The Field Museum - Chicago

For Spring Break this year, we headed to Chicago to the Field Museum.  It is the largest natural history museum and while Steve had visited when he was younger, neither myself nor the kids had ever been there.  We bought season passes before we went knowing that 1) it would be cheaper, especially for a family the size of ours and 2) the season passes would get us into some other great science museums/exhibits over the course of the year.  

The kids were at a good age to be able to enjoy most of the exhibits, but the size of the museum itself made it challenging to visit every single one.  You really need a couple of days to tour it, especially if you want to take the time to read and learn; not just look at the exhibits.  By lunchtime, especially with the time change (we gained an hour heading to Chicago), the kids were getting pretty ansty and hungry.  And Jimmy's legs were "getting tired."

Just a couple of primates, hanging out:

The animal exhibits seemed to be the most appealing to the kids.  They were so real and it helped them to put the size of the animal into perspective.

Just look at that size difference!

This exhibit of flamingos was a favorite of Sophia's.  It brought back memories of her 7th birthday party theme.

And then, the penguins were another favorite.  Once again -- reminding us of when she and Jimmy had a joint birthday party theme of 'polar bears and penguins.'

Mountain goats!

And deer!  I loved not only how realistic the animals were, but also their display and backdrop.  

Basically, whenever one of the kids asked me to take a picture of them by a certain display, I obliged.

I'm pretty sure that we stopped to look at (and read about) every penguin exhibit.

Two sisters, getting along with each other and smiling for their mom.

The boys were so engaged with the reptile portion of the museum.  I took exactly 1 picture in there.

Standing on the 2nd floor of the museum with a random dinosaur skeleton in the background.  Yes, it is THAT tall!

One of the most famous attractions at the Field Museum is Sue.  She is a fully-intact (well, 90%) T. Rex dinosaur that was excavated in South Dakota in 1990 and the largest T. Rex specimen discovered to date.  People come from all over the world to see her and to watch the movies that have been created about her life and excavation.

We bought tickets ahead of time to watch a couple of the 3D shows there in the theater and the kids loved them!  (The shows change throughout the year and I know that when we go back again someday, we will definitely try to watch a couple more).

A skeleton of a mammoth.  Just look at those tusks in comparison to Jack!

By the time that we decided to head out, we had only explored maybe half of the museum, but we have plans to go back again in the future for sure!