Letter from the editor
Welcome to Chicago Parent: The Weekend E-dition. We’ve given the old E-news Update a face-lift and a new name. Our goal is to provide you and your family with fun things to do around Chicago, discounts and giveaways. If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me, Kate Pancero, and let me know what you think.
Get out and play
Most of us reading this newsletter are the“Star Wars” generation. Those of us with older kids might remember waiting in the long line to see the first movie, a movie that was so far ahead of its time that it would make the movie“Jason and the Argonauts” look like a cartoon. When we came out of the theater our perceptions were changed.
The“Star Wars” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry lets you relive that with your kids—the“prequel” generation. There were original movie models and costumes—dads like them more than the kids. My 10-year-old daughter exclaimed of the Chewbacca costume,“You mean a guy was inside that? He had to be boiling up in that thing.” I had to explain that they didn’t really have computer graphics or robots back then.
Through the exhibit, there are also many interactive stations where you build things, experiment and play with robots. There are also a few stations that tell you how some of the things that happened in the movies are also possible in real life.
There were also“director’s cut” explanations of how the movies were filmed. Luke’s land speeder was built on a car chassis and had a mirror at the level of the tires to make it look like it was floating. For the kids there were interactive displays to explain real world inventions like maglev trains and how they are like the land speeder. Perhaps the exhibit is less“serious” than other historical and scientific exhibits at the museum, but it really is history and science—“Star Wars” science. Besides, it was fun to be a“Star Wars” kid… and a“Star Wars” kid again.
Dan and Alek, 13, Pedersen
“Star Wars: Where Science meets Imagination” is at the Museum of Science and Industry, located at 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, through Jan. 6, 2008. Tickets are (includes museum admission), for kids 3-11. For museum hours and more information, visit the Web site, www.msichicago.org , or call (773) 684-1414.
Sweet discounts
It won’t be such a‘hard knock life’ for Chicago Parent: The Weekend E-dition readers who take their family to see“Annie” at the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University on Sunday, Nov. 4. Enter or say the code“VIP” when you order tickets and get a half price ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket. The Center for Perfoming Arts is located at 1 University Parkway, University Park. Show times are 1 and 6 p.m.
For more information, visit the Web site.
Get out and play some more
Come see Chicago Parent this weekend at the American Baby Faire. The Faire is an expo of baby products and services geared towards expectant parents, parents of babies and toddlers and grandparents. There will be dozens of booths to explore, many of which will be giving samples and demonstrations of their products. If you have munchkins in tow, there will be a bounce house, toy play area and entertainment. Concessions will also be available.
The American Baby Faire will be open 10 a..m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center, located at 1551 N. Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg. Tickets are , grandparents and children under 12 are free. A admission discount coupon is available at area Babies“R” Us locations. Parking costs . For more information, visit the Web site, www.americanbabyfaire.com or call (877) 959-BABY.
Get your tickets here
This month Chicago Parent will be giving away family passes to the Zula Patol exhibit at the Adler Planetarium. Each week during November three families will win five passes for admission to the exhibit and a Sky Show. To win, we’ll post a different question to answer on our discussion board every week. For this week, post your favorite family recipe (no cookbook recipes allowed!) here. Once you have posted, make sure you e-mail Kate Pancero your full name, your Chicago Parent online ID and phone number. We will not release your information– it is purely for contact purposes. Winners will be chosen at random every Tuesday and may have no affiliation with Wednesday Journal Inc. or its employees. Zula Patrol will only be in Chicago for a few more weeks, so get these tickets while they’re hot!
Piece of the Prize
This week, we have 10 copies of“Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas” on DVD from MGM Home Entertainment to give away to Chicago Parent families. To win, post a comment on our discussion board telling us what cartoon character your kid would be. Once you have posted, make sure you e-mail Kate Pancero your full name, your Chicago Parent online ID and phone number. We will not release your information – it is purely for contact purposes. Winners will be chosen at random on Tuesday and may have no affiliation with Wednesday Journal Inc. or its employees.
