Windy City - Day 2

Our second day in Chicago was, shall we say, a bit more focused. We started off the day with a visit to the Chicago Children's Museum, followed by -- oh, who are we kidding? We spent the day at the Chicago Children's Museum, which was definitely worth every penny of the $10/person we paid.

Geek Girl and me at Navy Pier

Among other cool things about the Children's Museum is that they let adults play, too. Kids can just climb the stairs or take the elevator to the top floor to play. Or they can climb up a rope structure, across a rope tunnel bridge

and then along some wooden bridges to the same place. And they even let Daddy Geeks do the same...umm...not that I did that or anything...

The Children's Museum had a bunch of fun activities. Kids can dig for dinosaur bones, make flying machines out of foam rubber and then test them in a 2-story tower, play in the Inventing Lab, make skyscrapers, and more and more. They have some cool displays where digital raindrops fall from the sky and interact with your shadows - you can shelter each other from the rain, cup your hands to collect the rain, and more.

Now, a brief diversion. Back in Switzerland, Geek Girl loved Kindercity - a kid's museum just outside Zürich with lots of fun activities. In particular, Geek Girl loved the exhibit that let kids make artificial rivers, float boats down them, control the flow, etc. She liked it so much that she has asked us to take her there again more than once. And yes, she knows how long it takes to get there. ("Daddy, we just get on the plane and fly. And we can stay for a few days. We'll go to Kindercity and the zoo and see my friends. And then we can come home. Mama doesn't even need to go with us.")

Well, now we have found a Geek Girl-approved acceptable substitute: the WaterWays exhibit at the Chicago Children's Museum. We saved this room for last, knowing how she would react. And boy, were we right. Geek Girl and I spent several hours in this exhibit, playing with the big river they have, changing the flow and seeing the results, and as you can see, floating boats downstream:


We were here so long that Mama Geek was able to duck out for an hour and a half for an afternoon snack at Xoco -- and Geek Girl was unaware Mama Geek had even left. Of course, I had no fun whatsoever and was only faking it for my daughter's benefit. I mean, how much fun can you really have making artificial rivers, dams, and weirs, and then having a dam break and watching the flood run downstream. Honestly, I ask you. Yeah, about that much fun - we had a blast.

Geek Girl's review: "It was the best thing with water I've ever seen. I wish Daddy Geek could get me a water table like that with a lock!" (Note: she started dancing just now - three weeks later - when I asked her about it. Not that she's excited or anything.)

We left only because the museum closed for the day, and even then the only way we got her out the door was to promise to take her to the ferris wheel at the pier, where I took this picture of Mama Geek and Geek Girl:

and she took this one of me and Mama Geek:


Auntie Geek is coming for a visit in December, and she and Mama Geek are planning a trip to New York while she's here. Which of course means Geek Girl and I will be on our own. Geek Girl is already making plans: "Daddy, it's not very far to Chicago. We can just fly there, go to the water exhibit, play, and then we can fly home. We can even stop to have some pizza if you want. Mama won't mind. (bat eyes)"