, Illinois 60601
                                 (312) 861-2000

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Title of securities to    Amount to be    Proposed maximum offering        Proposed maximum          Amount of
     be registered          registered          price per share            aggregate offering       registration
                                                                                price(1)               fee(1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, par value      425,000          425,000 shares at $11.344        $4,821,200             $1,272.80
$.02 per share                shares
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)      The aggregate offering price and the amount of the registration fee
         have been computed in accordance with Rule 457(h) based in part upon
         the price at which issued options may be exercised and in part (with
         respect to issuable options) on the average of the high and low prices
         of the shares reported in the consolidated reporting system on October
         3, 2000.
PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

                The documents containing information specified in Part I (plan
information and registrant information) will be sent or given to employees as
specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"). Such documents need not be filed with the Commission either
as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus
supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and
the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant
to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute
a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

               Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement shall be deemed to cover any additional shares offered under the Plan
in order to reflect share splits, share dividends, mergers and other capital
changes.

Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.

               The following documents filed by Material Sciences Corporation
(the "Corporation") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") are incorporated herein by reference:

         (a)   Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended February 29,
2000 (File No. 1-8803).

         (b)   Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended May
31, 2000 (File No. 1-8803).

         (c)   Description of Common Stock contained in the Registration
Statement of the Corporation on Form 8-A filed October 23, 1984 (Registration
No. 33-0828).

         (d)   The Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration
No. 333-15677) which was filed on November 6, 1996.

         (e)   The Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration
No. 333-88387) which was filed on October 4, 1999. All reports and other
documents subsequently filed by the Corporation pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act") prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which
indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters
all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by
reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of the filing of such
reports and documents.

               Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to
be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement
contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is
incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.

               Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

               Not applicable.

                                      -2-
Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

                 Section 145 of the General  Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware, as amended, permits indemnification of directors, officers, employees
and agents of corporations under certain conditions and subject to certain
limitations. The Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and the Bylaws of the
Corporation provide for the indemnification of directors, officers, employees
and agents of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145.

                 The Corporation has obtained insurance policies under which
its directors and officers are insured, within the limits and subject to the
limitations of the policies, against certain expenses in connection with the
defense of certain actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities which
might be imposed as a result of certain actions, suits or proceedings, to which
they are parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers.

                 The Corporation has entered into indemnification agreements
with certain of its officers and directors (and certain other persons serving as
director of another enterprise at the request of the Corporation) by which such
persons are indemnified against expenses and costs incurred in connection with
claims, suits or proceedings in accordance with and to the fullest extent
authorized by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.

                 Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.

                 See Exhibit Index.

Item 9.  Undertakings.

         (a)     The Corporation hereby undertakes:

                 (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

                     (i)  to include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3)
                          of the Securities Act;

                     (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                          arising after the effective date of this Registration
                          Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
                          thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate,
                          represent a fundamental change in the information set
                          forth in this Registration Statement;

                     (iii)to include any material information with respect to
                          the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
                          this Registration Statement or any material change to
                          such information in this Registration Statement;

                 provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
                 --------  -------
not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the
Corporation pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

                 (2) that, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                 (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

                                      -3-
(b) The Corporation hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining
any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Corporation's annual
report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and,
where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference
in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Corporation pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Corporation has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Corporation of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Corporation
in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Corporation will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the
matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, the Corporation certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in Elk Grove Village, State of Illinois, on October
6, 2000.

                          MATERIAL SCIENCES CORPORATION

                         By:  /s/ Gerald G. Nadig
                             ------------------------------------
                                 Gerald G. Nadig

                              Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in
the capacities indicated on October 6, 2000.
Signature                                                     Capacity
                  ---------                                                     --------
/s/ Gerald G. Nadig                                    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Director
---------------------------------------------------
         Gerald G. Nadig                                    (Principal Executive Officer)

     /s/ James J. Waclawik, Sr.                             Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
---------------------------------------------------
         James J. Waclawik, Sr.                             Secretary (Principal Financial Officer)

     /s/ David J. DeNeve                                    Controller
---------------------------------------------------
         David J. DeNeve                                    (Principal Accounting Officer)

     /s/ Michael J. Callahan
---------------------------------------------------
         Michael J. Callahan                                Director

     /s/ Eugene W. Emmerich
---------------------------------------------------
         Eugene W. Emmerich                                 Director

     /s/ G. Robert Evans
---------------------------------------------------
         G. Robert Evans                                    Director

     /s/ E.F. Heizer, Jr.
---------------------------------------------------
         E.F. Heizer, Jr.                                   Director

     /s/ Ronald A. Mitsch
---------------------------------------------------
         Ronald A. Mitsch                                   Director

     /s/ Mary P. Quin
---------------------------------------------------
         Mary P. Quin                                       Director

     /s/ Howard B. Witt
---------------------------------------------------
         Howard B. Witt                                     Director
-5-
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit                                                                                        Sequentially
     Number                                   Description of Document                               Numbered Page
   ----------      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------   -------------
3.1         Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, incorporated by
                   reference to the Corporation's Form 10-Q Quarterly Report for the Quarter
                   Ended August 31, 1997 (File No. 1-8803).

       3.2         Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series
                   B Junior Participating Preferred Stock, incorporated by
                   reference to the Corporation's Form 8-A filed on June 25,
                   1996 (File No. 1-8803).

       3.3         Bylaws of the Corporation, as amended, incorporated by reference to the
                   Corporation's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on
                   June 17, 1998 (File No. 1-8803).

       4.1         Material Sciences Corporation 1992 Omnibus Stock Awards Plan for Key
                   Employees, as amended.

        5          Opinion of Kirkland & Ellis.

      23.1         Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP.

      23.2         Consent of Kirkland & Ellis (included in Exhibit 5).
-7-