Michelle and Sari arrived in Chicago early for the Association of Children's Museums conference, so they could spend time in the
city and visit some museums. We loved the public art in Millenium Park, both the Cloud Gate (commonly referred to as "the bean")
and the Crown Fountain, two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool which project video images of
the faces of Chicago residents.
We also visited the Museum of Science and Industry where our favorite exhibits were the U-505 Submarine exhibit and the
Coal Mine tour. At the Chick Hatchery, where we watched about 6-8 chicks hatch in a half hour, we overheard a caregiver
tell a child "Those are your McNuggets." An unusual teaching moment, don't you think?
Sari had arrived a few days earlier than Michelle and visited the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, which has some great
media-based exhibits on the First Amendment. She was surprised to find that the Tribune Tower building exterior is
embedded with rocks collected from places around the world, including the Alamo, the Great Wall of China, and Bunker
Hill. She saw a Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The conservatory itself
was a lovely surprise, and Sari took note of the brief interpretive labels in the greenhouse, which included charming little rhymes.
Sari also visited the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum (with the great exhibit Evolving Planet), and the Art Institute.
Then she took a long nap.
