July 16, 2013: Chicago

Today we had one last Janet lecture about the ship Atlantis and the deep sea submersible, ALVIN. Then, we were taken up above the public areas of the Field and up to Janet's office. This may not sound super cool, but it the whole floor had original wood siding, and matching doors, with old exhibits and ancient shelves of books scattered through out. It looked like something out of a movie. As did Janet's office. You walked in, and she had jars and jars of preserved deep sea octopuses, and bulletin boards of old maps, and postcards, stacks of books, and quite a few tools to measure, dissect, and see. Then, we went down to the lowest, also not public, part of the Field, the CRC (Collection Resource Center). This is where the Field stores all their specimens. When you enter, there is row upon row of shelves. Running along the front of the selves are big crates, mostly metal. Janet opened one of those metal crates (because someone had left it unlocked) and we were all surprised when we found some sort of little dog, floating at the bottom in a layer of ethanol (used to preserve). Janet walked us down an aisle to see deep sea octopuses, tube worms, and other various critters floating in jars. Then, just for fun, she showed us a giant stuffed alligator that's hiding somewhere down there amid the shelves. After lunch, we all were set the task of making a 30-45sec movie about something we learned. In about and hour and a half, all stopped and showed our movies to everyone, and were given constructive criticism. Danielle and I made a movie called Wormance, and I must say, people really liked it. Mom had to fly back home for work, but dad and Grady were still here, so after Digital Planet was over for the day, we met Donald, Stephen and their friend Amanda at Big Bowl for dinner. Yum! Then dad took us girls to Navy Pier for a ride on the swings and some Dip n' Dots. If you are interested in some pictures of the Digital Planet Program, you are welcome to check out their Facebook page, but I don't want to take their photos. 

www.facebook.com/takethefield

Long Story Short:

⚫ Janet's Office

⚫ CRC

⚫ Mini movie

⚫ Big Bowl

⚫ Navy Pier