Inventing the World of James Bond

 

OO7 James Bond at MSI (Photo Reno Loviso)

OO7 – James Bond at MSI (Photo Reno Lovison)

 

Fantasy and reality merge in the world of fictional espionage as seen in “007 Science- Inventing the world of James Bond” now at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. 

You don’t have to be a James Bond movie fan to enjoy this latest exhibit. Just consider what was make believe and what might be real, then and now.

You can see the prototype jetpack used in ” Thunderball” (1965) as well as suction cup climbers used in “You Only Live Twice” (1967).

Co-produced with Eon Productions who owns the rights to everything Bond, the exhibit features automobiles and an array of gadgetry found in several of the 27 films that make up reportedly the longest-running movie franchise.

Thirteen vehicles and over 90 additional artifacts are on display including a Jaguar, at least two Aston-Martins, a couple of motorcycles, the iconic lipstick and earpieces that allowed for secret communication in “No Time To Die” (2021), a Retina Scanner that enabled entry into the MI6 communications room in “Golden Eye” (1995), and other futuristic devices that indeed became part of our present.

The museum curators explained that they wanted to inspire a new generation of visionary inventors and show the intersection between art and science.

Various displays encourage visitors to consider the science behind many of the artifacts and why they might or might not actually work in the real world from a scientific point-of-view.

“007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond”is open March 7 through October 27, 2024. There is a separate fee in addition to the museum’s general admission.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, is at 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL . For more information visit msichicago.org

Reno Lovison

The where and what of April solar eclipse across Illinois

 

Photo taken at 2017 Adler exhibit (JJacobs photo)
Photo taken at 2017 Adler exhibit (JJacobs photo)

 

Where: as defined by Southern Illinois

The place to be mid-day April 8 is Carbondale, IL. That is ground zero for the full-totality, solar eclipse that crosses the United States in 2024.

The town, home to Southern Illinois University, is holding a four-day festival that includes a program by Chicago’s Adler Planetarium in SIU’s stadium on April 8.

Mokena, IL, a tiny, arts community near Carbondale, is also holding a festival. This is where WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling did his broadcast during the 2017 solar eclipse.

Listeners will remember Skilling’s reactions to totality, the darkness the weather changes. Now it’s happening again in Southern Illinois.

Accommodations will be available (if not already booked) in both towns.

 

What: as defined by 2024 solar eclipse 

But if you live near Chicago and don’t travel down to Southern Illinois, the other place to be in the state is at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium.

“This one is different from 2017,” said Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetarium Director of Public Observing. (Nichols will also be doing the SIU program April 8.

She was talking about the unusual circumstance where the Carbondale area is again in the direct path of a complete solar eclipse

Enumerating the differences, she said, “The direction is different.”

After first talking about how it starts over water she continued, saying, “This eclipse goes from Mexico to Maine.” (Southwest to Northeast) She noted that the 2017 eclipse went from Oregon to South Carolina. ((Northwest to Southeast)

(NASA map readers will note the 2024 eclipse enters Canada in Southern Ontario, and continues through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton and will exit continental North America at Newfoundland’s Atlantic coast.)

“Also, the last was smaller,” said Nichols, explaining that the moon was further. “This is closer and the shadow covers a wider area.”

Other differences are the amount of time the eclipse takes and the area covered.

“This time the moon will be a tiny bit bigger. The shadow will be wider and will take longer in totality,” said Nichols. “In 2017 it was two minutes. This time it will be over four minutes.” she said.

“Chicago will go from 12:51 p.m. to 3:22 p.m. with the maximum amount of totality at 2:07 p.m.,” she said and added ghat Chicago would experience 94 percent totality.

At the Adler:

Nichols cautioned that safety was very important so the Adler will have solar-appropriate, disposable glasses available on April 8 when it holds a free watching event. “Glasses will be handed out beginning at 11 a.m. until the supply runs out.”

According to Nichols, people who still have their solar glasses from 2017 can use them only if in good shape and not scratched or damaged. (Regular sun glasses won’t work)

Another reason to go to the planetarium is that visitors can watch through telescopes equipped with appropriate filters made with a 3D printer.

