Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent. And welcome to our beautiful city of Chicago. And we are lucky,
because today is a sunny day. But believe it or not, it's not sunny every day in Chicago. And when
it's not sunny, it's a great time to go indoors, and check out all the amazing museums in Chicago.
Number 1 on our list, is the Chicago Art Institute. Of course, we had to start with the Art
Institute. Because it is one of the most iconic museums in the world. It's really well known for
its impressionist collection. And two of the most iconic paintings are 'Paris street on a rainy day'
by Gustave Caillebotte and 'Sunday at la Grande Jatte' by Georges Seurat. And then, there is a
very extensive Monet collection. You see the water lilies at Giverny. But I love, especially, the
studies of light that he did, with the haystacks in different times of season, and different light
settings. And they're just extraordinary to see side-by-side. And then, beyond Monet, there are
many other impressionist painters,:Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse, and plenty others.
So, there is the old part of the museum, which is neoclassical. And then, the new wing of the
museum was done by Renzo Piano. And all the contemporary modern artists are housed there.
So, in the modern section, you'll come across pop art, from Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
And then, there are several Picasso paintings, of the different periods,
throughout his life. And then, many other contemporary artists: Chagall, Mondrian,
Picabia, Juan Gris, and many many others.
And then, it's not just painting. It's also a lot of sculptures. And I really
enjoy the sculpture section. Chicago is famous for its architecture. And,
of course, the Art Institute has a whole section about architecture and design.
And then, back into the old wing of the building, you'll realize that the Chicago
Art Institute is a pretty complete museum, with just art from any style you can think
of. And if you go to the museum, you're actually gonna have to decide what it
is that you're gonna want to see. Because there is no way you're gonna be able to see
everything over one day. There's art from all over the world, from Korea, and Japan,
Peru, and Southeast Asia, and the American folk art section. It just goes on, and on, and on.
And 2nd on our list, is the Shedd Aquarium. The Shedd Aquarium is one of my favorite museums in
the city. It feels like you're going snorkeling for the day. Yeah! And if you have kids,
it's probably the best place where you can take your young kids. But my pro tip would
be to go through the week, in the afternoons. Because mornings and weekends are just crazy,
with all the school field trips, and just people that want to see it on the weekends.
So, one of the main attractions are obviously the dolphins. And the dolphins, you can see
from above, like you would do at SeaWorld. But what's great, is that you can also see
them from below. The other thing that's great, is being in the auditorium. With the view of
Lake Michigan. And you see that in the horizon, which is a nice backdrop to the show.
And then, next to the dolphins,
you also have the beluga whales. And they're huge. And they come right up to the glass,
almost like they just want to check you out. They are as interested in you as you are in them.
And one of my favorites are the Penguins. They are so damn cute. They are cute. They actually
swim really fast. We had a hard time filming them because they were just going so fast.
And then, another big attraction is the Wild Reef. It is a huge aquarium, with sharks and stingrays.
And those are big sharks. And what's really cool, is to see the way that they just swim,
so gracefully between the rocks, and the corals. And it's a very colorful display.
But then, outside of the dolphins and the sharks,
there's just so many different creatures. All kinds of fish. It's just amazing,
the variety of things that live in the ocean. I especially love the design of the museum. Look
closely at the details. And you'll see all kinds of aquatic life in the tiles and in the finishes.
And 3rd on our list, is in the Museum of Science and Industry. This museum has an
extensive collection of things, from all different genres. So, we started with the genetics section.
And I could stay hours watching those baby chicks hatch out of the egg. It was so amazing,
to see them peek their heads out of the shell, and welcome them to the new world.
So, one of my favorite sections of the museum is the train. I've always
wanted to have an electric train, growing up. And the electric train,
over there, is huge. You got trains, in all kind of landscapes, and mountains,
and cities, and ports. You can stay there for hours, watching those trains.
There's also a really amazing aeronautics section. You can actually see a 727,
suspended in the air. You can walk around, and see what the cockpit looked like.
And you can also see inside the engine, if you're interested in mechanics.
Then there is the bicycle section, that retakes you through the history
of bikes. And it's amazing, the diversity of materials that are used in designing
some of these very lightweight bikes. And even a bike made out of cardboard.
And then, next to the bike section,
there is the car section, with a solar car, and a Formula 1 car.
And then, there is this section on natural phenomenon. It's incredible, the different
things that you can experience there. And it's very interactive. There's a turn table,
that recreates the avalanche, with sand. And it's really cool. Every half hour,
they fire up the Tesla coil. And it makes this incredible sound, that fills the room. And you
see the electricity, just shooting in sparks, flying. It's really exciting to see that.
And then, there is the industry part of the Science and Industry Museum,
with all kind of robotic, and a real robotic production line.
And 4th on our list, is the Field Museum, which is one of the largest natural history museums
in the world. And the main reason to go to the Field Museum is for the dinosaurs. As soon as you
walk into this stunning lobby, you are greeted by this enormous titanosaur. It's really incredible.
It's one of the most well-preserved dinosaur skeletons in the world. And then, the other
big attraction is Sue, the T-rex. It's a huge dinosaur. And it's got huge teeth. You wouldn't
want to run into the dinosaur in real life. It has an enormous head. The head weighs so much,
they could barely get it to be supported on the body. But beyond those two huge dinosaurs,
the Gallery of Evolution has plenty of dinosaurs, of all shapes and sizes.
And mammoths. And it just goes through the entire evolution, from pre-historic to now.
