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SKYDECK CHICAGO At 1,353 feet and 110 stories above the streets of downtown Chicago, The Ledge at the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) Skydeck will transform any visitor's--or local's for that matter--experience with the Windy City. In January 2009, Willis Tower owners began a major renovation of the beloved Skydeck, which originally opened in 1974, and served as a premier tourist attraction throughout the skyscraper's tenure as the Sears Tower. When ownership changed hands, the fresh blood added a fresh look--and adrenaline rush--to the 103rd floor in the form of retractable glass balconies extending about 4 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River below. Still the 8th tallest building in the world, and the absolute tallest in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower's Skydeck draws 1.5 million people a year who are eager to ascend the 110-story, 1,454 foot (443 meter) building for awesome panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. Your journey to the top of the Willis Tower starts with a walk through an airport-style metal detector, followed by a slow elevator ride down to the waiting area where visitors queue for tickets. A sign will tell you how long you'll have to wait to get up high; this is a good time to confirm the visibility. Even days that seem sunny can have upper-level haze that limits the view. On good days, however, you can see for 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers), as far as the states of Indiana, Michigan. Iowa, and Wisconsin. While you wait, you can watch a film about Willis Tower factoids. Then you'll wait a little longer before the ear-popping, 70 second elevator ride up to the 103rd floor deck. From here, the entire city stretches below, and you can see exactly how Chicago is laid out. Willis Tower, Skydeck, and The Ledge Fast Facts The hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind each week on Skydeck windows served as this inspiration for The Ledge. The Ledge boxes can each bear about 4-1/2 metric tons of weight, and adventurers who trust that statistic enough to prove it can often be found jumping and bounding around the entirely translucent enclosures as Chicago's heavy traffic and infrastructure bustle below. The Ledge’s glass panels weight 1,500 pounds apiece, and each box is comprised of three layers of half-inch thick glass laminated into one seamless unit. In addition to serving 1.3 million tourists per year in its 4.5+ million square feet of space, Willis Tower is home to more than 100 companies, including prominent law, insurance, transportation, and financial services. The Ledge's glass boxes retract into the Skydeck main floor for easy maintenance, probably mostly cleaning off the 974 dead birds that must fly into them every month. The Moonwalk is the most popular dance performed on The Ledge, followed closely by the Running Man. Riverdance clocks in at a distant third. Bringing people who are afraid of heights to The Ledge is not recommended, unless you are mean-spirited or really don't like them. In which case, you should probably just take them here. Willis Tower was known as Sears Tower for decades, until the 30th anniversary of Diff'rent Strokes, at which point it was rightfully renamed SHEDD AQUARIUM EXHIBITS AMPHIBIANS! Get ready for a toadally ribbiting experience! Shedd’s new special exhibit, Amphibians, hops into the aquarium May 16 and is included with admission. In Amphibians, you’ll meet 40 species of frogs, salamanders and rarely seen caecilians. Learn how amphibians’ lives are full of change, from their life cycles to their adaptations to live in nearly every environment on Earth. Find out how too much change can spell trouble for amphibians — and how you can help them cope with big changes in our world today! Waters of the World Travel the world in 80 habitats. Dive into Oceans, from coastal kelp forests to the seafloor. Explore the self-contained ecosystems of Islands and Lakes. Visit Rivers—big and small—and learn more about our local waters in the new At Home on the Great Lakes exhibit. Meet hundreds of amazing animals, from tiny mantella frogsto a a giant octopus, from a Grand Cayman blue iguana to Nile knifefish, and from moon jellies to sea stars. We even have map turtles, in case you get lost. Caribbean Reef Take a 360-degree tour of an underwater reef community. Follow a green sea turtle. Peek at a moray eel in a rocky crevice. Watch regal rays glide by. Get eye-to-eye with parrot fish and sharks. Visit Caribbean Reef, Shedd’s award-winning 90,000-gallon circular habitat in the grand rotunda. Amazon Rising Take an exotic journey in the Amazon, home to one-third of all living things. Watch out for anacondas and piranhas, spiders, rays and a camouflaged caiman. In