44. MUSEUM CAMPUS

Chicago, Illinois

4/9/2010

The Museum Campus is three museums in the same complex – the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. Admission to all three will cost one person $71.95, so use your Go Chicago Card, you fool!

It was only supposed to take us fifteen minutes to drive from Superdawg to the campus, but on the way we got our first real taste of the infamous Chicago traffic. It took us about two hours, which really ate into our time, so we had to be frugal.

We started at the Field Museum. A couple of days before visiting we rented a cheesy horror movie called The Relic which takes place in the Field Museum. Monster rampages through the exhibits. That kind of thing. So we spent a lot of time joking about how well they cleaned up the museum from the monster attack.

The pride of the museum is Sue – the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex – sadly destroyed by the monster and by a giant fireball, but painstakingly reconstructed for our visit.

We spent most of our visit in an exhibit about Egyptian mummies, but Daniel’s favorite was definitely the gorilla on display. Once we told him it was a gorilla he kept saying “guh-ill-ah” and waving at it.

Of all the museums, the Field was the one we wished we had more time to explore. What surprised us the most was how childlike it was – and I mean that in a positive way. It was a very fun and interactive place that was aimed at making science fun and exciting to young people. We would like to return there when Daniel is older.

Our next stop was the Adler Planetarium, which we reached by taking a short walk along Lake Michigan’s shoreline – quickly becoming my favorite body of water. Unfortunately, the planetarium was closing early that day so we didn’t have time to actually go to any of the planetarium shows. (NOTE: They charge extra for the planetarium shows besides general admission, unless you have a Go Chicago Card, in which case you can attend TWO for free. Too bad we missed them, but at least we didn’t pay for them.) We did have time to visit most of the exhibits, which were mostly interactive displays aimed at children. A large bulk of the museum was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. Jim Lovell is one of my personal heroes, so Laura had to listen patiently while I went on and on about him. She lovingly resisted the urge to hit me over the head with a hammer.

Of the three museums, we were the least impressed with the planetarium, but I feel badly casting judgment since we didn’t actually experience the planetarium shows themselves, which to me was the whole point of visiting there in the first place. Darn you, Chicago traffic!

Our last stop – and hands down the best – was the Shedd Aquarium. Until recently the largest aquarium in the world, this place is filled with exotic fish and other aquatic life from all over the world. Even though it is huge, it is very easy to navigate. Whoever designed it needs to build an art museum.

The best part of the aquarium is the lower level where you can see sharks, beluga whales, and other large creatures in deep water. Daniel was fascinated by everything. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so excited. One section of the aquarium is a little play area where kids can play in the water and touch barnacles and sea shells. Daniel was in hog heaven, splashing and playing. We made sure before we left to wave at Granddad, an Australian lungfish and the oldest fish in captivity in the world.

On our way back to the car we were met by a toothless man giving out copies of The Onion. He explained that he was taking donations for the homeless. I gave him the change I had in my pocket, but he said he didn’t want my change. I was a little confused, until it became obvious that he wanted more. He got kind of mad and said, “I don’t want your change. I could give YOU change. You’ve obviously never been homeless.” I do have compassion and I figure the homeless standard of living is pretty high in Chicago, but I didn’t realize there was a minimum required donation. What did he want? My credit card number? Sheesh. Being accosted by a Chicago panhandler: Check that one off the life list.

P.S. FROM LAURA:

I greatly enjoyed watching my little son playing in the water at the Shedd Aquarium, until I noticed another little boy farther down, spitting in the pools. The Egyptian Mummy exhibit at the Field Museum was rather impressive. Egyptian history has been an interest of mine, so I wanted to visit that particular section. It was very hands-on. They even had a few mummies on exhibit, which is rather rare as exhibits go. It was like visiting a little bit of Egypt. Though if you think about it, how enjoyable should the experience be when you are staring at some mummified corpses? I wish that we had more time to explore this museum. (It was rather odd that they had a McDonalds located on the ground level next to the Mummy Exhibit.) I found Adler Planetarium very uninteresting and we walked far too long to get there. There were no hot dog stands or bathrooms in between. I complained the whole time---just ask my husband. It was also odd seeing two people smoking a hookah outside the building. I guess in Chicago, anything goes.