Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
65
a nonpr ofit adv ocacy gr oup, is a good
resource for bicy clists. The gr oup pub-
lishes several bicycling maps with tips on
recommended on-str eet r outes and par k-
land routes, and a guide to safe cy cling in
the city.
14
GETTING KIDS INTERESTED IN CHICAGO
Kids will be most inter ested in y our
upcoming adventure when they have input
into the activities y ou plan. Use this topic
to tell your kids about the great adventures
awaiting them in Chicago—riding the E l,
climbing into a captur ed World War II
U-boat at the M useum of Science and
Industry, riding a high-speed elev ator to
see the sights fr om the J ohn H ancock
Center, or going to a M cDonald's that 's
also a rock-'n'-roll museum.
Movie-wise, you can rent
Blues Brothers
(1979) and show Jake and Elmo jumping
the bridge acr oss the riv er and car eening
down the str eet under the E l tracks. The
movie features a classic multicar pileup in
the center of downtown Daley Plaza.
Ferris
Bueller's D ay O ff
(1985) is the ultimate
teenage wish-fulfillment movie, set in Chi-
cago and the suburbs. I n fact, most of the
John Hughes movies (
Pretty in P ink, Six-
teen Candles,
and
The Breakfast Club
) are
set in the Chicago area.
Children's topics set in Chicago that
will be r eadily av ailable at y our local
library or bookstor e include
Fair Weather,
by Richard Peck, in which a 19th-centur y
farming family is turned upside down by a
visit to Chicago for the 1893
Columbian Exposition;
Playoff Dreams,
by
Fred Bo wen, in which a bo y attends a
ballgame with his uncle at Wrigley Field
and learns the story of the legendary Cubs
player and H all of F ame member E rnie
Banks; and
The Dr agon of N avy P ier,
by
Kate N oble, in which Charlie, a y oung
dragon on a car ousel, comes aliv e one
night and sets out to explor e Navy Pier.
Show your kids photos of landmarks—
Wrigley Field is a familiar sight to most of
us. You might also find photos of S oldier
Field, U nited Center (with its statue of
Michael J ordan), the soaring J ohn H an-
cock Center (with its gir ded black Xs
crisscrossing all the way up the building),
the Chicago Water Tower (the only build-
ing to sur vive the fir e of 1871, allegedly
started b y Mrs. O'Lear y's co w), S ears
Tower, and the lakefr ont. D iscuss the E l
trains and show kids photos of the elevated
tracks. S how them the Chicago bridges
that rise and lo wer, stopping traffic so
boats can make their way to the lake. Tell
them that the Chicago Riv er that these
bridges span r uns fr om the lake (rather
than into it, as most rivers do)—and about
the engineering mar vel that r eversed its
flow.
2
World's