So, one of the sections we really liked, was the Ancient Americas. It goes through the
history of all the American civilizations: the Incas, the Mayas, the Aztecs. It's got statues,
and pottery, and artifacts. And there's also a section exclusively on Native Americans.
And what's really special about that, are the incredible headdresses,
and beading, and other clothing and artifacts that they have on display.
And then, you enter Animal Hall, where you have every different type of species,
that's been mounted, in these beautiful natural scenes, that depict all kinds of
wildlife in their habitat. And there's also plenty of birds. There's eagles,
and owls. It's a really really cool section. Little kids will love it.
And 5th on our list, is the Oriental Institute, at the University of Chicago. This is one of
the hidden gems of Chicago's museums. The main reason to go to the Oriental Institute
is the Egyptian section. You get statues. You get mummies. You even have a mummy of
a falcon. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Chicago,
in Hyde Park. It's a great area to walk around and explore. We're gonna put a link to our video
about Hyde Park, in our top 10 things to do in Chicago. But beyond the Egyptian section,
there's a lot of other sections, about all the different ancient civilizations,
in Mesopotamia and in Turkey. I actually really like the Mesopotamian section. And there is this
humongous bull head. This thing is 40 tons. It is huge! And if you're a fan of ancient aliens,
you'll especially like seeing all these ancient sculptures, in the museum. And if you don't care
about aliens, and you actually enjoy real history, this is the right museum for you.
It's always amazing to me, to see artifacts that are 4,000 years old, and are perfectly preserved.
And 6th on our list, is the National Museum of Mexican Art, which is a free museum,
by the way. And we feature it at length, in the Pilsen neighborhood, in our video about
Chicago-off-the-beaten path. There are so many things to see there. And the museum
is organized in different sections. So, one of the sections is about pre-colonial art. And it
has a lot of traditional Mexican handcrafts. Some beading, and then some paintings that
is being done on reeds. There's also a great section with religious art. And some beautiful
sculptures and paintings. The section about Contemporary Art, we found most interesting.
Some really unusual things, from all different kinds of design perspectives. And most of all,
everything was incredibly colorful. And that's what I love about this museum.
And 7th on our list, is Wrightwood 659. One of the newest museums in Chicago,
right in the heart of Lincoln Park. This museum is dedicated to the architectural work of Tadao
Ando. He's one of our favorite architects, from Japan. He built one of the only houses in the
United States, in Chicago. And next door, they renovated a 4-story apartment building,
and turned it into a museum, dedicated to Tadao Ando. On the top floor of the museum, they have
this spectacular model of Naohima Island. This is a place where Ando designed most of the buildings,
including museums, and a hotel, and really amazing views. It's also called the Art Island,
because many famous artists have their works on display at the museums there.
The other thing that's great about the museum, are the wonderful drawings, that Ando has done
throughout his career. In addition to many models that were developed. Our favorite is the Church
of the Light, which is an incredible model, to view from all angles. Ando was a colleague of
Le Corbusier, and took a lot of his ideas, and applied them in architecture, using concrete.
And from the top of the museum, you have great views of Lincoln Park around,
and the dome of St Clement's Church, which is right next to it. And then,
you can also see downtown. You can also overlook the home next door,
and see how it's laid out. We're very fortunate to have this home and this museum in Chicago.
An 8th on our list, is the Chicago Architecture Center. It is one of the newest museums in
Chicago. And not everybody knows about it. But it's right downtown, along the river.
The highlight of the museum, is an incredible 3D model of the whole Chicago skyline. It shows
all the iconic Chicago buildings: Navy Pier, the Sears Tower, Millennium Park,
Soldier Field. And it even has all the new buildings, that haven't even been built yet.
And then, on the upper floor, there is a whole section about high-rises all over the world,
from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. And plenty
of other famous buildings, from all over the world, that are being compared to one another.
And it has a very interesting section,
about the city of the future, and how architecture will continue to evolve. So,
it is a fairly small museum. But it's a great addition to Chicago, if you like architecture.
And 9th on our list, is the Money Museum. It's a small museum. And you're in-and-out
in an hour. And ironically, the Money Museum is free. If I had a million dollars... If
I had a million dollars... How much space would a million dollars take up? In 100's,
it fits into this briefcase. And in 20's, it fits into that globe. And in singles, it fits into
this enormous cube, that rotates in the middle of the museum. But you have to spend it fast,
because with inflation, your million dollars is not going to be worth much in 20 years.
And the museum has a lot of interactive exhibits. It's actually great for kids.
It takes you through the history of money, from the early colonial days, all the way to the
present day. It's one of the lesser-known museums in Chicago, but well worth the short visit.
And last on our list, is the Museum of Contemporary Art or MCA. The MCA is in a great
location, near the Water Tower, just off Michigan Avenue, with some great shopping all around,
and in a beautiful park space. There are some great sections at the MCA as well.
And a great exhibit on Calder and Jeff Koons. And the piece that's fascinated me in the most,
was the tank with those basketballs. I looked at it from every angle, and tried to understand the
optical illusion. I could never figure it out. We really liked the exhibit by Jessica Campbell,
which was an entire room of carpeted images. And the pictures are very vibrant. The colors
are beautiful. And it's just a very interesting experience, to see art expressed through carpet.
The reason why we put it last on our list, is that the MCA is a nice museum. But if
you compare it to really good contemporary art museums, such as the MoMA in New York,
or the MONA in Hobart, and we're gonna put a link to the MONA in Hobart,
the MCA is really a step below. But we really like the gift store,
at the end. It was a lot more than just mugs and t-shirts. And it had just very interesting gifts.
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