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Want an entirely different NightLife experience? Get involved in the VIP nightlife Tour Tickets include: Express entry into the Academy and access to NightLife event 30-minute private reception and two complimentary cocktails per guest Complimentary light bites A one-hour, behind-the-scenes tour with private viewing of the Vault—home to highlights of the Academy's renowned gem and mineral collection Interactions with Academy researchers in the Project Lab A reserved pass for the 8:30 pm Planetarium show Anyone yearning to geek out inside a multimillion-dollar science museum with the added bonus of booze should head to Golden Gate Park on Thursdays for NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences. Since 2009, the Academy has stayed open late once a week to give the 21+ crowd full run of the place, with an ever-changing series of themed events and several temporary bars spread throughout the gigantic building. Entertainment / Music Multiple DJs and/or live bands performing in a variety of styles tied to the night’s theme, from house to swing to everything else under the sun. One hundred thousand square-foot museum packed with incredible exhibits, aquariums, a replica of a rain forest, and the largest all-digital projection screen on the planet in the planetarium. Food / Miscellaneous Food stands offer a handful of snacks and entrées that can change weekly but usually include items like pork buns, chicken with fries, and vegetarian dishes. Private lounge available for rental. What to Wear / Dress Code Casual to trendy: everything from white t-shirts and jeans to dolled up duds. Hot Nights / When to Go Only open on Thursdays, but patrons should arrive early to avoid the lines and to check out the rainforest, which closes at 20.00
Chicago Helicopter Nighttime Tour The City lights experience takes you on a magical night-time helicopter ride over Chicago. This tour is the ultimate way to take in Chicago's beauty. Your total helicopter experience with the pre-flight briefing and customer experience center will be about 1hr. Photography is allowed throughout the flight experience. Guest Pick up is available from Chicago downtown hotels for additional charge. All tours depart from and return to Chicago Helicopter Experience 2420 South Halsted Street Shedd Aquarium UNDERWATER BEAUTY – A SPECIAL EXHIBIT Our living world is full of wonder. Celebrate with us the unbelievable beauty living in our oceans, lakes and rivers in a new special exhibit at Shedd Aquarium: Underwater Beauty. Get a glimpse of the grandeur beneath the waves as 100 species from around the world come together in an evocative new space. What is beauty? Spark your curiosity as you see all the ways beauty moves and coexists. Watch sea jellies pulse, eels ribbon and a rainbow come alive with reef fishes. Feel the rhythms, embrace the colors and savor the patterns found only underwater. Experience a world worth celebrating – and saving. AMPHIBIANS! Get ready for a toadally ribbiting experience! Shedd’s new special exhibit, Amphibians, 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 Pets are not allowed in the aquarium
National World War II Museum
This museum is ranked by Trip Adviser as the #1 Attraction in New Orleans, placed #2 in America and the World. The National WWII Museum features a multitude of artifacts that portray America's WWII past. Explore the American experience in the war that changed the world. From D-Day galleries to the soaring US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center to the groundbreaking Campaigns of Courage, this world-renowned history museum was created to inspire visitors of all ages educating them on the heroism, tragedy and liberation of WWII.
Come experience these unique and amazing Exhibits:
The Arsenal Of Democracy - Telling the story of how the war was won is at the heart of The National WWII Museum’s mission, and The Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George R. Brown Salute to the Home Front—the Museum's newest permanent exhibit, located on the second level of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, the Museum’s original building—literally brings that story home.
Road To Tokyo - Richard C. Adkerson & Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries retraces the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by way of New Guinea and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Burma, the islands of the Pacific, China, India, and Alaska.
Road To Berlin -The Duchossois Family Road to Berlin: European Theater Galleries brings to life the drama, sacrifices, personal stories, and strategies of America’s campaign to defeat the Axis powers and preserve freedom.
Beyond All Boundaries - Beyond All Boundaries, showing exclusively in The National WWII Museum’s Solomon Victory Theater, is a 4D journey through the war that changed the world.-Not included with ticket
The D-Day Invasion Of Normandy - The Museum's original exhibit, located on the third floor of Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, helps you understand what the Allies faced in Normandy, from the comprehensive preparations beforehand to the daunting challenges once troops landed on Normandy beaches.