“We will have telescopes, about five to ten of them, for people to look through but they don’t have to be up close to the lens. The lens is very wide and they can take a picture of what they see,” she said.

For people watching at home she suggested they make a pin-hole camera with a card to capture the eclipse on paper or the ground so they don’t look at the sun.

 (NASA and other scientific sites warn that looking directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing will cause severe eye injury.)

Ed Note: The Adler has terrific exhibits up now about eclipses and more information on its website. Go to Explore/Chasing Eclipses and to Eclipses Over Illinois. For other information including safety precautions and a time chart of towns on and near the path visit NASA.

Jodie Jacobs

Around Town: Chicago MLK Day events

(Martin Luther King Jr Memorial on Basin Drive, Washington D.C.)

Don’t expect mail this Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, the third Monday in January, is both a Federal Holiday and in many states, a State Holiday. This year it also is King’s birthday. Many schools will be closed. But some communities and some museums use the day for special projects.

Before checking on some of the MLK events, here are a few quick facts to know about King. He was a Baptist minister who advocated nonviolent means to end racial segregation. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and famously led the 1963  March on Washington.  He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Events:

January 13:

The DuSable Black History Museum is holding the free “Been to the Mountain Top” from 2 to 4 p.m.  with Kevin Powell. and see the exhibition “Freedom: Origin and Journey.” DuSable Museum is at 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago., (773) 947-0600. 

January 15:

Hyde Park Art Center is holding “Yesterdays, Todays and Tomorrows” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event includes artmaking, Black folklore material in a pop-up bookstore plus the Civic Orchestra of Chicago Chamber Ensemble performing from 2 to 2:45 p.m. The Hyde Park Art Center is 5020 S. Cornell Ave., Chicago

The Chicago History Museum is holding a Family Event for Martin Luther King Jr. Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Chicago History Museum is at 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago. It’s a free day at the museum for Illinois residents. Tickets include the event which features interactive activities, a singalong in the morning and a screening of Mighty Times: The Children’s March, followed by a discussion. 

Art Institue of Chicago is doing a Gallery Cconversation on a Letter from birmingham Jail.  from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Its an AIC free day. The Art Institute of Chicago Michigan Avenue entrance is at 111 S. Michigan Avenue.

January 30

The University of Chicago is holding an MLK Commeration Celebration at 6 p.n.  at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, the site of one of Dr. King’s first major speeches in Chicago.

 Jodie Jacobs

Holiday gift sources

 

 

Art Institue of Chicago has a great gift shop (J Jacobs photo)
Art Institue of Chicago has a great gift shop (J Jacobs photo)

 

We’re past Black Friday and Cyber Monda but there are still gifts to get so here are some ideas for in person and on line shopping.

In Person

The “One of a Kind Holiday Show is at The Mart this weekend from Thursday through Sunday. The show, which returns in late spring, brings back the fun of shopping without the stress.

There are more than 500 artists (think major art fair plus) that includes clever, hand-crafted, cooking utensils and gorgeous glass items. But it also has food booths of candy, spices and other delectables. Hours: Dec. 7-9, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Dec. 10 – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

For tickets and more information call 800-677Mart or see Attend | One of a Kind Show (oneofakindshowchicago.com)

The Mart is at the Chicago River between Orleans and Wells Streets. The show is on the 7th Floor.

 

On Line – Museum shops

If downtown Chicago, make the trip a museum destination as a two-for so you enjoy an exhibition and pick up gifts. Many of the Cit y’s top museums have on-line gift stores so you can shop at your best time.

Art Institute of Chicago

Among the best museum stores, at AIC you can find items at many price points from a Pablo Picasso scarf for $190 to cute Georges Seurat “Sunday on La Grand Jatte” socks for $16. For more ideas visit  Museum Shop.

 Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago 

Jewlery, puzzles, home décor are at all price points ranging from a Frida Kahlo puzzle for $19.99 to a Midnight Crescent Petite necklace for $180.00. For these items and more ideas visit MCA Shop.

