Gapers Block has the news on the Shedd, which will offer free admission through Jan. 18. Admission to the Wild Reef and the Oceanarium will cost you a few bucks more, but are totally worth it.After locking people out last week - I assume to strike the Star Wars exhibit and to get some maintenance done - the Museum of Science and Industry will be free from Jan. 12 to 31. Sweet feet.
Apparently, there are no special exhibits that will be open during that time, but there's still a train model and the big ass submarine and the City of the Century architecture. Also, baby chickens.
The reason I bring both of these bits up is because they're both places that deserve a second look, especially for those who haven't seen them since field trips in grammar school.
The Shedd really surprised me this week as they built the new Wild Reef exhibit under the main level and did a nice job of cleaning up the rest of the space on the top floor.
I remember when the Shedd was run down and dark - it was cramped and ugly and wasn't on the top of anyone's list to visit after they'd been there once. It was like a dark alley that smeeled like dead fish. In 1991, they added the Oceanarium, which opened the whole building up and made the space viable again.
I'm not sure what it is about old aquariums, but they always look like run down pet shops. There's a little known National Aquarium in downtown Washington, DC, that is nothing short of awful. Worse yet, it's the only museum in Washington that charges an entrance fee.
It's out of the same Shedd mold of dimly lit, cramped and dated public spaces. The Shedd is seemingly turning a corner with regards to becoming a welcoming place again. The main atrium - home to the massive Carribean tank that everyone remembers from being sent to the Shedd on field trips - is now relit with spotlights, bringing out the architecture, which used to hide in the shadows.
It's pretty funny now because for a while the Shedd seemed determined to live down to it's failing reputation. At one point, there was a swamp exhibit in the front lobby - where the main desk is now - that was essentially a major mud hole sunk into the floor.
Apparently no one noticed when workers were walking off with pieces of the ironwork when the swamp was being filled in until years later when a Shedd employee came across sections of the gating for sale in the classifieds.
Suffice to say, the Shedd was always happy to be the ugly stepchild of the Chicago zoo/museum circuit. Now with baby whales arriving pretty regularly and much-needed upgrades taking place, the Shedd can at least be mentioned in the same breath with the rest of the tourist traps in the city.
The Museum of Science and Industry is another aging institution that is trying to reinvent itself for a contemporary audience. The parking lots have been sunk, funneling guests through a new main entrance below ground. The whole experience is simpler than it had been in the past.
With the building being the biggest final remnant of the 1893 World's Fair, there isn't much the museum's board can do in terms of major renovations, but they seem to be holding their own.
The ugrades to the U-505 are nothing short of amazing, taking the submarine from "1975 Camaro left up on blocks in the front yard" status to an actual museum piece. The big picture is still pretty interesting, as there are the old standbys - the giant human heart, the train models and an entire floor that hasn't seen as much as a paint job in 25 to 30 years - mixed in with newly renovated and technologically souped up exhibits.
It's interesting to walk down the old stairwells with the same half-assed science experiments that haven't changed since I was in first grade and then to see the changes as you work your way through the museum.
So, for what it's worth, there are two major tourist sites open for free and on weekends, too. Totally worth it, if only to see what's changed since the last time you were there. This time, there won't be any nuns to smack you in the back of the head for acting the fool.
Not that you should now, or anything - you're a grown up and these are nicer places these days.
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