churning river channels, still lakes and even flooded treetops look for tetras, turtles and fruit-eating fish called tambaqui. See how the region’s animals, plants and people adapt to the water’s dramatic annual rise and fall. Abbott Oceanarium The Abbott Oceanarium immerses you in the vibrant coastal ecosystem of beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, sea otters and sea lions. You’ll also find a host of fishes and invertebrates that make their homes where freshwater flows into the ocean or where tides turn seascapes to landscapes and back again each day. Use our self-guided map to discover how animals are linked to each other, their homes and you. Polar Play Zone Kids have a place at Shedd that they can call their own—Polar Play Zone. It’s cool as ice and twice as nice! The penguins think so, too. Play! Splash! Pretend! What would you like to be? A sleek sliding penguin? A deep-sea explorer? How about both? In Polar Play Zone, you can slip into a penguin suit and try being a bird in the Icy South play area. From there, head to the Icy North to explore the belugas’ Arctic waters in a kid-sized submarine. Don’t forget to shake hands—or is it arms?—with colorful sea stars in the touch pools. In Polar Play Zone, you’ll learn about polar opposites—big and small, fast and slow, shallow and deep, even north and south—while you play. The Oceanarium Aquatic Presentation is included however based on available seating and remaining show times at the time of guest arrival. (2018 Aquatic Presentation Schedule) Stingray Touch (seasonal experience) is included. Open late May through October. 4D Experience is not included however the 4D experience tickets may be purchased at the theatre for $3.00 per -person
Designed as an imaginary journey behind the scenes of the film, this interactive audio tour immerses you in secret, captivating world of the 7th Art with the creation of a film through a series of sets: projection room, principal's office, film set… It is also a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of a monument of French heritage rich in history and boasting its original decor since 1932. Highlights : Starting every 5 minutes / duration of 50 minutes Not accessible route to people with reduced mobility Visit recommended from 5 years, available in French only. Please note that the visit of the Rex Studios will be closed from Monday 18th September to Friday 6th October 2017.
The Paris Museum Pass will allow you free entry, without queuing and as many times as you like, to more than 60 museums (permanent collections) and monuments in Paris and the surrounding region. HIGHLIGHTS Visit Paris monuments and museums as much as you like Gain free entry Avoid queues and cash desk Avalailable in Paris and surrounding You will be given a flyer gathering all you need to know about the featured museums and monuments The Paris Museum Pass includes entrance tickets in about 50 monuments and museums, among the followings : Included : Information : Exchange your printed voucher at PARISCityVISION and get the pass, 2 rue des Pyramides 75001 Paris Metro : Pyramides, Palais Royal, Tuileries Why not combine your visit to Paris with a nice Lunch or Dinner in Paris, check our selection Eat in Paris ! Entry to museums is free for children under 18 - You will not require to purchase a ticket.
HIGHLIGHTS A day of fun in the sun on the Gulf Coast of Mexico at Clearwater Beach Enjoy a relaxing day at the beach Café lunch to enjoy at your leisure Free time to enjoy the beach, walk along the pier, take a swim etc. MENU SANDWICHES (served with French fries & coleslaw)-Hot & Cold varieties SALADS Greek-Caesar-Chef-Chicken or Tuna PASTAS-Choice of Spaghetti-Ziti (Variety of sauces) PIZZAS-Various toppings GREEK SPECIALS-Chicken Souvlaki-Gyros SEAFOOD (served with French fries & coleslaw)-Fish & Chips-Grilled Grouper Sandwich KIDS-Burgers-Hot Dog-Chicken-Fingers-Fish & Chips Clearwater Marine Aquarium - CMA is host to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, river otters, stingrays, sharks and more. At CMA, you can find yourself with a dolphin, feeding a stingray, watching our world-famous dolphin shows or having your picture taken with a dolphin. Take a behind the scenes tours to see how our animal hospital works or visit our theatre to watch footage of our team recuing and treating injured marine animals. You won’t want to miss Winter the Dolphin, the world’s most famous dolphin, and star of Dolphin Tale, which was even filmed even at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Winter lost her tail in a crab trap, but is now healthy and swimming freely with a prosthetic tail. Winter’s incredible story has also been seen on Oprah, NBC Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America and others. Winter may have lost her tail but she will capture your heart.