 Happy Shopping

Jodie Jacobs

Dinos and fossils now at LCFPs Dunn Museum

 

Lake County Forest Preserves Dunn Museum in Libertyvill, IL ( J acobs hofot)
Lake County Forest Preserves Dunn Museum in Libertyville IL  JJacobs photo)

See the Tully Monster and the Dryptgosaurus Dinosaur plus the duck-billed dinos of the Hadrosaurs group. They are just some of the creatures now on exhibit at the Lake County Forest Preserves’ Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL

If you walk into the exhibit from the front admission desk you see a couple of samples tempting you to see more.  Then you walk through the permanent exhibits on the way to “Dinosaurs. Fossils Exposed.”

However, if you turn into the corridor just past the desk you are in the temporary exhibition space for the dinos and fossils. You can then go on to the permanent exhibits and exit back at the desk.

Touching is permitted.\. Many of the exhibit’s bones are skeletal molds  including a TriceratopsTyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor. The exhibit is interactive.

BTW, Tully monster is small enough to miss if you walk by its rocky fossile too fast.  When it existed it could be a foot long and look like a swimming sausage. The fossil rock was found in Lindenhurst in 1957 and has brachiopods, cephalopods and other ancient sea creatures.

Touching is permitted. The special exhibition is interactive. You can touch six full dinosaur skeletal molds including a TriceratopsTyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor. For photos, stand next to a 6-foot Apatosaurus femur. 

(Dinosaurs: Fossils Exposed was conceptualized by the Arkansas Discovery Network, The Preservation Foundation, the charitable partner of the Lake County Forest Preserves, provided support for the exhibition.)

This special exhibition is up through Jan. 15, 2024.

The Dunn Museum is at 1899 West Winchester Rd, Libertyville IL 60048. For more information call 847-968-3400.

 

 

Skeletons are not just Halloween figures

 

keletons populatge east side of Highwood ready for Day of the Dead (J Jacobs photo)
skeletons populate east side of Highwood ready for Day of the Dead (J Jacobs photo)

If you drive through downtown Highwood, a tiny northern suburb next to Fort Sheridan (they say they are a city) on the east side of the Metra tracks, you see many skeletons.

They don’t look scary. They look like family members who have gathered for a reunion similar to what may be seen at the National Mexican Museum in Chicago National Museum of Mexican Art, Pilsen, Chicago and Dia de Muertos.

The Highwood skeletons are a good reminder that Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated throughout the Chicago area as a time to pay homage to and reunite family and friends who are still around with those who have passed on.

The Museum of Mexican Art is one place to go but another place, maybe unexpected, is Brookfield Zoo.

Sponsored by Chevrolet, the zoo’s celebration is Oct. 28-29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The zoo celebration ranges from face-painting (fees) and getting sugar skulls (while supplies last) to taking photos with the catrinas (traditional skeleton characters).

For more information visit CZS.org/DiadelosMuertos.

Jodie Jacobs

Safe way to watch partial eclipse

On Saturday, you might hear “Look up.” But don’t do it unless you have the proper glasses to protect your eyes from the sun

Chicago’s Adler Planetarium is holding Eclipse Encounter ’23, a free, fun, educational and safe way to view a partial solar eclipse this Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Partial solar eclipses occur when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth but just covers part of the Sun.

WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling will be there along with Adler staff, volunteers and teens who will pass out solar viewers (while supplies last) and help with Adler telescopes fitted with solar filters. The telescopes and event will be outside on the museum grounds.

Large solar glasses will be available to take fun eclipse selfies. The eclipse starts about 10:37 a.m. CDT and lasts until 1:22 p.m .CDT with its peak occurring at 11:58 a.m. CDT. That is when about 43 percent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon as seen from Chicago.

For more solar eclipse dates and locations visit NASA Maps.

Jodie Jacobs

Doing Butterflies and Beaches before Labor Day

 

Butterflies & Blooms at the Chicago Botanic Garden

(Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden)

MG It’s hard to believe but Labor Day, that official end-of-summer day, is just a few weeks away but there are still places to go and things to do on the summer bucket list.

The problem is some experiences will disappear at or shortly after Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2023.

Among them think butterfly and beach experiences.

Before they shut for the fall, try to get over to Brookfield Zoo in southwest suburban Brookfield or the Chicago Botanic Garden in northeast suburban Glencoe.

They both are located in suburban destinations that are open year-round but the butterflies like warm weather so these exhibitions close shortly.

