Chicago, Illinois, USA - 2nd September 2007
By: kjnohr
kjnohr took Flora and me to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago today. kjnohr thought the museum opened at 9:30 am, but it didn't open until 11:00 am, so we arrived early. We used that time to take some pictures around the outside of the museum, which was built as the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1893 World Colombian Exposition. It opened as a museum in 1933.
Don't we look tiny on the steps of this huge building?
After taking the pictures outside the museum, we still had time so kjnohr took us across the street to see Lake Michigan. Here I am after getting my first glimpse of it across Lake Shore Drive.
We took the path underneath the road and came out by the lake.
Here is what the museum looks like from the lake side of the Drive.
Finally we were able to go inside. First we went to see the Great Train Story, a HUGE model railroad with Chicago at one end and Seattle at the other end. Look, it's the Sears Tower and the Space Needle, just dozens of feet apart!
Before leaving the train area, we sat on an old-fashioned trolley.
We then walked through the Streets of Yesterday. It looks like an old cobblestone street with all kinds of old shops and buildings. There is even a theater that plays silent movies. It was a very dark area, so it was difficult to take many pictures, but we did get one in front of the doctor's office and one on top of a mailbox outside the post office.
Next we learned about petroleum. These bubbling boxes represent petroleum in the ground. I never knew oil was so pretty!
I went into the mirror maze and pretended to be a hydrocarbon.
We then went into the Toymaker 3000. I was very excited to see another kind of toy being made. Look at all of those top parts!
There were a number of hands-on exhibits in this area explaining how robots work. In this one, we got our picture taken and then picked dance moves for the robot to do. Don't we look great?
We went in to see the baby chicks in the Genetics exhibit. They are so cute! Unfortunately, they made Flora hungry, so we didn't stay there long.
At this point, I wanted to go upstairs to see all the airplanes. On the way up the stairs, we saw many different kinds of gears.
What a neat old plane!
This is part of a United Airlines jet that was donated to the museum. It was flown to Gary, Indiana, floated across Lake Michigan on a barge, dismantled and reconstructed inside the museum as an exhibit.
I bet I'll never get this close to a jet engine again!
Flora and I were getting very tired, so we decided to rest on this bench. Hey, is that the Titanic?
After our short break, we continued walking around the balcony. I looked over and saw the huge banner for CSI: The Experience. Unfortunately, the exhibit was sold out that day, but kjnohr assured me no photography is allowed inside anyway.
Finally we came to this 16 foot tall model of a heart. Wow!
We went downstairs to the Great Hall so that kjnohr could buy some postcards. While we were down there, we took a look at the Pioneer Zephyr, a stainless steel train that once set a speed record for the trip between Denver and Chicago.
We started heading back towards the door we came in, but first we stopped to see the circus parade and a stagecoach.
Finally we ended up in the Henry Crown Space Center where we came in. Most of the exhibits have been removed for renovation, but the Apollo 8 capsule is still there.
Boy, I sure did learn a lot. Flora and I were very tired, but we decided to pose for one last picture in the car on the way out of the parking lot.
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Posted Sep 6, 2007, 4:14 am Last edited Sep 6, 2007, 3:00 pm by kjnohr
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