A fun day in the city

We had a very fun day today. Lisa and I took Kevin to the Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium. We last visited both sites four or five years ago and there have been a number of changes at each site.

We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and parked in the lot next to the planetarium which we visited first.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the launching of Apollo 11, Adler had an exhibit containing a number of items donated by astronaut Jim Lovell (of Apollo 13 fame). The actual Gemini XII space capsule was also on exhibit (on loan from the Smithsonian Institution).

We saw a multimedia presentation called Cosmic Collisions and a presentation about all the stars present in the night sky. [I finally learned why the North Star is always in the north!]

After lunch at the planetarium, we walked over to the Shedd Aquarium. We probably should have visited this first as there was a huge line to get into the facility. It took us over a half-hour to get admitted. They have remodeled the area containing the beluga whales and added an exhibit containing species from the Philippines.

I think every Chicagoan who owns a baby stroller was at the Shedd Aquarium today! Every exhibit seemed to be deep in strollers. Patience was required and, towards the end of the day, I was getting tired.

We got caught in Friday night rush hour traffic and did not arrive home until a little before 7:00 p.m.

Despite the ending, it was a fun day and I know Kevin really enjoyed it. I think we will go back next week and visit the Field Museum which is located at the same museum campus.