CityPass Is the Ticket for Extra Credit for Kids Outside of the Classroom

For kids and adults alike, it’s one thing to be book-smart; it’s a whole different thing to be city-smart. With a CityPass collection of experiences in Chicago, kids and adults can augment what is learned in the classroom on a family vacation visiting popular city museums, parks, aquariums and more -- and actually see, touch, hear and smell what they learn about in books.

After all, it’s one thing to read that sea urchins use bits of seaweed stuck in their spines to help provide camouflage from their predators; it’s another to actually touch the spines and see for one’s self at the world-famous Shedd Aquarium. Learning about pirate ships, routes and maps in school can be interesting, but learning Pirate songs and the real reason behind “walking the plank” in the Real Pirates exhibit at the Field Museum will have kids shouting “Shiver me timbers!” CityPass is the one-stop solution to experiences offered in Chicago, at the Shedd Aquarium (with its newly reopened Oceanarium) and Field Museum (visitors can touch real gold treasure discovered on the slave ship The Whydah, sunk off the coast of Cape Cod 300 years ago). At the Adler Planetarium, everyone can get a closer look at things with an exhibit celebrating 400 years of telescopes from the early looking glasses to the Hubble Space Station. Studying historic buildings in the Windy City? The Ledge at Skydeck Chicago (formerly Sears Tower) boasts new alcove windows that bump out over Wacker Drive on the 103 ^rd floor, made of reinforced Plexiglas, for a thrilling, completely unobstructed view of Chicago –- up, out and down. At the Museum of Science and Industry’s Art+Science=Architecture exhibit, the world’s most famous buildings and structures are on display –- all constructed from LEGOs.

A family trip to popular Chicago museums and attractions allows kids to delve deeper and longer than the standard school field trip affords. And the free materials offered at these attractions -- maps and brochures, along with citypass.com and family photos -- make the grade for instant extra credit projects.

A Chicago CityPass booklet contains these tickets to wonderment for kids and adults alike:

• Adler Planetarium—explore the outer reaches of space without leaving Chicago
• Museum of Science and Industry—handle takeoffs and landings in the cockpit of an full-size 727 jet
• Shedd Aquarium—check out all the galleries plus Amazon Rising, Oceanarium, Wild Reef and a 4D Special FX Theater Experience
• The Field Museum—say hello to Sue, the largest T. rex ever found
• Skyscraper Option for either the John Hancock Observatory Fast Pass—take a look at Chicago and beyond from 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile with a Sky Tour narrated by Chicago celebrity David Schwimmer, or SkyDeck Chicago for a four-state view and The Ledge viewing alcoves

CityPass recommends weekday afternoon visits to avoid school groups. On weekends, arrive as doors swing open to be one of the first at hands-on exhibits and viewing windows. This fall, adults and youth save 47% off the cost of paying admissions at each attraction. Adult Chicago CityPass is $69, a savings of $61.50. For youth 3-11, price is $59, a savings of $51.50. For a typical family of four, the savings is $226.00.

CityPass does all the big-city sightseeing legwork, filling its pages with admission tickets, hours of operation, tips on the best times to visit, transportation directions, map, special offers and discounts, and four pages of delicious oddities and recommendations from National Geographic Traveler magazine. It’s an itinerary to tuck in a pocket and zip past most ticket lines.

CityPass may be purchased at www.citypass.com, and sent to home, office or hotel addresses. A print-at-home E-ticket will save shipping costs. Trade it for a CityPass booklet at the first Chicago CityPass attraction.

About CityPass

CityPass saves money and time in 11 North American destinations: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Hollywood, Southern California and Houston. CityPass is available at each city’s participating attractions or from www.citypass.com. For more information, to take an online page-by-page peek at each CityPass ticket booklet, or to link to each attraction, click on www.citypass.com. For customer service, call toll free (U.S./Canada) 888-330-3008 or direct 208-787-4300.

CityPass. It’s the smart ticket to an affordable Chicago family weekend.

Note: Real Pirates, at The Field Museum of Natural History through October 25, 2009, and Telescopes Through the Looking Glass at the Adler Planetarium through December 31, 2009, require a separate ticket for admission.

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