Adler Planetarium!
Space-type place.
People smile here.

It is basically a crime to visit Chicago without spending some time in Chicago’s Museum Campus. Not only is it home to the wonderful Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum, it is also the home of the world famous Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the oldest planetarium still in existence today. But don’t let that fool you: the Adler Planetarium employs some of the latest state-of-the-art equipment, as well as tons of interactive exhibits that somehow manage to entertain, educate, and hold the attention of both children and adults.

The building itself is impressive, having a huge domed top — for the planetarium part, of course. But that was still to come. You actually enter into the upper floor and can go down from there. The upper floor had some interesting sights, such as a life-like model of NASA’s Mars Rover “Spirit” and a scale model of the solar system featuring a sun that extended beyond the height of the floor.

On the upper floor there were plenty of interactive exhibits such as:

• Dials you could turn to control a boiling geyser simulator, the effect of which was otherworldly and fascinating.
• A crater-making machine which shot clay meteors onto a clay surface to simulate what a real crater would look like.
• Funhouse-type mirrors that showed what might happen to you if you were pulled into a black hole feet first. Apparently the technical term that astronomers use is “spaghettification.” (See the photos.)
• An overhead infrared light aimed at a large round mirror showed how even non-visible light can be reflected. You could definitely feel the heat if you were at the correct angle from the mirror.
• A rather absurd but amusing light sculpture that looked like it was from some 1980s interior design movement, though it was actually meant to give the viewer an idea of how many stars can be seen in the night sky.
• And an obligatory solar-powered car that every museum seems to have these days.

The creators of the museum really made an effort to make the museum as educational and interactive as possible to people of all ages.

Down on the Lower Level

On the lower level, which was quite dark, there was a small theater, which I would see later, and a simulated NASA classroom. Videos of moon landings and space walks were playing on large screens, and beyond that an infrared image of the hallway appeared on a huge screen. I was lucky because just as I approached the large screen, a family of three approached, and their infrared image appeared on the screen. Not sure how much it had to do with astronomy, but it certainly looked interesting! (Hint: Yellow is warmer.)

Cutting-edge Atwood Sphere

Probably the most popular attraction on the lower level was the Atwood Sphere: a huge, yet thin, metal sphere with tiny holes in its surface to create a whopping 692 stars. It was designed to show people the alignments of the stars before humans had ever invented any of the fancy planetarium projectors we use today. At the time it was completed in 1913, it was hailed as “…the most advanced teaching model available and the only walk-in planetarium in North America.” As much as I would have liked to step inside and capture the experience for all of you, there was a line in front of it longer than Falkor, and the planetarium show would be starting soon.

Dearborn Telescope is Ginormous

However, I did have time to see the immense Dearborn Telescope. When I say immense, I mean that you can’t help but gasp when you see it in person, and I could scarcely fit it into my camera’s field of view. Created in 1864, its 18.5 inch lens was a monster in size. A plaque below said that it was originally created for an observatory at the University of Mississippi, but that the Civil War prevented its delivery. So the Chicago Astronomical Society bought it and created the Dearborn telescope. (More information is available in the description of the picture of Dearborn telescope in the gallery.)

Sky Theater Planetarium

Soon, the planetarium show would finally begin. With my camera slung around my neck, I walked into a large dark room, a huge domed ceiling spanning over me, and sat down on one of the hundreds of plastic chairs arranged around a large center column in the center of the room. Atop the column stood a curious device, almost reminiscent of a telescope, except that the end was rounded and had many lenses on its surface. This was the Zeiss Planetarium projector, of course.

The planetarium show was very enjoyable. We got to see a brief history of the historical origins of the constellations, which constellations were visible from Chicago at certain times of the year, and some tips on how to find them ourselves. As you can see from the photos, the projector is also capable of projecting movies onto the domed ceiling, and one of the movies we saw suggested that the galaxies of the universe, when viewed from the right perspective, were arranged in a predictable, almost fractal, pattern. Of course, it’s only a preliminary observation, but if it’s true it would raise some very profound questions about the nature of the universe…

Quickly Shoot for the Moon

When the show ended, I had about 15 minutes before the show in the other theater would start. In that interim, I had just enough time to examine the Gemini XII spacecraft in Adler’s “Shoot for the Moon” exhibit. After looking at the controls, I gained even more respect for the men and women who learn to pilot these incredible machines. In fact, I was surprised that this ancient hunk of metal even made it into orbit. But to be fair, I was looking at quite an old bird that had flown over 40 years ago, and Gemini had aged a lot since then.