One Hour Sunset Expedition with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides - Closest Airboat Ride to Orlando Attractions! Experience the Park Transformation Over the past two years, the 32 acre Southport Park has undergone a $1 million renovation that includes a complete facility facelift, including newly built and remodeled structures and a landscape overhaul. The exteriors of the buildings are now made of Cypress, cut and milled by Native Americans. Invasive, non-native plants and trees were removed to make way for a wide range of newly planted vegetation native to the area. All changes were made with great care to further restore the park to its indigenous landscape. Native American Village Towering Chickee Huts cover genuine artifacts and hand-made creations of Little Big Mountain and his wife Laura, as they are immersed in the daily workings of the Native American Village. Deeply rooted appreciation for Native American heritage is brought to life by the Big Mountain family for guests through the traditional stories and techniques of their culture that once thrived in Central Florida. Various presentations of the primitive way of living on the southern plains, including demonstrations using “man’s first cooking technique” are shared with the audience for a captivating display of the indigenous lifestyle exclusive to the Native Experience at Boggy Creek! Swamp Shack The Swamp Shack is stocked with the latest of “Old Florida Outdoor Wear” from camo to overalls to help guests be picture perfect ready for a Florida memory! Pose and model the outdoor fashion in front of our cracker style shack while sitting on an airboat. Say cheese, take a selfie! Gator Pond Get an up-close and personal view of Florida’s most famous reptile, the Alligator! The brand-new gator pond and viewing area houses alligators in a natural oasis. Visitors will also hear an educational presentation with baby alligators and answer any curious questions guests may have. Airboat Tours Boggy Creek’s fleet of airboats can be seen continuously docking and setting out again on exhilarating tours conducted by friendly, informative captains - day and night. Discover territory that remains unaltered in the wilderness of the Central Florida Everglades. Our captains take you into the breathtaking beauty of nature, including wetlands and wildlife. See alligators, turtles, birds and more in their natural environment. Each safe and educational airboat tour is a unique experience and never the same. You’ll feel like you’re flying through the wetlands as you enjoy the best Everglades experience in Central Florida. The night time one hour tour takes guests on a quest to find the red glowing eyes of the alligators as they come out to feed. Especially during the summer, this is the best time to see many alligators and have an experience that cannot be beat! Tours offered include half hour daytime, 1 hour daytime, 45-minute daytime, 1 hour sunset and a 1 hour night tour. Tours begin as low as $27.95. Romp in the Swamp: The VIP experience of “Learn to drive an airboat” is up and running! NEW! Gem Mining Station Be sure to check out the Gem Mining Station at Boggy Creek Airboats Adventures! Guests can purchase a range of bags and buckets filled with treasures that are native to Florida and take to the mining station. While mining, they will discover various gems, alligator teeth, shark teeth, rocks, and other treasures! Boggy Bottom BBQ Sit down inside the brand new full service restaurant now open at Southport Park or dine outside for an unforgettable lake view. Serving true Florida style bbq and all the fixins’ made from recipes handed down from generations of Floridians. Also on the menu are Florida favorites such as gator tail, catfish and the “you can’t get this back home” swamp cabbage stew. Enjoy the restaurant 7 days a week from 10:00am-10:00pm. Check-in: Please plan to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your tour departure Why not combine your visit to Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures with other famous attractions and activities in Orlando such as Ripley's Orlando or Wonderworks?
Adler Planetarium Featured Shows: Planet Nine - In July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first close look at Pluto, the most famous dwarf planet in the outskirts of our Solar System. The New Horizons flyby was big news, and the pictures it continues to send back to Earth reveal a world far more complex than anyone realized. Destination Solar System - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER The year is 2096. Space tourism is booming, and you’ve signed up for a quick trip around the Solar System with Space Express Tours! In this live show, your guides are Jesse, a lovable rookie tour guide who can’t wait to show you the wonders of your celestial neighborhood, and Max, the much more experienced—if slightly grumpy—shipboard computer. With Max steering the ship and Jesse chattering excitedly about each place you visit, you’ll soar through the Asteroid Belt, explore the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and hover over the roiling surface of the Sun. Hold on tight! Cosmic Wonder - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Ever since the first curious person looked up at the night sky, people all over the world have challenged themselves to uncover its secrets. What are stars? How did they get there? Why does our view of the sky change throughout the year? What holds the Universe together? Skywatch Live - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER The Adler’s view of downtown Chicago is magnificent, but the lights of the city make it a little tough to see the ones in the sky. What’s a stargazer to do? Join us for Skywatch Live! In this show, your live presenter will turn down the city lights and crank up the stars to show you the night sky over Chicago like you’ve never seen it before. You’ll learn how to navigate by starlight, get to know the stars behind your favorite constellations, and witness the incomprehensible vastness of the Universe without ever leaving your seat. Earth, Moon & Sun - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN With the help of Coyote, an amusing character adapted from Native American oral traditions, kids will laugh and learn as they explore the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Coyote has lots of misconceptions about our world, the universe, and well… just about everything. Coyote’s