We went to to the Chicago Museum of Science and Technology today, during the final weekend of both the Lights of Christmas exhibit and the Star Wars exhibit.
I remember the star wars exhibit from Boston - I had wanted to go but for some reason just never got around to it. We had tried to go many times, but during the first attempt, Tessa was sick, and then the second, the timing didn't work out. so, we finally made it just a day before it closed and left the area.
On the lights of Christmas- it was just a little exhibit where they had all these different trees, supposedly each decorated with things that were representative of their respective cultures and countries. it was neat - but as it was after Christmas, i couldn't care less. maybe next year. 
Entering the Star Wars exhibit was a thrill. The music, the lights, the atmosphere. It was so cool to see almost 5 generations of people, walking through history, marveling at the fact that something that started out as a summer popcorn movie, before such movies existed, could become so much more. Of course, the exhibit started with the main characters from episode IV: Luke, Han, R2-D2 and C3PO. I even got to take a picture with them. fun.
The first interactive part dealt with the idea of transportation in the star wars worlds - highlighted the land cruisers, pod racers and even the city transportation system. They had this Lego thingy where you play with them and build a little car, using magnetics to not only propel you, but to also suspend you above the ground. It was quite challenging, having to build these little cars that now only went straight, but also could go over hills, and up and down V-inclines. Naturally, we succeeded.
And by we, I don't just mean Tessa and myself. Joining us were our friends Lynne and Todd, another could recently transported from Boston to Chicago. While in Boston, Lynne worked with me in Connecticut and Todd was in Business School. They are just great, and we have fun doing the touristy things as well as just hanging out.
As we got into the worlds of star wars, the exhibit went on to talk about the different necessities of the characters, from Hoth to the volcano planet of the third film, they talked how the technology had been adapted to fit the environment. They showed inspiration of the native clothing of tatooine and the antarctic snowsuits for the rebels fighting in the cold of Hoth. And, for good measure, there were Wookies.
Next, there was a pretty neat demonstration that really showed how ingenious some of the robots were in star wars. It talked about multiple function abilities, their dexterity and ability to walk over multi-terrain floors and their crazy cool ability to apply critical thinking and problem solving abilities - especially where it comes to the rescue of our triumphant trio. And yes, i know there were multiple iterative of such - don't you just love Lucas' symmetry.
And what star wars exhibit would be compete without the highlighting of the weapons, villains and vessels of the dark side. They had actual props from the movies here, but did fail to mention why we can't have light sabers in our world. I'm holding out for one. A weapon for a more civilized time.
Lastly, we saw what was easily the centerpiece, the Infamous Darth Vader Suit. Just wow.
Yeah...it was a great day to go to a museum.
All our photos can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rahulsarathy/StarWarsExhibit010508
