Museum family fun day

A couple weeks ago we had a magically free Saturday (kind of...we cancelled a bunch of things bc everyone was just kind of worn out and it had been a rough couple of weeks with friend drama and we really needed a family day!). So we headed up to the Museum of Science and Industry and Shedd Aquarium for the day (sidenote: I really love the whole pandemic-induced concept of timed entry. We walked into the MOSI which NEVER in my life has happened EVER; usually it's like an hour wait, and then the hour-long wait for timed entry at Shedd was magically bypassed thanks to the members-only entrance). 

The MOSI is our kids' favorite museum but we haven't been there since I was pregnant with Matthew! So it was really fun to go back and revisit exhibits that they remembered, albeit with a much younger lens. 

And it was really fun as a parent to go to this museum with older kids; it was kind of rough with little little kids because the younger ones would get bored pretty quickly. Matthew was at the perfect entry age. 

We LOVED this mirror maze and Matthew has asked every day when we are going back. It was such a good one and genuinely tricked us a few times!



So many fun things to see and explore. 

So many chicks to love! Thankfully everyone knows that baby chicks grow up into big chickens, and nobody left the exhibit begging for a new batch of chicks. ;-)

Yes, every single one of us checked out how proportional our wingspan is to our height. 

This train city is so elaborate and I love how many little details there are to discover!

We were about a week too early for the Trees of the World, but it was still fun to check out the ones that they'd finished decorating!

Dr. Bailey is always a good guide. ;-) (I kid you not, he frequently picks up a small group and I have had soooooo many people tell me "gosh I learned some really interesting things from just listening to your husband talk to your kids!")

This was a fun new addition to the U-boat exhibit! All of us ended up with sinking our subs, so clearly we have some practicing to do. 

After five or six hours at the MOSI, we headed over to Shedd and stayed there until closing. It was super crowded when we first got there and then really emptied out over the last show, so we hung out watching the belugas for a half-hour or so and it was amazing--they were popping their heads up, the baby beluga was inching itself along through just a couple inches of water and pushing its toys around...so so fun and they were SO noisy and chortling and calling to each other. 

 

Then we walked over across the bridge (it was FREEZING! Classic Windy City!) and then ate some extremely delicious Indian food before walking back to the Museum Campus and admiring all the lights. Such a fun day. 

Chicago!!

The weekend before my birthday, we decided to spend a day in Chicago. We haven't been there since a few months before the pandemic, so we were super excited to go back. We opted to just go up for the day to minimize potential exposure at hotels, so it was an early morning!

We started at Shedd Aquarium the minute it opened and had a great time checking out the touch pools (sea stars and stingrays!). 

The shows in the Oceanarium aren't quite running again, but they are beginning practices! So we watched the practices for the penguins (a CART THAT OPENED AND PENGUINS RAN OUT, Luke almost died of joy), sea lion, and dolphins. So fun! We spent a solid 3 hours hanging out in the oceanarium watching the beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, and sea lions. 

So much fun! Then after 5ish hours we headed over to the Field (if you've never been to Chicago, there's a peninsula called the Museum Campus that houses the Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, and Field Museum all within walking distance of each other). 

For someone who continues to be obsessed with dinosaurs and sharks as an adult, it was a pretty great day. ;-)

My kids watch this video about natural selection twice through every time we visit. Total ritual. 

Loved these cool chandeliers (below) and the Maori sacred meeting hut (above). 

I don't know how much longer the girls will keep consenting to do this pose (they started it when they were maybe 3 and 5?) but I am so thankful they've continued to humor me. 

I love this so much and I love even more that all of my kids individually asked me if I'd seen it. Haha!



We stayed at the Field until closing (actually until after closing thanks to a torrential downpour) and then started to walk towards Millenium Park. 

It rained on us sooooo much. We spent a lot of time under trees trying to keep from getting completely drenched. 

We stood under an event tent at Buckingham Fountain for awhile while the rain finished up and then was done for good, hurray!

Then we walked over to Millennium Park & took the requisite photos at the Cloud Gate (Bean) and listened to the Dvorzak symphony for awhile. 

Then we went to Maggie Daley park...

And then we walked down Michigan Avenue to grab dinner. Loved seeing that the Obama portraits are back at the Art Institute!

Dinner at a fantastic Thai restaurant...

And then we walked back to the Museum Campus to get our car and drove home. A truly fantastic day crammed full of our Chicago favorites.