Definiti Theater: Cosmic Collisions

The second show took place on the lower level in the Definiti Theater, a digital video environment that utilized a special domed ceiling. This theater was part of an expansion to Adler Planetarium that happened in 1999. That day, a film about planetary collisions, creatively named Cosmic Collisions, was playing in the Definiti Theater; and, despite its name, the film had some rather poignant and graceful moments. It featured some incredible planetary simulations and postulations about how the moon was created. Aside from being entertaining, it was also an educational film, explaining how the Earth’s magnetic field works among other things, and I think most people in the audience walked away having learned something.

Outdoor Attractions

Soon after the Definiti Theater show had finished, the museum closed, but outside of the planetarium were some interesting features, as well. An elegant sculpture entitled “Man Enters the Cosmos” was a reasonably accurate sundial, and a plaque below even explained how to adjust the sundial’s reading to get a more accurate time, depending on the season.

What was more fascinating, though, was Americas’ Courtyard stone calendar. The calendar, built only of short stones that one could sit on, worked on the same principle as the Stonehenge of England, having gaps aligning with where the sun rises and sets at the June and December solstices. The stones were even arranged in a spiral pattern to embody the spiral shape of the galaxies, and I remembered that I’d photographed a plaque inside the museum that mentioned visitors may check the progression of the seasons by seeing where the Sun rises or sets between the two solstice gaps in the stones.

As I photographed the stone calendar, an Asian couple sat on some of the stones, probably deciding how they would spend the rest of their day in Chicago; and in the distance, tiny white sailboats navigated the calm lake. In that moment, as the shadows from the stones grew longer, the afternoon light was rather beautiful.

It’s Out of this World

Whether you have children or not, the Adler Planetarium is not to be missed. Beyond being the only museum in the world with two full-size planetarium theaters and being the oldest planetarium still existing today, the Adler Planetarium has continued to adapt to the changing times and remains an excellent place to explore the wonders of the galaxy around us — the perfect balance between classic and cutting-edge. If you’re taking a trip to visit Chicago, please stop by the Museum Campus. Once you see the dome for yourself, you may just be drawn to go inside and make your own discoveries.

See you, space cowboy.

Photos from this trip are in the Adler Planetarium – Chicago album. All photos in the Byteful Gallery can be used as desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440) just like the fullscreen & widescreen wallpapers.

On a Tuesday in August, I visited another jewel in Chicago’s crown: The John G. Shedd Aquarium, a treasure trove of radiant marine life.

Before I get into the story of my visit, I’d like to share some quick stats to help give you a sense of how fantastic this aquarium is:

• Contains over 25,000 fish; 2,100 different species of fish, mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects
• Continually filters 19 MILLION liters of water (5 million gal.)
• Was once the largest indoor aquarium in the world
• Was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection
• At 2 Million annual visitors, it’s the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago

Of Land-bridges and Vikings

Of course, I found all of this out after I’d visited, but none of it surprises me now. Without a doubt, the Shedd Aquarium exceeded my expectations. On my way inside, I noticed a large statue of Christopher Columbus that was ironically engraved “To Christopher Columbus, Discoverer of America”, and I wondered what the Vikings or those who crossed the ancient Alaskan land-bridge might have thought of that.

After snapping a quick photo of the view of the Chicago skyline, I stepped inside, about to see some of the most fantastic creatures in the world.

Caimans and Dolphins and Whales, Oh My!

Uncounted numbers of beautiful and mysterious creatures filled the aquarium’s walls, many of which I’d wanted to see for some time. Dwarf Caimans, Caiman Lizards, horribly poisonous Bullet Ants, fat frogs, a Beluga whale family, and more.

One of the highlights of my visit was a dolphin show that took place in the Oceanarium and featured four expertly-trained Pacific White-sided Dolphins. The dolphins seemed to really enjoy performing, and I know the audience definitely enjoyed watching. Somehow I was able to capture a few photos of them in mid-air as they jumped and played, seemingly effortlessly. In their final jump, all four leapt out in formation and dove back into the water in perfect synchronization. It was a wonderful finale, and the applause was immense.