US Merchant Marine Gallery - Situated at the end of the Horatio Alger Association American Spirit Bridge, this gallery honors the civilian merchant mariners who risked their lives transporting weapons, men, and material to US troops overseas.
Final Mission: USS Tang Submarine Experience - places visitors aboard the most successful submarine in World War II for its fifth and final war patrol on October 25, 1944.-Not included with ticket
Manufacturing Victory - Follow the industrial journey that took the United States from a nation perilously unprepared for war to a global superpower that led the Allies to victory in World War II.
Special Exhibit Gallery - The Joe W. and Dorothy D. Brown Foundation Special Exhibit Gallery features rotating exhibits that draw on the Museum’s own collections, as well as relevant traveling exhibits from leading institutions around the world.
MARDI GRAS WORLD: WHERE MARDI GRAS IS MADE!
There are plenty of tours in New Orleans, but only one offers a real, behind-the-scenes look at New Orleans Mardi Gras, and that’s the Mardi Gras World tour. Mardi Gras World gives you an authentic Mardi Gras experience all year round, whether you visit while sightseeing in New Orleans, enjoying a New Orleans family vacation or taking a break from your business trip.
Take our day tour to see what it takes to bring Mardi Gras to life year after year. Our tour allows you to see firsthand the hard work and extensive planning that goes into this grand event. Since 1947, Blaine Kern Studios has built the breathtaking parade floats for major parades not only for Mardi Gras, but for parades all over the world. Mardi Gras parades would be nothing without the fantastical floats that line the parade route year after year. The hard work that goes into making these spectacles is what makes Mardi Gras in New Orleans the greatest show on Earth!
Our knowledgeable guides take the mask off Mardi Gras with an all-access Mardi Gras tour, winding through the massive studio where these magnificent floats are built from the ground up. You’ll learn about the history of this unique and festive tradition and go beyond its reputation to get a deeper understanding of the real Mardi Gras. The whole family will love the experience of touring the space where our artisans create spectacular floats for over 40 parades each year.
There are plenty of opportunities for photos in front of floats, with props, or wearing a traditional Mardi Gras costume on this New Orleans tour. This is an experience you will want to document, so don’t forget to bring your camera!
A FREE shuttle is provided with ticket purchase, and has pick-ups at 20 convenient downtown locations. Just call 504-361-7821 to see where our designated pick up locations are. Call when you are at one of our many locations and we will quickly pick you and your party up.
If you do not wish to use our complimentary shuttle, the closest parking is available in Lot J across from the Mardi Gras World entrance. ($15.00/vehicle, owned by the New Orleans Convention Center, subject to change)
Wandering through the magical float den is an exciting experience for kids and adults alike, so come join us for the best Mardi Gras tour around.
