Did you ever hear the story about the guy that used to be really funny, but now he’s just kinda funny, and he goes to the museum and all these weird things happen, and when he told people they were thinking “I don’t know if this is funny but this guy has issues?” It’s not a Ben Stiller Movie. It was my winter break…cue music. Dun, dun, daaa!

Over the break I spent time at the Field Museum of Natural History. “Why?” you may ask. Let me tell you. The museum is one of my favorite places for inspiration. First, it’s one of the best museums in the world. It’s also a stone’s throw from campus, and the movie The Relic was filmed here. The Relic!

I didn’t go to see The Relic, but rather I went with some friends to see Sue and Chocolate. Let me clarify. Sue is the T-Rex and chocolate is…well…chocolate. Who would not want to see an exhibit about chocolate?

When we entered, the staff was really friendly. It made buying the all-access tickets less painful. I forgot to mention that Sue and Chocolate weren’t free. I didn’t dwell on that because when I looked up, I saw a giant whale. It wasn’t a real whale but it was huge. It was the largest balloon I had ever seen. I can guarantee you that if they sold that at the gift shop, my nephew would have been all over it.

The first exhibit I hit was “Chocolate.” I’ll be honest; I had Wonka expectations. (Wilder not Depp.) Unfortunately there were no Oompa Loompas to toss me into a chocolate river. This was a historical take. At first the exhibit addressed the historical significance of the bean, then how the Spanish brought it to Europe and wouldn’t share. But finally I saw it. Candy bars. How cool! The Reggie bar. The Shaq bar. The $100,000 bar.  The good stuff. Then I saw it. A 10 foot high box of chocolate. Instant photo op.

After chocolate, we checked out the Sue movie.  It was educational. It was 3-D. What more could you ask for? I know. I wanted a gruesome dinosaur battle…and got it. Being there was like being 12 all over again. Oh did I mention the movie was in 3-D?

There are some great free exhibits also. I hung out by the pyramids. Building one of those things was no joke. Don’t let the dazzling smile fool you. There was nothing fun about trying to pull that block.

As the day wore on, my sanity wore on with it. I felt the urge for totally inappropriate pictures. I picked a pharaoh’s nose and made out with a fish. Museums are pretty wild.

Field Lobby

I had a great time playing the tourist. It’s nice to know that there are lots of opportunities to go and have a good time and inspire the creative juices. Because I like to think that I can attach a story to some of the artifacts I can see. And it’s a free bus ride away; that is as long as you’ve got your U-pass.