Oceanarium: Lower Level

Afterward, I went below the waterline of the Oceanarium to the lower level to photograph the aquarium tanks through their clear glass walls. The tanks were so huge that the tank walls spanned multiple rooms. One tank even had a baby Beluga whale (you could tell because, unlike its pale parents, it was gray).

Nearby, I also learned a bit about how these huge tanks were filtered and maintained. Through a window, I could see twelve huge particle-based filters. A sign attached to the outside of one of the tanks explained that water was forced down layers of sand and gravel so that solids were trapped in the top few inches of fine-grain sand, and the remaining tanks were handled by another fifteen filters. With these facts in mind, I wandered in deeper.

Faust, the Lazy Komodo Dragon

Surprisingly enough, there was also a small exhibit of lizards on the lower level. And there I met the very rare (and very adorable) Blue Tree Monitor Lizard, only recently identified as its own species. And, as I came around the corner, I found myself sharing a room with a Komodo Dragon for the first time. Later, I found out his name was Faust, and Faust was lazy that day.

To be honest, the photos of Faust are probably all you need to see. Having heard so much hype about the fearsome reputation of Komodo Dragons, I was rather unimpressed by seeing Faust in person. He barely moved when I visited him. Then again, if I were kept well-fed in a warm yet limited environment, I might be lazy too. 😉

The Incredible Wild Reef

Moving onward, I took an elevator down one level to the aquarium’s newest exhibit, Wild Reef. When I stepped out, the creatures were absolutely striking. Such vibrant violets, oranges, greens, and blues…

When I first came down to the lowest level, I would have sworn blind that I saw the world’s first flying ray, but alas, it was a trick of my mind. The reality was that the water was so perfectly clear that a family of rays seemed to fly in the air as they swam over the sand. You can tell from the photo that the water appeared almost completely invisible, which was really a testament to how well Shedd Aquarium keeps the water clean. Those filters I saw before were working hard.

A few minutes later, I saw one of the most charming oddities in nature: a Guitarfish. Unfortunately, the extremely low-light condition of the room made capturing an acceptable photo very challenging, but I was able to capture one photo of the creature’s belly (now in the Byteful Gallery). From that photo you can easily see where it got its name: on its snout is a half meter long piece of cartilage that resembles the neck of a guitar! Truly amazing animals Guitarfish are.

There was no lack of fascinating creatures at the Wild Reef exhibit, such as the tiny white and purple speckled puffer fish that looked like it was trying to camouflage itself, in vain, to match the nearby purple coral. It was a beautiful little creature. I even spotted a few clownfish clowning around. Yes, I found Nemo — and Marlin too apparently.

Closing Time Again

Yet time was running out. The past two hours had flown by like a hummingbird on caffeine, and I had only 3 minutes left before the aquarium staff would start picking people up and literally throwing them out the door. I hurried to see the few remaining exhibits I had missed on the main floor. (Note to the wise: Always work your way to the to lowest level and end on the main floor.)

In those last minutes, I was able to see the proud Blue Iguana (which seemed especially happy to have its mugshot taken in the last few minutes). I was surprised to see that it had a red iris. Is this typical for lizards? I also snapped a photo of a massive sea turtle that looked older than Chicago itself, though I may have simply been imagining it. I mean, just look at it! (You’ll see what I mean when you see the photos in the gallery after you’ve finished this article.) If anyone can help me identify the species of this turtle, I would greatly appreciate it. I’m not a biologist by any means, so please forgive my ignorance regarding lizard irises and ancient tortoises.

Go Visit it for Yourself!

Without a doubt, the Shedd Aquarium is one of my top 5 places to see in Chicago, and I would visit again. It’s a wonderful way to see how beautiful and precious the life from the Earth’s oceans is. And the amazing part is that even though it contains over 2,000 species of fish, it’s still only scratches the surface of the unimaginable diversity of the Earth’s magnificent ocean.

If you have the means, please visit the Shedd Aquarium. There’s something there for everyone to enjoy, and it’s breathtaking in its own special way — an experience you won’t forget. And I certainly haven’t covered everything here. The Shedd Aquarium is simply too dense to fully appreciate in just one visit. Go visit it for yourself, and be sure to say “Hi” to Nemo when you get there. 😉

Photos from this trip are in the Shedd Aquarium – Chicago album. All photos in the Byteful Gallery can be used as widescreen desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440).