A sample page from Planet Explorers Chicago:

The Field Museum

1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, South Loop  www.fieldmuseum.org

What’s cool about it?

1. This museum is home to “Sue,” the 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex fossil (the largest and most complete ever found)—as well as a huge collection of other awesome dinosaur fossils. Sue is 42 feet long and stands 13 feet high. The fossil was named after Sue Hendrickson, the paleontologist who found her.

2. At the McDonald’s Fossil Preparation Laboratory, you can watch real paleontologists clean up fossils.

3. The Underground Adventure exhibit lets you pretend to be a bug.

4. The Inside Ancient Egypt complex has a live marsh with growing papyrus, a working canal, and 23 mummies!

5. The Grainger Hall of Gems has diamonds and gems from around the world— including Chinese Jade artifacts as old as 8,000 years.

 

Image courtesy Steve Richmond from Columbus via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Field Museum Fun Facts!

The Field Museum holds six acres of exhibits and contains 21 million specimens!

Sue’s actual skull is too heavy to be mounted on the rest of the fossil body, so it is in a case on the balcony above. A skull replica is on Sue’s body.

The Field Museum bought Sue at an auction in New York City in 1997 for $8.36 million. This is the largest amount ever paid for a fossil.

The museum was founded in 1893 to hold material from the World’s Columbian Exposition.

 

Here is part of a sample page from Planet Explorers Walt Disney World.*

 

Magic Kingdom Main Street, U.S.A.

 

What’s cool about it?

1. This replica of small-town, early 20th century America is the gateway to the entire Magic Kingdom.

2. You can get a real haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop or take a ride on a horse-drawn trolley.

3. Catch the Walt Disney World Railroad here for a quick ride to Frontierland and around the whole park.

4. Take a picture in front of Cinderella Castle.

5. Enjoy candy and fudge at the Main Street Confectionery or stop for a hot dog at Casey’s Corner.

6. Meet Disney characters at the Town Square Theater and buy some plush souvenirs at the Disney Emporium. The Emporium is the largest gift shop in the Magic Kingdom.

 

 

Main Street U.S.A. Fun Facts!

 
Notice all the names in the second-story windows. These are real people who helped create the Disney theme parks.
 
One of the Main Street vehicles is modeled after a 1920s double decker bus from New York City.
 
The four trains on the Walt Disney World Railroad are actual antique freight trains. They were built around 1900 and once hauled sugarcane in Mexico. They were brought to Florida in 1969 and restored for the park’s opening.
 
Some people think of Main Street U.S.A. as the “opening credits” for the Magic Kingdom. Walking under the train station is like the curtain opening, and all the names of the park’s creators are shown in the windows as you walk toward Cinderella Castle.
 
*Please note that all references to Walt Disney World, the Disney company, and Disney characters are for editorial purposes only.