Other Things To Do In Chicago Before You Die

1) The Museum of Science and Industry

You could easily spend an entire day at this museum and not see everything. However, if you could only do one thing there, you must see the U-505 German submarine.

The captured WWII sub has been on permanent exhibition at the museum for over 50 years. The sub used to sit outside the museum and you would take a brief tour through the interior by going out a covered walkway straight into the sub. You really didn't get a grasp of how large the ship was because you really only saw the exterior when you were driving up to the museum.

In the late 90's, museum curators noticed that brutal Chicago winters were destroying the hull of the sub, and in 2004 a major renovation and relocation project were undertaken to move the sub to the other side of the building and place it in a covered, bunker style exhibit space.

The new space is amazing. The story of how the sub was captured, what became of the prisoners, and how the sub was brought to Chicago are all fascinating. But I guess the engineer in me was most riveted by this:

How they got the sub into it's new permanent home:

2) Shedd Aquarium

This place is like an aquarium on steroids. Even without the sea life, the building itself is gorgeous and blends classic and contemporary architectural styles into a structure nestled right up against Lake Michigan. The exhibits are world class and feature sharks, dolphins, sea lions, and my favorite the beluga whales. To really make it a day, when you finish at Shedd's, go over to the Field Museum next door to see Sue, the world's largest and most complete T. Rex skeleton.

3) The Navy Pier

You can enjoy the Navy Pier without spending a dime (although if you want to spend it's pretty easy as this venue features tons of restaurants, bars, shopping, and boat tours). Walking casually along the pier will give you great views of the city, Lake Michigan, and of course, people watching. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Navy Pier also hosts free fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday night.

4) The Hancock Observatory

I've been to the top of the Sears Tower and it's no great shakes. You pay $15, they whisk you up to the Skydeck and on most days the view is obscured by cloud cover. That's it folks.

For the same price you can do the Hancock Observatory (the Hancock Building is the other black skyscraper with two distinctive white antennas on Chicago's skyline - you can see it in the photo above behind the Ferris Wheel). The Hancock Building's observation deck also features a nice little museum of Chicago history, and since the building is not as tall as the Sears Tower, the view is not obstructed by clouds.