Today we intended to complete the museum campus trifecta. We went to The Field Museum of Natural History on our first day and today we had The Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium on the list.
First up was The Adler Planetarium. They had a great exhibit on the history of the theory of the universe beginning with the flat Earth that was the center of everything and ending with the idea that the universe is expanding. At each stage there was a list of how the new theory improved on the previous one. It made me realize how little about this stuff that I know.
We also saw a pretty amazing show called Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. Visually it was stunning (and you have to love watching a flick leaned back in your chair and staring at the ceiling), the sound was great (with narration by Liam Neeson), and the content fascinating. It went by a bit too fast for me so I'll have to see it again sometime. There's a link to the trailer on this page.
A neat bit of trivia: "The Earth's natural radioactive decay releases as much energy in one second as the amount of energy used by the United States in about four-and-a-half years.
There was also a nice exhibit on the history of US space travel. I think the rest of the planetarium was skippable with lots of mediocre interactive learning tools.
After taking a quick rest, we headed to the Shedd Aquarium. Interesting observation: they actually have a pretty cheap basic admission ($8) but the cheapest package they advertise is $23. Anywho, the aquarium was nice. Fish are pretty amazing creatures. They also had a newborn beluga whale. And sharks. And a komodo dragon. There were two standouts for me. First was an Australian lungfish who has been in Chicago since the 1933 (!) World's Fair. Second were the sea dragons.
In the evening we went to Twin Anchors, an old neighborhood restaurant off the beaten path (but still packed), for some delicious ribs. Falling off the bone with a nice tangy sauce, they were worth the long wait.
First up was The Adler Planetarium. They had a great exhibit on the history of the theory of the universe beginning with the flat Earth that was the center of everything and ending with the idea that the universe is expanding. At each stage there was a list of how the new theory improved on the previous one. It made me realize how little about this stuff that I know.
We also saw a pretty amazing show called Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. Visually it was stunning (and you have to love watching a flick leaned back in your chair and staring at the ceiling), the sound was great (with narration by Liam Neeson), and the content fascinating. It went by a bit too fast for me so I'll have to see it again sometime. There's a link to the trailer on this page.A neat bit of trivia: "The Earth's natural radioactive decay releases as much energy in one second as the amount of energy used by the United States in about four-and-a-half years.
There was also a nice exhibit on the history of US space travel. I think the rest of the planetarium was skippable with lots of mediocre interactive learning tools.
After taking a quick rest, we headed to the Shedd Aquarium. Interesting observation: they actually have a pretty cheap basic admission ($8) but the cheapest package they advertise is $23. Anywho, the aquarium was nice. Fish are pretty amazing creatures. They also had a newborn beluga whale. And sharks. And a komodo dragon. There were two standouts for me. First was an Australian lungfish who has been in Chicago since the 1933 (!) World's Fair. Second were the sea dragons.
In the evening we went to Twin Anchors, an old neighborhood restaurant off the beaten path (but still packed), for some delicious ribs. Falling off the bone with a nice tangy sauce, they were worth the long wait.
3 comments:
Hey, is there anything left of Chicago to see???? Glad you liked Twin Anchors, did you eat all your ribs? Lyla & Gary
There's still lots to see and do! We're going to have to save some for next time. (Kyle was the only one to finish the ribs.)
Damn right I finished my ribs, and I finished my onion rings, and I finished my pickle. I would have gone over to the next table and finished their ribs for them too if they'd have let me. I could have eaten all night.
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