Notebaert exhibit shows dark side of the world
Dedicated to how animals behave and adapt to life in the dark, The Peggy Notebaert Museum's temporary exhibit, "In the Dark" will make you feel better about sleeping with the door open just a crack without giving you new reasons to be freaked out at night.
The traveling exhibit, which runs through Jan. 11, is set in a darkened room to trick a few nocturnal creatures into activity, including a rat, a baboon spider, a hairy scorpion and a blind cave fish. (There are flashlights available for you to carry if you want one.)
Very locally focused, displays show some animals that live in local forest preserves even though visitors aren't likely to see them because we go out during sunny days and they don't come out until dusk. A corner is set up like a small garden exposing the soil beneath it to show animals that live underground, like moles and earthworms.
The goal is to turn your own expectations against you. While humans would be horrified to be surrounded by soil in the darkness, these creatures are much more uncomfortable when forced to the surface. Another part of the exhibit shows how light might make us feel better but isn't always a good thing. A display and video explain the impact of light pollution in both limiting our ability to see the beauty of the stars and confusing animals that navigate based on light patterns. Another video shows the inside of a termite's nest and explains how they may be unwelcome guests in your home, but they're incredibly important to the environment.
After taking in some information on the types of adaptations creatures have to living in dark environments, visitors are encouraged to guess from pictures where an animal lives. Subterranean-dwellers are often colorless and sometimes blind because if there's no light there's no need to see or try to be seen, or for that matter camouflage.
Similarly you can tell a lot about the origins of different parts of the exhibit by looking them. While there are plenty of modern, interactive and engaging parts, others are laughably dated. An electronic game where you roll a ball to try to navigate a bat through a dark cave gives you instruction with a computerized voice of the same quality you might have found in the 1980.
Just navigate away from that bat exhibit and check out the much more interesting hanging giant bat that shows how it navigates by changes noises based on your proximity. Other highlights include a platform showing how a jellyfish maintains its balance, a display showing life at the deepest depths of the ocean where no light touches and a pitch black room where you can watch a friend try to place the right peg in the right hole through a night vision camera, showing just how helpless most people are in darkness.
Besides exploring how animals have adapted to life without light, part of In the Dark is devoted to how humans cope with blindness. You can tap a walking stick against different surfaces and try to determine what you're hitting along with looking at other devices like a note teller to read bills and balls that make noise as they approach so that the visually impaired can play catch.
It's a lot to take in so if you need a break, there's a little nook with chairs where you can flip through some books on the subject or watch a PBS video on darkness. Once you're ready, you can check out the better lit exhibits at the museum before heading out with a new awareness of the things that go bump, squeak or just wiggle around in the night.
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Facts: 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, (773) 755-5100, chias.org
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Admission: $9, $7 seniors and students, $6 children
"In the Dark" weekend Nov. 8 and 9. The schedule includes:
11 a.m.: A bat encounter with a Malaysian flying fox, the largest bat in the world with a 6-foot wingspan, led by bat expert Rob Mies
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Learn about the importance of earthworms
1 p.m.: Rob Mies leads a presentation on other nocturnal animals including a sugar glider, owl, bat and tree frog
6 p.m. Sunday only: Star gazing night hike around North Pond. $5
While you're there
Where to eat
• Mon Ami Gabi, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, Chicago, (773) 348-8886, monamigabi.com
A classic French bistro, you can sample crepes, quiches or the restaurant's signature steak frites with French wine by the glass or bottle.
• The Other Side Bar, 2434 N. Clark St., Chicago, (773) 525-8238, theothersidebar.com
While it's specifically a haven for Wisconsin college football fans, no matter what your sports affiliation you can catch the game, pick out a song on their digital jukebox, play board games, or just relax with a beer and bratwurst.
Things to do
• Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 742-2000, lpzoo.org
One of the best deals in Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo is open every day and it's always free. Their animals range from the typical lions, zebras and gorillas to the strange like sand cats, Sichuan takin and aardvarks.