humorous mistaken ideas about the universe help the audience understand how the Earth, Moon, and Sun work together as a great big system. Undiscovered Worlds - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Until very recently, the only planets known to us were the familiar worlds in orbit around our Sun. In the last two decades we have confirmed more than 1500 new planets, called exoplanets, orbiting other stars; thousands more are awaiting study. Undiscovered Worlds tells the tale surrounding this explosion of discovery and examines what will be required to determine which, if any, of these new exoplanets can support life. Welcome to the Universe - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER In Welcome to the Universe, you’ll get a clear picture of your place in this jaw-dropping cosmic landscape. With the guidance of a live presenter, you’ll explore the Pleiades star cluster, sail past the Andromeda galaxy, navigate the galaxies of the Coma Cluster, and discover hidden wonders of the Universe. One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Join Big Bird and Elmo on an unforgettable journey to the Moon and back! When Elmo’s friend Hu Hu Zhu stops by Sesame Street for a visit, he notices that Sesame Street is a little bit different from his home in China. But when he looks up at the sky, he feels right at home. Elmo and Hu Hu Zhu may live in different cities, but they share the same sky! Featured Exhibits: (Temporary) - What is a Planet? - What You’ll See And Do: Witness how astronomers and the media reacted to Pluto’s reclassification in 2006. Learn what the current definition of a planet is and hear what Adler Astronomers think of the current definition. Voice your opinion about Pluto alongside skeptics and space enthusiasts through an interactive voting poll in real time. Explore artifacts from the Adler collections that illustrate the ever-evolving definition of a planet. This temporary exhibition, which is included with general admission, will be open to the public from March 19, 2016 through January 8, 2017. Mission Moon - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Mission Moon invites you to experience America’s first steps into space through the eyes of NASA’s Captain James A. Lovell Jr. and his family. You’ll find out how the United States became the first nation to put a man on the Moon, what it’s really like to be an astronaut, and why it takes a team to explore uncharted worlds. Community Design Lab - In the Community Design Lab (CDL), you can test different materials to find out which ones will survive the journey to 100,000 feet above the Earth’s surface. Your discoveries may find their way into a future flight with Far Horizons, the Adler’s high-altitude ballooning program! If you could photograph an object in space, what would it be, and who would you share it with? In the CDL, you can build a DIY telescope-mount for your smartphone and become an instant astrophotographer! Test it out on one of our ’scopes and share your photos on social media. Our Solar System - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Our Solar System is much more than a star and eight planets; it is home to a set of diverse and amazing objects that we are only beginning to understand. Pilot your own adventure in Our Solar System and explore the variety of objects currently orbiting our Sun. The Universe - A Walk Through Space & Time - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Transport yourself to the distant corners of the cosmos and witness how the Universe evolved over 13.7 billion years, from the Big Bang to this morning’s sunrise. Follow the Universe from its meager beginnings and see how galaxies, stars, planets—and all the atoms in your body—were created as the Universe grew. Explore regions farther than our Solar System, billions of light-years from home. Zoom from one wondrous location in the Universe to another and investigate the most diverse and beautiful objects in deep space in ultra high resolution from the world’s most advanced telescopes. Planet Explorers - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Are you interested in going to space and exploring other planets? Prepare for your out-of-this-world adventure in Planet Explorers. Begin by exploring your home, your backyard, and the sky above. What you discover will prepare you for your mission to space and the mysterious Planet X. Telescopes: Through the Looking Glass - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Astronomers have studied the cosmos for thousands of years, but until about 400 years ago, they did it without telescopes! In Telescopes: Through the Looking Glass, you’ll find extraordinary beauty and technology in some of the world’s most important telescopes and learn how these clever light-catching devices helped us discover our Universe. Clark Family Gallery WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER This futuristic, constantly changing environment features a one-of-a-kind architecture with vibrant lighting and video presentations. It was created using approximately 13,000 linear feet of aluminum tubing and 20,000 square yards of fabric. The gallery also has 125 LED lights, each capable of producing sixteen million different colors and over two billion different lighting combinations. Astronomy in Culture - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Go back in time and learn about some of the people and societies who have challenged themselves to understand our place in the Universe. This exhibition features spectacular astrolabes, armillary spheres, and sundials to illustrate the medieval European and Middle Eastern conception of the Universe. Visit our medieval classroom to find out how much different school was back then. Learn how to use early astronomy tools including astrolabes and sundials. Atwood Sphere - WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER Experience the night sky over Chicago as it appeared in 1913 in the Atwood Sphere – Chicago’s oldest planetarium. Although the star positions have not changed since then, we can see only a small percentage of these stars in our current night sky due to light pollution. The sphere is seventeen feet in diameter and has 692 holes drilled through its metal surface. These holes allow light to enter and show the positions of the brightest stars in the night sky. Take a live guided tour of the Atwood Sphere and identify stars and the constellations they form.