Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the
Sky Theater
shows movies with an astronomical bent. Recent shows have
included
Secrets of Saturn
and
Mars Now!,
both of which are updated as new dis-
coveries are made. The planetarium's exhibit galleries feature a variety of displays
and interactive activities designed to foster understanding of our solar system and
more. The best current exhibit is
Bringing the Heavens to Earth
, which traces
the ways different cultures have tried to make sense of astronomical phenomena.
The planetarium's signature exhibit,
From the Night Sky to the Big Bang,
traces
changing views of the cosmos over 1,000 years and features artifacts from the
planetarium's extensive collection of historical astronomical instruments (all of
which can get a bit boring for kids unless they're real astronomy nuts).
The museum's cafe provides views of the lakefront and skyline. On the first
Friday evening of the month, visitors can view dramatic close-ups of the moon,
the planets, and distant galaxies through a closed-circuit monitor connected to
the planetarium's Doane Observatory telescope.
Allow 2 hours, more if you want to see more than one show.
1300 S. Lake Shore Dr.
&
312/922-STAR.
www.adlerplanetarium.org. Admission (including 1 show) $13
adults, $12 seniors, $11 children 4-17, free for children under 4. Free admission Mon and Tues Sept-Feb only
(except the last 2 weeks of Dec). Mon-Fri 9:30am-4:30pm; Sat-Sun 9am-4:30pm; 1st Fri of every month
until 10pm; until 6pm daily Memorial Day to Labor Day. StarRider Theater and Sky Shows at numerous times
throughout the day; call
&
312/922-STAR for current times. Bus: 12 or 146.
Field Museum of Natural History
Is it any wonder that Steven
Spielberg thought the Field Museum of Natural History suitable home turf for
the intrepid archaeologist and adventurer hero of his
Indiana Jones
movies?
Spread over the museum's 9 acres of floor space are scores of permanent and
temporary exhibitions—some interactive, but most requiring the old-fashioned
skills of observation and imagination. But navigating all the disparate exhibits
can be daunting.
You'll start out in the grand Stanley Field Hall, which you enter from either
the north or south end. Standing proudly at the north side is the largest, most
complete
Tyrannosaurus rex
fossil ever unearthed. Named
Sue
for the
paleontologist who found the dinosaur in 1990 in South Dakota, the specimen
was acquired by the museum for a cool $8.4 million following a high-stakes bid-
ding war. The real skull is so heavy that a lighter copy had to be mounted on the
skeleton; the actual one is displayed nearby.
Families should head downstairs for two of the most popular kid-friendly
exhibits. The pieces on display in
Inside Ancient Egypt
were brought to the
museum in the early 1900s, after researchers in Saqqara, Egypt, excavated two
of the original chambers from the tomb of Unis-ankh, son of the Fifth Dynasty
ruler Pharaoh Unis. This
mastaba
(tomb) of Unis-ankh now forms the core of a
spellbinding exhibit that realistically depicts scenes from Egyptian funeral, reli-
gious, and other social practices. Visitors can explore aspects of the day-to-day
world of ancient Egypt, viewing 23 actual mummies and realistic burial scenes,
a living marsh environment and canal works, the ancient royal barge, a religious
shrine, and a reproduction of a typical marketplace of the period. Many of the
exhibits allow hands-on interaction, and there are special activities for kids, such
as making parchment from living papyrus plants.
Next to the Egypt exhibit, you'll find
Underground Adventure
, a “total
immersion environment” populated by giant robotic earwigs, centipedes, wolf
spiders, and other subterranean critters. The Disneyesque exhibit is a big hit
with kids, but—annoyingly—requires an extra admission charge ($7 on top of
regular admission for adults, $3 for kids).
Kids