Your entire experience will be approximately 1 hour which includes check-in, safety briefing, and 15 – 17 minute helicopter flight. The customer experience center includes; a Chicago history exhibit, flight simulator, helipad viewing lounge, interactive games, and snacks & refreshments available for purchase. Chicago Helicopter Experience operates a fleet of Airbus AStar helicopters. The aircraft accommodates up to 6 guests plus a pilot per flight and is climate controlled. You will enjoy unobstructed views of the sights with spacious seating and listen to the live tour narration through Bose noise cancelling headsets. All tours depart and return to Chicago Helicopter Experience Downtown Heliport; 2420 South Halsted St. Free Parking on site. Roundtrip shuttle service is available from downtown hotels for an additional charge. Ticket Terms Maximum weight per passenger is 250 lbs (113kg) Children 3 years old and above Check-in time is 30 minutes prior to schedule tour departure time Passengers under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be permitted to fly – no refund will be given for the cancellation All flight times are approximate and are susceptible to current weather conditions. In the event your flight is cancelled due to inclement weather, your ticket can be rescheduled or refunded for the full amount
FUN AND EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES TO DISCOVER FRENCH WINE The French Wine Experience was created by people who think wine culture needs to be fun and relaxed. They transformed an 18th century Royal wine cellar into a maze of rooms that will surprise, enchant and stimulate you. The French Wine Experience is truly unique and possibly a little crazy. NEW IN PARIS – 1 mn walk from the Louvre Museum DISCOVER EVERYTHING ABOUT FRENCH WINE SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE IN AN HISTORICAL VENUE GUIDED VISIT including GAMES, QUIZZES, VIDEOS etc... FRENCH WINE TASTING WITH A SOMMELIER at the end of the visit TERROIRS ROOM The idea here is to start at the beginning. Visitors will discover the most sought after slices of earth in all of France, and learn how this soil nourishes the vine, which in turn, gives the grapes their unique taste... This room is about discovering the very genesis of wine, where the grape-grower works the soil and the vine in effort to produce magnificent grapes. AROMAS ROOM Wine is a sensory adventure and here, they would like to propose that you stimulate a sense often overlooked: the sense of smell. Take the wood cork and bring it to your nose. The game begins: can you name the aromas in each cork? Do you have the stuto be a great taster? Do you enjoy discovering the great families of wine aromas (fruity, mineral, empyreumatic...) as well as identifying the classic defects in wine ?? Off to the corks ! THE LABORATORY In this new, majestic room, the adventure continues and this time, it is taste we are going to stimulate. Can you name the primary types of taste (salty, sweet, bitter, acidic... and also umami) ? In order to progress in wine, take the opportunity to taste the solutions marked withterms such as 'woody', 'round' or 'fresh'. SOUNDS OF WINE Sounds in the world of wine The pop of a cork as the bottle opens, the cling of glasses being toasted, the soft murmur of Champagne bubbles...Can you recognize the different elements in the soundtrack of this room? The sounds of wine invite us to learn about different types of bottles and corks. LABELS ROOM This magnificent room is dedicated to sight. Sight is the initial contact with a wine: the color of a wine itself colors a new story for us each time. But it's also the label, sometimes legendary, sometimes complicated, and sometimes amusing. Learn here how to better interpret wine labels! CHEERS! Well, that's it! Your five senses have been stimulated - who knew learning could be so fun! You are now ready for the grand finale: the tasting! Our jolly and joyful sommelier is at your service not only to serve you, but also to answer any questions! While tasting, continue to learn and to have fun and above all, do not forget to take a detour into the photobooth inside the big barrel...
After a refreshing dip in the ocean, enjoy a tasty buffet with rice and peas and sweet corn, chicken meatballs in tomato sauce, bread and banana with drinks. Please let us know if you are vegetarian and we will do our best to accommodate you. Your drinks including beer, soft drinks, sangria and water are included during the journey, and after enjoying your lunch you will sail back to Puerto Colon enjoying spectacular views on the way. When the whales and dolphins are close to the boat you can get excellent views through the glass bottom, or window in the catamaran but if they are a distance away you will get a good view of them from the deck. Through the glass bottom you will see plenty of fish and if the whales appear beneath the boat you will really see them up close and personal! The return trip will give you the chance to enjoy a different view of this spectacular coast with its sophisticated resorts, volcanic beaches, hidden coves and wide bays sailing down to Puerto Colon, where the journey will come to an end. An unforgettable day out for all the family. As you sail on the crystal clear water you will be treated to spectacular views of the coastline and of the beautiful island. A perfect way to enjoy a family day out with sun on your face and a soft gentle and welcoming breeze blowing through your hair! Bon Voyage! Including on-board service: - Drinks: beer, soft drinks, sangria and water included during the journey. - Type of Food: Buffet with rice and peas and sweet corn, chicken meatballs in tomatoe sauce, bread and banana. - Special menu for vegetarian people. - Funny bath in the crystal water of our coasts and under the waterfall of our boat. - Specialized guides on board. - Panoramic windows with submarine vision. - Live submarine TV. Don't forget to bring with you bathing suit, cap, sun cream and suitable shoes!