We almost cancelled the Adler Planetarium, until we found out that the bus we were on dropped us right at the door anyhow. So we figured a shortened visit would be better than no visit at all.
One thing about the planetarium is that it offers one of the best views of the Chicago skyline.
Really beautiful!
General admission is $12 per person, but I don't think that's very good value for your money. A lot of the displays seemed dated to us, some even saying things like "when the exploration begins in 2005..."!
The other thing we don't like about the pricing is that they charge you extra for other things. So if you want to see the good stuff like the Space theatre show, the 3D show, or experience the Atwood Dome, you have to pay extra. You can buy a ticket to see these things as well, but then it's $28 a person. Sorry, too much for us.
We only had a short time there, and really we didn't need any more than that.
A piece of the moon.
Ruth and a revolving display of the earth. Total coincidence that the view is currently of Mexico!
They had a special display of old telescopes.
So really, unless your are an astrology buff we think the Adler Planetarium is best left to the end of the list. Would have been neat to see the movie in the new Granger Sky Theatre, but on it's own it was another $10 on top of the $12 general admission price. I think these places should be charging one flat price to see all attractions and getting rid of the general admission, but that's just us.
We had to pick up our tickets to the 3:00pm boat tour, and have some lunch. So we walked back to downtown through Grant Park and to the Buckingham fountain.
I know it looks like a beautiful day, but it was chilly! Yes, the sun was shining (good thing!) but it was a high of only 52F (11C) and there was a bit of a breeze.
Next up, the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise aboard Chicago's First Lady Cruises.
We don't appreciate museums, etc. that had add-ons for every little thing. Seems like a bait-and-switch attraction.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of Chicago. So glad you are enjoying your tour.
Boy you guys are sure packing in a lot of stuff in a few busy days, glad you are enjoying it!
ReplyDelete52 sounds really cold to me. I'm really learning to like this hot weather down here in the desert. Too bad it was such a bust. Hope the rest of the day was a lot better. How are you doing in the voting?
ReplyDeleteStill in first place in our division...gotta keep it up though. Thanks for helping out!
DeleteBad job on the planetarium staff not to keep simple stuff updated. 12 dollars is too much for me.
ReplyDeleteSuper enjoying the tour - thanks for all the pictures!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at the costs at the planetarium. Good post on it and love yesterday's posts. Voting daily.
ReplyDeleteFor $12 a head, at a minimum they should send someone through with an eye to out of date exhibits and information. Thanks for your down to earth reviews of where you go and what you see.
ReplyDeleteSherry
www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com
Adler used to be a great place to go. While doing construction a few years ago they remained open but it was worthless to go in because everything good, was closed. All of the museums in Chicago "used" to be good values but now they are on the expensive side and like Adler they charge peice meal instead of one fee and you feel taken after.
ReplyDeleteMost are worth it but Adler sadly has not been worth it for some time now and I LOVE astronomy. I haven't been back since they completed construction, haven't felt they deserve it yet. Sounds like my hunch was right. Too bad.
Erik