Visiting the Adler Planetarium
This week my friends and I visited the Adler Planetarium at the museum campus just south of the loop. I had never been before, and the experience was awesome. They had a wide range of different exhibits and they talked about all kinds of things relating to space. After visiting myself, I would highly recommend anyone in the city to stop by and check it out.
My friends and I were able to take advantage of one of the great special offers that the planetarium provides, which is free tickets for Illinois residents on Wednesday evenings. We reserved tickets online and got into the planetarium completely for free. We did end up purchasing tickets for the Skywatch show which were $15, but we all agreed that it was worth it. Within that show, they project the sky onto a huge dome screen above the theater and you get to see the stars over Chicago throughout the night. There is a narrator who explains everything and you actually end up learning a good amount when the show is done.
Beyond the Skywatch show there is a ton to see within the planetarium itself. Some of my favorite exhibits were the ones that related to Chicago. We even got a group photo with an overhead camera where it looked like we were standing on the sky above the city. I also really liked some of the historical exhibits they had, and they had it set up in a way where it led from the first ever evidence of people studying space to the state of space exploration today.
Unfortunately, we were not able to see the entire planetarium, but I am definitely going to go back soon to see the rest of it. On top of the amazing exhibits inside, the view of the Chicago skyline from its position on Lake Michigan might be the best you can get. Overall, I would highly recommend checking out the planetarium if you are interested in space, looking for something fun to do in the city, or just want to try something new and exciting!
~Jeff