Exploring the big three

In the second of a three-part series, we take a look at what Chicago’s three main museums (The Art Institute, Science and Industry and Field) have to offer the 20-to-30-something crowd

This month: The Museum of Science and Industry

By Paul M. Banks

For generation Y, the Museum of Science and Industry offers much more than what you recall from school field trips or supplementary “Nova” extra-curricular outings. Nova was a field trip-intensive public-school program for children accelerated in Reading and English. Yes, I was a huge nerd in junior high, but this nerd got to skip school quite a bit more than some students because of my inclusion in this group. The MSI was one of our most frequent destinations, and it was a pleasure rediscovering some of the favorite exhibits of my youth. Fun to unearth some new ones too.

A Global Warning - Omnimax Theatre’s “Hurricane on the Bayou”
This really big-screen offering depicts how Hurricane Katrina was both literally and metaphorically a vicious cycle. The erosion of Louisiana wetlands is occurring more rapidly than anyone ever anticipated; Katrina then came along and eroded another large mass of soil and coastline. These bayou wetlands are often referred to as “natural speed bumps against hurricanes” in the film. It’s an inconvenient truth that hurricanes weaken over land and strengthen when over ocean. Warmer seas increase hurricane wind velocity. Katrina was a category 1 before entering the Caribbean. When it passed over the Loop Current (two degrees warmer than usual at the time), it grew into the category 5 swirling storm that subsequently struck New Orleans.

The hurricane’s torrential downpours and floods destroyed large portions of wetlands. Less vegetation remains to absorb increasing carbon dioxide pollution. More heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions means more warming, which means warmer oceans, stronger storms and one utterly vicious and destructive cycle.

Just because former vice president Al Gore is leading the fight against global warming doesn’t mean climate change is a strictly “political issue.” It’s not a debate of conservative vs. liberal or Republican vs. Democrat. Stopping climate change is an all encompassing moral imperative because its devastating effects will impair us all: people on the right, the left and the apolitical. This emotional, informative and captivating film, narrated by Meryl Streep and endorsed by the Weather Channel’s climate change experts is (just like hurricane Katrina itself) a stark reminder of all the social, economic and moral issues at stake.

Train in Vain
Not since the 1996 NBA finals have Chicago and Seattle coalesced for such an entertaining endeavor. “The Great Train Story” features 34 miniature trains on a cross-country trip through the Indiana Dunes, rural America, steel and lumber mills and mountains. Upon reaching the West Coast, children get an introduction to offshore outsourcing, with a container ship unloading its cargo from across the Pacific Ocean. The reconstruction of downtown Chicago is amazingly meticulous with precise recreations of the Ashland station and Chicago red line stop. For more info, check out www.msichicago.org/exhibit/great_train_story/funfacts/index.html.

If you dig trains, also be sure to board the great hall’s Pioneer Zephyr. The train’s nickname of “Silver Streak” reminds me of the 1976 film of the same name. The quintessential Chicago movie has an epic climax in Union Station and is a perfect example of what made Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder such a crazy comedic duo. The scene where Pryor teaches Wilder “how to be black” is classic.

Net Gain
If my Nova past doesn’t reveal my personal geekiness, my affinity for this influential exhibit will. The walls here decode “the plumbing and traffic cops” of the internet with basic definitions of IP routers, routing protocols and packet switching. We truly live in a revolutionary era of communication technology. A timeline describes the critical breakthroughs of our generation; Tim Berners-Lee coining the phrase “World Wide Web” and Marc Andreessen leading a group that invented the first browser at the University of Illinois in Champaign are some of the milestones.

Sub Club
The surreal sight of a 252-foot long and 750-ton submarine indoors is worth the price of admission by itself. If you last saw the sub when it was outdoors prior to 2004, then you really haven’t seen it the way that you should. Take it all in from the outside, stroll through all the WWII paraphernalia and propaganda, learn the story of how a captured German U-boat ended up on land in middle America and then pay the extra $5 to book your on-board tour. The all-inclusive experience will be to your museum visit what Nicole Scherzinger is to the PussyCat Dolls.

The U-505 and its surroundings are complemented well by “Navy: Technology at Sea & Flight Simulators.” This portion of the museum and the U.S.S. Intrepid Air and Sea Museum (an aircraft carrier docked on the Manhattan side of the Hudson River) are arguably the best military museums in the country.

Heartland
If the feature films “Fast Food Nation” and “Super Size Me” didn’t scare you into improving your diet and exercise habits, then the valves and tubes displayed in “Your Heart” will. Check out the giant heart, then learn how atherosclerosis clogs blood flow leading to strokes, heart attacks and circulatory illness. Contrast the soft, smooth and healthy artery wall against the hard, rough and diseased artery wall. You’ll be sure to cut back on the egg yolks and red meats afterward.

The Best of the Rest
There are numerous other exhibits that are just as fascinating and interactive now as they were during your youth. Other highlights that I didn’t have time to cover include “The Baby Chick Hatchery,” “Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle” (think Bavarian King Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein in miniature), “Yesterday’s Main Street,” which depicts Chicago in the era of silent films, the Black Sox and speakeasies, and “Take Flight.” The latter features a real United Boeing 727, showcasing how the inner components of the airplane utilize the highest principles of aerodynamics. Upon leaving, I remembered an apt quote posted in Networld by prominent German thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “My poor head is in such a whirl, my mind is all in bits.”

The Museum of Science and Industry is located at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive.
Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information and a complete pricing schedule log on to www.msichicago.org or call (773) 684-1414.

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