Exploring Chicago's Museums: Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, and Field Museum

Our first stop took us to the Adler Planetarium. I must admit that my first thought as we walked in was that the shore of Lake Michigan was a strange place to put a planetarium, but there's quite a history to this place that I wasn't aware of. The Adler first opened in 1930 and was the first modern planetarium in the western hemisphere. Somehow I wasn't surprised to learn that, as we had already discovered that Chicago likes to have the first, tallest, and biggest of things!

Those roots can be seen most clearly in the Atwood Sphere, which is a walk-in planetarium, built in 1913. It's a simple enough idea, with hundreds of holes drilled into the surface of what is essentially a huge metal ball, representing the stars you can see in the night sky above Chicago. You enter the sphere in what can only be described as the equivalent of a small mining car or elevator that heads into the sphere on tracks. Seating about seven or eight people, you then watch the stars move across the sky, as the sphere slowly rotates. It's an amazing piece of engineering, when you remember how old the thing now is, and it's surprisingly relaxing to be in there.

Somehow, this was perhaps more enjoyable than some of the Adler's e-ticket attractions, the planetarium theaters. There are three of them, and you're faced with a bewildering choice of shows to pick from when you enter. We went with Skywatchers of Africa, simply because it fitted the timescale of our visit. Interesting though it was, it obviously didn't engage any of us enough, as the three of us all managed to rest our eyes at least once during the presentation. We blamed it on some very comfortable seats!