The region offers tour planners a number of new attractions that will freshen up their itineraries
Midwest on our radar
Here’s a quick look at what is going on in America’s heartland: ILLINOIS The International Walldog and Mural Museum is set to open this summer in the downtown historic district of Pontiac. Dedicated to the history and art of outdoor advertising signage, the museum is inspired by the Walldogs, a loosely knit group of muralists and sign painters who gather each summer to paint large murals in a selected town. During a four-day span last summer they painted 18 new murals in Pontiac, a town rich in Route 66 heritage. The museum will recognize outdoor advertising art found along the iconic highway. Also included will be a public art gallery where members of the Walldogs can sell their preliminary sketches and finished works. Pontiac, home of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, also has plans to install, by mid-summer, several new outdoor interpretive wayside exhibits dealing with local history and Route 66. (800-835-2055, visitpontiac.org) Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry just unveiled Science Storms, a new permanent exhibit that reveals the science behind some of nature’s most powerful phenomena—tornadoes, light-
Science Storms just blew into Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
ning, fire, tsunamis, sunlight, avalanches and atoms in motion. Inside the 24,000-square-foot exhibit, guests can immerse themselves in a 40-foot tornado to experiment with air pressure and wind speed inside a towering vortex of vapor; create a highvoltage lightning storm by discharging volts of energy from a giant Tesla coil to discover electricity and magnetism; trigger a 20-foot avalanche to reveal the beauty of granular dynamics; and discover the power and motion of waves
Missouri’s newest gaming center is River City Casino in St. Louis County. 50 April 2010
by unleashing a tsunami across a 30foot wave tank. The exhibit is part of an overall plan by the Museum of Science and Industry to change or update nearly 90 percent of its exhibit space by 2011. (msichicago.org) Chicago Pizza Tours is a new company that offers a three-hour bus tour with stops at four pizza restaurants. Along the way the guide discusses Chicago deep-dish and other varieties of pizza while pointing out the sights. Guests receive a slice of pizza at Gino’s East in River North, Edwardo’s in Printers Row, Coalfire in West Town and Marcello’s in Lincoln Park. Private tours can be arranged for groups up to 15. (630-842-0372, chicagopizzatours.com) INDIANA The Indianapolis Zoo opens its newest exhibit on May 29—Cheetah: The Race for Survival. Admired for their speed and grace, cheetahs face an uncertain future as their numbers are dwindling. Dr. Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund, is working with the zoo on the exhibit, which will LeisureGroupTravel.com
illustrate the fund’s work in saving wild cheetahs. (indianapoliszoo.com) The Fort Wayne Museum of Art just reopened with the addition of 10,000 square feet of new gallery space. The expansion allows the museum to exhibit more of its collection of American art and provide more space for traveling exhibitions. (fwmoa.org) Interactive and high-tech experiences help visitors connect with Indiana’s heritage in the new Indiana Experience at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in Indianapolis. Its “You Are There” element features threedimensionally reconstructed historic photographs that include first-person interpreters. “Destination Indiana” includes stories from all 92 counties in Indiana, featuring eight “drive yourself ” time-travel stations with seats for six persons and a curved, 10-foot-by-24foot screen that plays select journeys. In the renovated Cole Porter Room, designed to evoke the style of New
York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, guests immerse themselves in a 1940sinspired, cabaret-style setting featuring a digital grand player piano, photographs of the famed composer born in Peru, Ind., and an elegantly dressed interpreter performing Porter standards. (indianahistory.org) MISSOURI River City Casino just opened in the south St. Louis County community of Lemay. It includes a 90,000-squarefoot casino with more than 2,000 slot machines and 50 table games. The suburban complex also features Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Great Food Exposition buffet (with seating for more than 350), a tavern, contemporary cafe and classic burger joint. Judy’s Velvet Lounge is the 75-seat entertainment hub of the casino. The development is operated by Pinnacle Entertainment, which owns casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana and Argentina. (888-578-7289, rivercity.com)
COMING AUGUST 24 – 29, 2010
This lively maritime event showcases magnificent ships, and features on-deck tours, entertainment, activities and nightly fireworks! Book your group today at navypier.com
LeisureGroupTravel.com
Navy Pier is Chicago’s top-visited, year-round attraction, featuring restaurants, rides, shops, dining cruises, free entertainment and so much more!
April 2010 51