From Your Local Arrangements Committee -
Survey of Recreational Activities to Offer at 2010 Forum

On behalf of the Chicago Local Arrangements Committee, I invite you to take a brief survey about recreational activities (baseball, tours, etc.) to be offered during the 2010 Forum, AIR’s annual conference. Our goal is to design offerings based on your interests as a Forum attendee.

Please click the link below to be redirected to the survey page. It should take only a few minutes to complete the survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=CWVQ_2f7FjlOdHHQJQEZXycQ_3d_3d

Thank you for your participation; we value your time and input.

Sincerely,

Linda S. Buyer
Local Arrangements Committee Member
l-buyer@govst.edu

From Your Local Arrangements Committee -
Chicago Museums and Cultural Institutions
Linda S. Buyer, Local Arrangements Committee Member (l-buyer@govst.edu)

Culture vulture? Have I got a city for you … Chicago has more than 50 museums. Among the “must-see” Chicago museums are the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago. It was established in 1879, and hosts approximately 1.5 million people each year. Today, the museum houses more 33,000 works of fine art.

The Museum Campus houses the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the John G. Shedd Aquarium - all within a 57-acre lakefront park created when Lake Shore Drive was rerouted to run west of Soldier Field in 1998. The Adler is the only museum in the world with two full-size planetarium theatres. It was the first planetarium built in the western hemisphere and is today, the oldest. The Shedd opened in 1930 and houses more than 25,000 fish and other sea creatures, representing more than 2,100 species. In 2007, it was the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. The Field museum houses many notable exhibits, including Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex currently known.

The Museum of Science and Industry is situated in what once was The Palace of the Fine Arts (constructed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition) in Jackson Park (south of downtown). “Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the Museum features a working coal mine, a German submarine (U-505) captured during World War II, a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train (Pioneer Zephyr), and a NASA space capsule used on the Apollo 8 mission.” (Wikipedia).

For a sublime outdoor experience in the north suburbs, escape to the Chicago Botanical Garden. “It is a 385-acre living museum situated on nine islands featuring 23 display gardens…” (Wikipedia) which is the very definition of eye candy. For beautiful flowers closer to downtown, you could try one of Chicago’s fascinating conservatories, either the Garfield Park Conservatory or the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Garfield Park opened just over a hundred years ago, in 1908. It consists of six greenhouses and two exhibition halls, as well as outdoor garden space, and is one of the largest conservatories in the world.

Lincoln Park Conservatory is the older of the two conservatories (built between 1890 and 1895) and is immediately adjacent to the Lincoln Park Zoo (see below). It has four display greenhouses: Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House and the Show House (home to the annual flower shows) as well as “Granny’s garden” (properly called “Grandmother’s Garden”) and the “Front Lawn” located outside of the greenhouses.

Chicago is also home to two zoos: the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo. The Lincoln Park Zoo is about 3 miles north of downtown. It is located in a 49 acre park on the lakefront, houses more than 1,100 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year. Brookfield Zoo is 14 miles west of the city (located in Brookfield, IL). It is located on 216 acres, and houses approximately 450 species of animals.