Before the first such event started, we went to find the Omnimax theater so we would know where to go later. (The Museum is a big place!) While around there, we saw an exhibit on the history of the space program. There was a dramatic video about the moon landing, which was interesting because I didn't previously know about the issues encountered on the way down.
The first scheduled event was a tour of the captured German U-505 submarine. The entrance hall to the main room told of how the American military planned to capture a German sub rather than just sink it. That was an amazing feat, especially considering that the sub was continuing to sink as the Americans boarded and secured it. Its inside is very cramped, even after some objects were removed to make entrances for museum visitors.
We then went to look at the DARPA exhibit, which had a wall for the history of interesting modern technologies started there. In the rest of the room, videos and captioned pictures illustrated real-world applications for DARPA's research.
We then stopped by the food court for noodle bowls, which were delicious.
Continuing to explore the central area of the main floor, we walked through a section on genetics, which mentioned some applications of genetic engineering in dealing with genetic disorders.
In the Omnimax theater, we saw National Parks Adventure, which had absolutely amazing scenes of natural wonders. It followed the experiences of a small group of people taking trips to America's national parks. The movie also had a brief history of the national parks' conception (Theodore Roosevelt's trip with John Muir).
After the movie, we looked through "Fast Forward", a hall of ideas currently in development that have the potential to hugely impact life.
It was then time for the last timed-entry event: Future Energy Chicago, which had been described as a simulator for energy conservation strategies in a city. It consisted of five semi-competitive games. It seemed to be targeted at a younger age group, but with the competition it was still a good time. One of the games was about installing various kinds of public transportation to remove cars from the road, and the tutorial included the direction "Drag a train onto a busy road." At the end, my father and I won (which makes sense considering the age of the other players), but the scoreboard also included a "combined team" score, which was the average of the high scores from each game, and so was of course higher than any individual team's score. The moral of the story is that collaboration is key, see. (An individualistic game designer might rig the combined score as the minimum of the individual scores to reflect the more likely scenario that one poor performer holds everyone back.)
There were still several exhibits to see. We looked at a John Deere farming technology exhibit, saw a classic coal-powered train, went in a real decommissioned Boeing 727, checked out a sound reflecting room, and went through a mirror maze.
By this time, the museum was about to close. Back in the lobby, we looked at and heard the story of the Pioneer Zephyr, the first "streamlined" train.
Exiting the museum, we started driving toward the Willis Tower, but stopped on the way at the Berghoff's (a German restaurant) for dinner. We shared a plate that included several things served by the restaurant and finished out the meal with apple strudel.
That one plate was more than enough for both of us. It was very good, as was the root beer.
We then walked over to the Willis Tower and went up to the Skydeck.
After all that, we started the several-hour drive back home. It was definitely a very full day.
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