Awesome Things to Do in Chicago

by Michele Alperin

Overview

With its rich history, a tantalizingly diverse population, cultural strength and contemporary ingenuity, Chicago keeps tourists busy from sunrise to sunset, summer and winter.
Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Offering an eye into Chicago history from 1870 to the present, the museum (navypier.com/things2do/rides_attract/smith_museum.html), displays 150 stained glass windows in four artistic categories: Victorian, Prairie, modern and contemporary; a smaller gallery is devoted to work from Tiffany studios. Also at the Navy Pier (navypier.com), visit the amusement park, Children's Museum and Segway tours.

Art Institute of Chicago

Even if you have just a short time, a fast walk through the museum (artic.edu/aic/collections/index.php), and especially its Impressionist Collection, is a cultural high.
Garfield Park Conservatory

With gardens indoors and out, the century-old Garfield Park Conservatory (garfield-conservatory.org) has spaces devoted to popular houseplants, cacti and succulents, ferns, horticulture, palms and plants that produce ingredients for sweets, like chocolate, vanilla and figs.
Science Museum Campus

At the Museum Campus, visit Sue, the tyrannosaurus Rex, at the Field Museum of natural history (fieldmuseum.org), observe the stars at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum (adlerplanetarium.org) or see 22,000 species of fish at the Shedd Aquarium (sheddaquarium.org).
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio

Visit the home and workplace of Frank Lloyd Wright (wrightplus.org), a renowned American architect who, with his associates, developed the Prairie Style.