Weekend In Chicago-Day 3-Part 1

 Seeing Stars @             Alder Planetarium

We did so much in the first 2 days in Chicago that even if that was all the time we had it would have been a great trip. But Monday, day 3, was the one that I'd been waiting for. It was the day of the event that was the reason for the trip to begin with.

(Note to the "grammar police": Yes, I know I just ended, not just one  but two, sentences with a preposition. I'm claiming "poetic license") 

On our itinerary for the day included: virtually exploring the universe, seeing a famous fountain, viewing our distorted reflection off of a "giant bean", and going to see the New York Yankees play.

We left the hotel about 10AM. Since we were now "experienced travelers", we had almost no trouble getting to our first destination of the day. We even took a bit of a detour to look at a landmark I was really excited about. More on that later. 

I hadn't been to a planetarium since I was in 4th grade and I've wanted to go to one, again, for a long time. Paula felt the same way; so we decided to go to the first one ever built in the western hemisphere. Adler Planetarium just so happened to be located right near the Field Museum. 

For a change we parked in an open lot and not in a parking garage. It was paid only $15 for the privilege. The spot we found was only about 100 yards from the front door of the planetarium. 

We were greeted by this poster telling us what we would be seeing in the actual planetarium show later in the day. 

Once the guard at the entrance saw our tickets she directed us to the lower level of the building. Just like the Field Museum the day before we had to go to a different counter to get our ticket for a special 3D movie. We chose to see a feature about the sun.

Just like the day before we had time before the movie. We went back to the top floor. 

The first exhibit we saw was right up my alley. It was entitled "Shoot For The Moon." It told the story of the United States' successful effort of landing a man on the moon. 

Displayed was a series of model rockets showing the progression of the spacecraft from the Mercury Redstone to Gemini Titian and finally the Apollo Saturn V. 

There was a Saturn V model just like the one I have on my shelf at home. This one is in much better shape and has a professional paint job. But it's about the 3rd place I've seen "my" Saturn V rocket model this year. 

Also on display was pair of coveralls, a helmet, a watch, and a glove worn in space by astronaut Jim Lovell. He was a crew member of Apollo 8 the first to orbit the moon. But he is probably best known for being the commander of the ill-faded Apollo 13 mission. 

There were videos of the first moon landing by Neil Armstrong and other exhibits about the Apollo astronauts and other moon landings. 

The exhibit not only displayed the history of moon exploration of the past but predicted NASA's return to earth's only natural satellite for possible colonization as soon as the year 2018.  

There was a video game that gave you the opportunity to try and land a lunar module on the moon's surface. 

I had tried a game almost exactly like this before. I wasn't any good at it then nor was I any better now. I crashed my ship in a cloud of lunar dust. 

We exited the "Shoot For The Moon" area entering into a large room dedicated to the solar system. This room is like the largest school science fair project ever created. 

There is a large sun to the right side of the room and models of each of the of the planets, except for earth, hanging from the ceiling. 

Underneath each were displays that gave facts and figures about the planet above it. 

The earth model in this exhibit was a bit bigger than the rest of the other planets as it hovered and rotated within a display of it's own. It was a bit out of proportion; but it gave me the opportunity for a great picture.

Does This Earth Make My Head Look Big?

When it came time to head to the 3D theater on the ground floor we got turned around and weren't very sure where we should go. 

A young female planetarium employee with a clipboard was walking by us in the opposite direction. I stopped her and asked directions. It was obvious that she was on her way somewhere else in the building but she did something that really impressed me. She led us to where we needed to go. 

She not only escorted us to the entrance of the theater ; but she got us there by way of a private elevator. Once in the very small elevator, on the way down to the bottom floor, we joked that she really wasn't a museum employee and that she was kidnapping us. She laughed and played along but in a good way. 

When we arrived at the theater we thanked her and she left us. I don't remember if she gave us her name. I can tell you one thing though with an attitude of service like that she'll go far in whatever she does. 

The movie was about a pair of sophisticated satellite explorers sent to orbit opposite sides of the sun. This allows the photographs and video they take to be 3D.

The film's 3D effects were good but a bit too exaggerated. At times the sun came off the screen a bit too much. It looked more like a solar egg than a big round sphere. 

It was interesting but a bit too nerdy and repetitive to be entertaining. The best thing about it that it allowed us time to sit and relax just a bit.

After the movie we ready to get something to drink and a bite to eat. We returned to the upper floor to Cafe' Galileo. It was the planetarium's lunch counter. Very similar to the cafeteria where we had lunch the day before at the Field Museum. 

The menu and prices were similar to Corner Bakery as well. I got a calzone with Italian sausage, green peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce. Paula got the same thing.We also got a Vitamin Water Zero to drink. 

The sausage was so hot it burned my mouth. I could hardly eat it. Paula used her salad as a "buffer" against the spice of the sausage. We both left most of the sausage on our plates. 

There was one cool thing about lunch though. The walls in this part of the building were all windows that looked out on both Lake Michigan with the downtown skyline in the distance. The view from our table looked like this.  

After we finished eating we decided to go out onto the viewing platform and take some pictures of the panoramic view. Chicago is a picturesque city.

As you have seen in this series of posts already, we took a lot of "scenic view" pictures of downtown's skyscrapers. Here's a view of the city from a most unique perspective. 

Reflections of Chicago

While we were outside enjoying the view and beautiful late August weather (it was sunny, breezy and in the mid 70's) with the Windy City skyline behind us Paula captured this picture of us on her I-Phone.  

After we made our way back into the museum, a survey of the guide map told us that there wasn't much more we wanted to see. But we still had yet to see the one objective of our visit: the classic planetarium show. 

The Grainger Sky Theater is literally the centerpiece of the Adler Planetarium. It is in the center of the upper floor of the museum. 

We easily found the lobby of the theater that was an interactive queue to entertain those who were waiting for the next program. 

A ticket taker told us that the next show started in about 30 minutes. Initially, we thought the show was included in our admission ticket so we just walked around, including a quick walk through the gift shop, until it was nearly show time. 

Upon our return, we tried to enter the theater but another usher told us we needed to purchase a special ticket. 

At first I wasn't going to spend the extra $10 a piece just out of principal. But I really had my heart set on discovering the universe from the comfort of a theater seat. 

We hurried to the counter, bought our tickets and soon were lounging back in our comfortable chairs looking up at the domed theater waiting to for the show to start. 

It was an amazing show as our theater guide not only transported us around our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy but to the very edge of the universe. It was the highlight of our day at the planetarium. 

After a return trip to the gift shop to browse and pick up an Adler refrigerator magnet we decided that our visit was over. 

With just a couple of hours before we had to leave for the baseball game we still had some important places to see on our last day in the city. 

We walked out of Alder and headed to our next destination. 

It would turn out to be one of the most memorable and romantic moments of our entire vacation. 

More that and the rest of day 3 in Chicago in my next post.