Adler After Dark

We went to the first contact event on the 21^st of January. It was all about aliens! Plenty of interesting exhibits and shows, and a drinks and food as well. This is a good idea for an out of the ordinary date, I’d recommend it to couples or groups for sure.

It was a fun night, until we had to leave because the shuttle busses were already boarding to go to the icon movie theater. No one told us we had to get wristbands until last minute and when we got to the theater, all of the seats were reserved for the 501^st. I get they organized the event, but let those who paid get a chance at a decent seat. They had two theaters reserved but took out half of each, taking the good seats and making paying customers sit all the way in front. You would think it’d be common sense to reserve one theater for them and one for the customers.
I will NEVER do Adler After Dark if it comes to seeing a movie you have to go to a shuttle bus for. I’ve learned my lesson.

After living in Chicago for seven years, I can’t believe I haven’t been to the Adler! I checked out Adler After Dark last night, and it was fun! Drinks, food, live music, and different exhibits about the planets/​stars (i.e. looking through telescope, watching a 3D movie, building/​launching rockets, etc.). Can’t complain! Also, there is an amazing view of the skyline.
It’s definitely a great date idea or something different to do with friends. On the plus side, I didn’t realize that there would be quite a bit of street parking up front (we got there around 6:15PM), so that was a nice surprise!

In a city full of great museums and attractions, some are bound to be generally overlooked. To me, that overlooked star — pun intended — is the Adler Planetarium.
First, the Adler is the first planetarium anywhere in the country. As a Chicago guy that loves our city, that’s a source of pride for me. It’s cool to be the first. It’s better to be the best. Adler is both.
Second, they don’t just throw science at you in a boring, stuffy manner. It’s fun and interactive. It’s extremely educational without being heavy-​handed with the information. You don’t have to love astronomy to have a good time here. It’s made for everyone.
Third, three words: Grainger Sky Theater. Wow. The Adler has two domed theaters, and while you can’t go wrong with either one, the Grainger is just insane.
Add it all together and the Adler Planetarium is a top-​notch option for your entertainment dollar.

I’m glad I shelled out the $ 15 for this 3^rd Thursday spectacular. Most fun I’ve had since I did karaōke with Nobel-​prize winner Malala Yousafzai (who did a mean rendition of «Don’t Cha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me»). Each month has a theme and this one was «The Apocalypse.» To support the theme, there were different stations where you could learn survival skills like making fire or learning the 10 essentials. There was also one where you learned different uses for duct tape. And to think my parents only taught me about its uses as a pin-​the-​tail-​on-​the-​donkey blindfold or a band-​aid. Also, a DJ keeps the party going by pumping out sciencey hits like Oingo Boingo’s «Weird Science» or Thomas Dolby’s «She Blinded Me With Science» (precursor to his lesser known hit, «She Blinded Me With Pepper Spray»).
Other than the thematic booths, the whole museum is open for exploration. It was inspiring learning about things like Louis Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon. Made me wanna move to Houston and work for NASCAR. Also the theaters are open. We took in «Cosmic Wonder,» where you are whisked through the galaxy. Beware that if you have motion sickness, this show will mess with your head worse than Lee Harvey Oswald. Still you get a layman’s perspective on advanced physics theories proposed by intellectual titans like Steven Hawking. Who else has gained such notoriety despite having never lifted their fingers? Besides Ann Romney, that is.
This is a big couples event. Good thing too as the Adler has a magnificent view of the city skyline against the backdrop of the star-​speckled night sky. As my date and I gazed out upon this wonder, she said, «Do you think we would have met in another universe?». I replied, «Although primordial gravitational waves due to cosmic inflation posit a theory of infinite time-​space continuums, B-​mode polarization spectrographs have failed to ascertain a relationship between D-​brane particle acceleration and quantum tetrahedron masses thus nullifying the premise of your question.» Then we started making out. That was awesome!
So come on out. You will enjoy yourself and learn something about science, like when you watched the movie «Interstellar.» No wait, did I say «Interstellar?» I meant to say «Hot Tub Time Machine.»

I’ve gone to at least 5 Adler After Darks. Since I get out late from work on thursdays I usually dont get to the planetarium till about 8pm, but even with that I’m still able to grab a drink or 2 and have my mind blown in one of the theater presentations. They really do a great job and whoever spoke for cosmic wonder last week at 930 you did an excellent job. I continue to bring friends to this and I go whenever I can because even after the 5^th time its still a blast.

It was ok, probably won’t go back. I went for the Hops and Bots event. Beer tasting from craft breweries and robots? Sounds awesome. In fact, I’m sure it would have been awesome if there weren’t so many people there. The event runs from 6:00pm-10:00pm. We got there at 7:00 and the beer was already almost gone! We were supposed to get 8 tastings but only got to try one brewery’s beer. They only sell a certain number of tickets to the event, so you’d think someone would have done the math to figure out how many kegs they would need. It was highly disappointing.
Furthermore, it was CROWDED. You could barely move in certain areas of the planetarium. We really wanted to see and do a few particular things on the special event schedule, but unfortunately, there were too many people waiting for those same shows so we didn’t get to do them.
Overall, it seems like they sell way too many tickets for it to be enjoyable. If you want to explore the planetarium then it’s a good deal, but if you want to do the special event stuff, I wouldn’t recommend it.

I was surprised to find that there was not an Adler After Dark already on Unilocal when I visited last night. It really deserves a page of its own because it is a completely different experience than the Adler on a regular. No tourists, class trips, or kids scrambling around the place. Just a bunch of Chicago’s finest young people out to enjoy a few drinks, great views of the skyline, and nerd out learning space facts.
Adler hosts «Adler After Dark» every third Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 10:30 pm with tickets going $ 5 cheaper if you buy them online in advance. You have to be 21 or older to come so it attracts a (slightly) more mature crowd. With each event they choose a different theme. I didn’t really realize the importance of the themes until I was there last night for «Planetary Prom.» Almost every person there was dressed to the nines in prime dresses, suits, and tuxes. People had boutonnieres and corsages. Prom photos were being taken. The DJ was blasting classics from the early 2000s and late 90s and the dance floor was hopping.
Along with the prom themed crowd, the Adler had transformed itself into a little prom. They had balloons and streamers. Decorations adorned all the common areas of the planetarium. To go along with the night they also had themed cocktails (in addition to wine, beer, and other libations).
With you entry you get to see as many star shows as you would like. They also had craft rooms and different hands on presentations spread throughout the halls. Special lectures that coordinated with the night’s theme were also lead in some of the auditoriums. Basically, there was a little bit of everything for everyone.
And how can you pass on sunset views of the Chicago skyline from the deck of the planetarium? This was really the best museum/​cocktail event I have been to in the city and can’t wait to come back. Next time I will be prepared for the night’s theme!