Imagine strolling through screened in spaces where zebra longwings, swallowtails, monarchs,painted ladies and other species are flitting past and landing on shrubs in a safe outdoor space.

This colorful, picture-perfect experience is happening at Brookfield Zoo just to Sept 8 and at Chicago Botanic Garden to Labor Day.

For tickets, hours and more details visit Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden.

 

Beaches

It may merely seem that swimming and filling the pail with lake water to build a giant sandcastle will las for at least another month but most Chicago-area beach towns will be sending their lifeguards back to school or wherever and swimming without them is not allowed. 

The Chicago Park District site explains that “Swimming is permitted in designated swim areas at the beaches when lifeguards are on duty from 11 am – 7 pm daily. Swimming anywhere else along the lakefront is strictly prohibited and dangerous.” 

The site notes that Chicago has 26 miles of free lake front and the beach season runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day. Other Lake Michigan towns are likely to have similar lifeguard rules but different price points and admission rules.

Visit Chicago Beaches for more information.

Jodie Jacobs

 

 

 

 

Lolla alternatives

 

'Marvelocity" has original artwork by Alex Ross and superhero figures and busts. (J Jacobs photo)

Nothing wrong with “Lolla” but if you’d rather detour this weekend away from Lollapalooza’s half-million people filled Grant Park, there are a few alternatives. They range from family friendly to something for youngsters, oldsters and “Grateful Dead” fans.

Anyone who appreciates Marvel’s art and characters should head to “Marvelocity, the Art of Alex Ross.” It fills the walls at the Elmhurst Art Musem after drawing fans further north at the Dunn Museum in Northwest suburban Libertyville. The museum is at 150 Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst. *(see related Marvelocity note)

Visit elmhurstartmuseum.org/ or call 630-834-0202 for ticket info.

Those folks who appreciate West Town’s restaurants and craft beer scene plus understand its “Dancing in the Streets name and dates of Aug. 4-6, will appreciate the an annual West Town Chamber festival. People in the know understand Aug. 4-6. Think the “Days Between” that celebrate Jerry Garcia. His b-day was Aug. 1 and he died Aug. 9.

For food, beer, art and more festival info visit Dancing in the Streets | West Town Chamber

Those music lovers who like to relax on a blanket in a tree and sculpture-filled park while listening to Mozart, Rachmaninoff or Beethoven, should head to Ravina Festival in north suburban Highland Park this weekend. Hear Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Marin Alsop and the CSO. Also featured this weekend are the music of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff with Marin Alsop, Yunchan Lim, and the CSO.  Ravinia is at the southeast end of Highland Park and accessible by train.

For ticket, schedule and other info visit Ravinia Festival – Official Site | Online Schedule / Calendar

Jodie Jacobs

(Marvelocity note: for Dunn Museum article visit A ‘Marvelocity’ of Alex Ross and superheroes – Chicago Theater and Arts)

 

This Weekend

 

Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park hosts music and dance performances. (J Jacobs photo)
Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park hosts music and dance performances. (J Jacobs photo)

 

Midsummer Concert

While it is still “Midsummer,” that sometimes mystical time of year around the Summer Solstice, go to the Grant Park Music Festival in Millenium Park to hear Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The concert, with Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra, is June 23 at 6:30 p.m. and June 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. The concert is free for lawn sitters and asks for donations for reserved seats.

The Grant Park Music Festival is presented by the Grant Park Orchestral Association with support from the Chicago Park District and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). For programs and other information visit Grant Park Music Festival.

 

Up close with exotic and other animals

For a peek at some exotic animals and those you thought you knew, watch NBC’s Earth Odyssey series on Brookfield Zoo.  Presented by Hearst Media, it starts 9 a.m. CT beginning June 24 with host Dylan Dreyer. She brings you up close to some of Brookfield’s 500 species such as a tamandua. For more about Brookfield Zoo visit Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo Home (czs.org)

 

Free Joffrey Ballet Performance

Back in Millennium Park, the Joffrey Ballet is holding a free, pre-perfomance dance class at 4:45 p.m. June 25. It is followed by a free program at 5:30 p.m. that features the Joffrey Company Artists, the Joffrey Academy and the Joffrey community Engagement Students. For more information visit Joffrey Ballet.

Jodie Jacobs