Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
171
should be the one—hands do wn. Ask any one who gr ew up ar ound Chicago and he or
she will reminisce about school field trips to the museum, bringing cans of soda wrapped
in tin foil, and seeing a fav orite exhibit—the
U-505
and
Coal Mine
inevitably
top the list of fav orites from the past. The
U-505
is a G erman submarine that was cap-
tured in 1944 and brought to the museum 10 years later. In 2004 the U-boat was closed
and underwent a restoration process to bring it back to its former glor y, housed indoors
(for many decades, it was exposed to the elements) in a ne w 35,000-square-foot exhibit.
Your kids will undoubtedly join the legions who have been fascinated by the claustropho-
bic reality of underwater naval life. The full-scale Coal Mine, which dates back to 1934,
now incorporates modern mining techniques into the exhibit. A guided tour of the sub's
interior costs $5 extra, and isn 't r ecommended for y oung childr en, but the exhibit is
worth visiting even if you don't go inside. Get to both of these exhibits quickly after the
museum opens because they attract amusement-par k-length lines during the day.
Kids who lo ve planes, trains, and automobiles shouldn 't miss
All Aboard the S ilver
Streak!,
the museum's Burlington Pioneer Zephyr, the world 's first str eamlined, diesel-
electric, articulated train, which was moved indoors and installed in the museum's three-
story underground parking garage. A simulated train station has been installed along the
197-foot-long Z ephyr, and visitors can explor e the train and its onboar d interactiv e
exhibits.
The Great Train Story,
which replaces the museum's 60-year-old model railroad
exhibit, takes up 3,500 square feet and depicts the winding rail journey between Chicago
and Seattle. Kids can driv e a M etra Train (our commuter line to the suburbs), open a
drawbridge over the Chicago Riv er, har vest timber in the Cascade Range, and bor e a
tunnel thr ough the R ocky M ountains. F or airplane fans,
Take F light,
an aviation
exhibit, features a full-siz e 727 airplane that r evs up its engines and r eplays the v oice
recordings from a San Francisco-to-Chicago flight.
Computer addicts should be entranced by
Networld,
which offers a flashy immersion
into the Internet (with plenty of interactiv e screens). More low-tech—but still fascinat-
ing—is the giant walk-through
model of the human heart
.
One of my favorites (especially for city kids who don't get much exposure to rural life)
is
The Farm
(where children can sit at the wheel of a giant combine) and the
chick
hatchery
inside the exhibit
Genetics: Decoding Life,
where you can watch as tiny new-
born chicks poke their way out of eggs. E ducational exhibits include
Enterprise,
which
lets visitors take on the role of CEO for a day as they immerse themselv es in the goings-
on of a vir tual company. And, not to be sexist, but girls (myself included) lo ve
Colleen
Moore's Fairy Castle,
a lavishly decorated miniature palace filled with priceless treasures.
(Yes, those are real diamonds and pearls in the chandeliers.) The castle is hidden away on
the lower level. Younger children up to age 10 lo ve to spend time at the
Idea Factory,
a
“learning thr ough play ” envir onment that allo ws kids to explor e scientific principles
themselves.
A major addition to the museum is the
Henry Crown Space Center,
where the story
of space exploration, still in its infancy, is documented in copious detail, highlighted b y
a simulated space-shuttle experience thr ough sight and sound at the center 's five-story
OMNIMAX Theater.
The theater offers double featur es on w eekends; call for sho w
times.
When y ou've wor ked up an appetite, y ou can visit the museum 's large and abo ve-
average food court and the ice-cream parlor, and there is also an excellent gift shop. Allow
a minimum of 3 hours for y our visit; a comprehensive visit can take all day, especially if
you catch an OMNIMAX movie.
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