Day 1 You'll See:
Chicago architecture is seen from Millennium Park. Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Day 2 You'll See:
- Federal Reserve Visitor Center
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- Millennium Park
Day 3 You'll See:
- Chicago Neighborhood Tour
- The Field Museum
- Shedd Aquarium
You’ll score all kinds of brownie points with your deserving young kids when you treat them to this fabulous 3 Day Educational Experience extravaganza! They’ll visit Little Italy and Navy Pier, enjoy world-class shopping opportunities on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and explore The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, The Chicago Art Institute and more!
1
Navy Pier
Kick-off your 3 Day Chicago Experience with a stop at historic Navy Pier, Chicago's popular lakefront playground and the Midwest's premier leisure destination, featuring acres and acres of parks, promenades, gardens, shops, eateries, and attractions! Take a spin on a 15-story Ferris wheel or a turn on the old-fashioned carousel hit the links for a little mini-golf or catch a cool 3D thriller at the IMAX® Theatre. Test your navigational skills in Amazing Chicago’s funhouse maze, hop a speed boat departing from Navy Pier's South Dock, grab a bite at Bubba Gump’s and browse Family Pavilion’s unique retail shops for that perfect Chi-Town souvenir. Sweet Summertime on the Pier brings spectacular twice-weekly fireworks shows perfectly synchronized to music on Lake Michigan; Navy Pier - “The People’s Pier”- has it all!
360 Chicago (Hancock Observatory)
The view from the top just got a whole lot better, thanks to TILT at 360 Chicago, the city’s hottest new thrill attraction, conveniently located along the Magnificent Mile in the former John Hancock Observatory. 360’s 1,000-foot perch treats guests to sweeping views of Lake Michigan, four neighboring states, and the Windy City’s dazzling downtown. If you’re brave enough to check a daredevil’s angle on the spectacular panorama, you can “TILT” outward a neat 30 degrees from the building for a vertigo-tripping “free-fall” view of the street below!
Chicago’s Magnificent Mile
Out-of-this-world shopping, fabulous dining and plenty of historic sites - including the Chicago Pumping Station and a water tower that survived the Great Chicago Fire – await student groups hoofin’ it along this prestigious stretch of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, world-renowned for its diversity of upscale attractions and points of interest. In springtime, hundreds of thousands of colorful tulips burst into bloom in the Mile’s tree-filled median planters, while the "Gardens of The Magnificent Mile" festival heralds the happy arrival of summer. Wonderful seasonal events draw the crowds, and the world's leading retailers keep them shopping year-round. Luxury boutiques abound here, and designers, too - heavy hitters and industry standards, alike; three
“urban shopping centers” tender all the traditional mall trappings along with plenty of attractions and entertainment- Magnificent Mile style.
2
Federal Reserve Visitor Center
Your fabulous three-day educational experience has kept you and your group hoping – perhaps that jog along the Magnificent Mile dented your mad money stash; it’s never a bad thing to snap up travel mementos along the way, avoiding the mad panic at the end of an adventure and ensuring no one back home is forgotten! Good thing it’s time to tour the Federal Reserve’s Money Museum, where you can create your own $1.00 coins, see a real ten thousand dollar bill, get the scoop on the counterfeiting “business”, see where old money goes to die, pose for a portrait with a million bucks and walk off with a souvenir bag of authentic shredded green…perfect to share. Score!
The Art Institute of Chicago
Next stop on your three-day Educational Experience: The Art Institute - the museum Trip Advisor has named #1 of 305 Chicago attractions. It continues to outrank every museum on Earth, owning the majestic title of top Museum in the World! This Windy City wonder is home to more than 300,000 pieces of art including the famous “American Gothic” painting by Grant Wood and Claude Monet’s “Stack of Wheat.” In addition to its world-renowned permanent collections, the museum hosts dozens of rotating exhibitions and hundreds of gallery talks and performances each year; the building itself is a breathtaking architectural gem and an absolute must-see!
Millennium Park
You and your group will wrap up the second day of your Three Day Educational Experience exploring this extraordinary 24.5-acre public space situated atop a parking garage on the world-renowned Loop District! It’s Chicago's definitive modern showplace – a popular destination and gathering spot for locals and visitors, alike. Stunning architecture, breathtaking landscape design, fantastic concerts and more share the spotlight in this remarkable park in the heart of the Windy City. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloudgate (a gargantuan reflective sculpture nicknamed “The Bean”), beautiful Lurie Garden and ultra-cool Crown fountain are absolute must-sees on any Chicago agenda; outstanding photo ops right here – especially in front of Cloudgate!
3
Chicago Neighborhood Tour
Day three finds you and your students heading out to explore Near Westside’s Little Italy and Greektown and Near Southside’s Chinatown; these wonderfully diverse districts deserve a place on every Windy City itinerary! You’ll marvel at each neighborhood’s distinct architecture, popular landmarks and points of interest and swoon over samplings of delicious specialties tendered by local bakeries and restaurants; "mangia tutti cosi"…eat everything…love life! A variety of fantastic guided tours direct you to all the neighborhood highlights, each tendering an absolutely unforgettable cultural experience.
The Field Museum
At the Field Museum, your student group will encounter the awesome Titans of the Ice Age, journey deep into the eerie bat caves of Kenya, explore the mysterious world of Haitian Voodoo, come face to face with Sue - the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered, descend into an ancient Egyptian tomb and shrink to the size of a bug to embark on an underground adventure! Serving up a heaping, 4.6 billion year helping of “life” under one roof, Chicago’s amazing Field Museum has been enlightening, entertaining and inspiring curious guests for more than a century! P.S.: Have you heard the hair-raising, bone-crunching story of the man-eating lions of Tsavo?
Shedd Aquarium
You’ll wrap up your Windy City experience with a visit to conservation-minded Shedd Aquarium, a true Windy City treasure and the world’s largest indoor aquarium, to boot! A trip to its Caribbean Coral Reef at once amazes and delights – you’ll observe divers feeding lumbering nurse sharks, vicious barracudas, hawksbill sea turtles and other ravenous residents impatiently awaiting their fresh fish lunch. In the Oceanarium, you’ll delight to the antics of eager dolphins running through their repertoire of leaping dives, tail walks, and other slick tricks! The “Wild Reef-Sharks at Shedd” experience gets you up close and personal to sharks and other dastardly denizens of the deep as you observe them through the tenuous barrier of a floor-to-ceiling window, while “Jellies” grants you a privileged peek into the mysterious, watery world of these mesmerizing, fragile predators. There’s so much to see and do at Shedd you’ll never want to leave!