Less "Whatever" and More "WOW"

One of the inevitable downsides of getting older is the amount of "splash and pizazz" that it takes to illicit a WOW or a WOAH or some other expression of awe and wonder. Of course, the most current expression is the ever popular OMG having replaced, groovy, dynomite, righteous, super and a bucket load of other trendy expressions used to express our "jaw dropping" amazement.   The OMGing of the world has saved bloggers and texters hundreds upon hundreds of hours of typing digit-challenged alternatives, for sure.

As for the loss of the "sense of wonder and awe" due to ageing, that becomes more apparent as grandkids arrive.  Did I hear you say: OMG.... How can that be??? Surely, Cheryl P. isn't old enough to have grandchildren??? I can see where you would be confused...inexplicable, really....but back to topic..

As I watch the little G-boys find such delight in things like BUBBLES and dandelions, it brings up the point that it takes a lot more to impress and amaze me these days.  There was a time that seeing a dandelion going to seed would have been a site to behold.  Now that little sucker is more of an annoyance than anything.  It wouldn't even illicit a "whatever".

As an adult, it seems that the ante keeps going up on the levels that it takes to cause us to become speechless.  (well...for me personally, I am not sure that level has ever been reached... but hope springs eternal)




Thought #1....A Place that is worthy  of a lot of WOWs, AWESOMEs, and OMGs


Last week hubby and I made an unscheduled trip to the Chicago area as we learned of a family member's passing.  While there, we decided to go to the Museum of Science and Industry.  I am a real GEEK when it comes to museums and as museums go, this one is a really AWESOME one. 

Sidebar:  A little blurb about the museum, if you aren't familiar. 


The Museum of Science and Industry  is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.  It first opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition.  It is also the largest science museum in the western hemisphere.
Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the Museum features a working coal mine, a German submarine (U-505) captured during World War II, a 3,500-square-foot model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train (Pioneer Zephyr), and the Apollo 8 spacecraft which flew the first humans to the Moon.


It had been years since I was last there and as with all things, there was a disconnect between how I remember it and how it is.   Some of this disconnect is that the museum has changed and updated but part of it is in the 30 or so years that have passed, what it takes to WOW me.

As a girl, I remember walking into the building and all but peeing down my leg,(yes, I was a strange little girl)  with the excitement of the planes hanging from cables from the ceiling.  Real planes...in a building...just hanging there...OMG!  As an adult, I find that still pretty neat but not to the level of peeing on myself...see, I have matured.

Thought #2...Worthy contenders for WOW.

The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

A Boeing 727 hangs from the ceiling. There is a platform that allows you
to enter and walk through it.  The 727 was the mainstay of
air travel from 1963-1984 when it was retired from manufacture.
It held the record for most sales of a model until last year when the 737 surpassed
it.






The Coal Mine exhibit was one of my favorites as a kid.  It still has some of it's earlier appeal but there have been some changes there as well.  Years ago, (many, many years ago) they use to have everyone don a lighted miner's hat prior to descending into the shaft via a coal car.  Very cool effect of actually going down into the earth. Now, you are herded into the safety room first and told of the dangers of coal mines. 

We happened to have a young guide that took elaborate pains to tell us how awful the bituminous coal coming out of Illinois mines is.  Seems that the crappy coal that comes from the 8th largest coal producing state in America is so unhealthily that nearly all of it is shipped to other countries.  HUH???

Another exhibit worthy of a couple of, NO WAYs and few  Oh, SH**s, is the German Sub, U505,  that was captured in 1944 and is the only type IXC sub still in existence.

The story of it's capture and the part it played in World War II is fascinating especially for those that are history buffs. 

Another of my favorite exhibits as a little girl was the  Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle.  Colleen Moore was a silent film star in the 1920s who had a love of doll houses and miniatures.  She started building a her Fairy Castle in 1928 and by 1935 with the help of over 700 artists and an estimated cost of $500,000  created a doll house that was indeed worthy of a princess.  The details of the castle are amazing...running water, electricity, priceless works of art and jewels,...even the pans in the kitchen are forged copper.  AMAZING!!



And the last one, I am going to talk about for today, is the OmniMax theatre production of:

The Omnimax technology didn't even exist on my last trip to the museum.  In the Omnimax theater the projector, projects the film onto a 180 degree dome that is about 5 stories high.  This differs than the regular IMAX film that is projected onto a flat screen.  This dome effect has you feeling as if you are in the middle of the action.  For this film about tornadoes and storm chasers, it is effectively off the chart on the WOW meter.

The film was filmed in Kansas and Oklahoma

You remember that I live in Kansas, right????

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