Smart Home: Green + Wired - May 8 thru January 4
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Museum of Science and Industry is proud to introduce quite possibly their most important exhibit ever – a functioning three-story modular and sustainable green home built to showcase the ways, big and small, that people can live an eco-friendly life. Guests will be able to view the latest innovations in reusable resources; smart energy consumption; sustainable gardens and green roofs; and clean, healthy-living environments in a contemporary setting.

The Glass Experience - March 13 thru September 1
Go ice skating mere steps from Michigan Avenue with Chicago's dramatic skyline as a backdrop. During Museum of Modern Ice, the ice surface will be painted to bring added magic to a romantic date or family outing.

TOAST on The Magnificent Mile™
Raise your glass this February as Moët and Chandon bring luxury champagne events to hotels, restaurants, and retail locations in The Magnificent Mile district. Michigan Avenue is also the perfect place to see fireworks over the Chicago River every Saturday night at 6:30.

Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids – March 21 thru September 1
From fire-breathing dragons to magical unicorns, mythic creatures have fascinated people around the world for centuries. Enter a mystical land where sea monsters and mermaids, killer whales and plumed serpents surround you as you learn about the legends and science behind these enchanting creatures.

Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters – May 23 thru January 4
The wonder and why of nature’s fury is examined giving you the chance to safely witness a natural disaster.  Then learn how communities cope and adapt in the aftermath.  Discover what triggers a volcanic eruption, witness the power of hurricane-force winds, experience the roar of a tornado as it surrounds and monitor earthquakes around the world.  Then maybe next time Mother Nature comes calling, you’ll know what to do.

Celebrating Women - thru September 7
Over forty vivid color photographs by renowned photographer Paola Gianturco portray six festivals throughout the world that honor female ideals, heroines, and goddesses. These public spectacles celebrate women as kind-hearted, ferocious in battle, courageous in the face of social injustice, or simply young and beautiful and fancy-free.

Block Party – Welcome to Summer! – May 24 thru September 1
Get a taste of Chicago imagination at The Block Party - a fun, interactive experience that encourages kids to use their imagination with everyday objects. A food prop, such as a sponge, can be served up as a hamburger. Yum.  It all lies in their imagination. After they’ve partied out, stop at the Ice Cream Shop, where your kids can create all sorts of pretend tasty treats. There’s even a stage that allows the kids to form a band and rock out.

Inventing Lab - (permanent exhibit)
Want to see if your child is the next Einstein? Here, they can play with all kinds of gizmos and invent some amazing things! Learn about inventions by Chicago-area students and some kooky creations of the past. In Inventing Lab, the sky’s the limit for your imagination!

Utica

Shoot For the Moon! – (permanent exhibit)
Blast off in this new permanent exhibition that highlights the exciting stories of space exploration and America's bold plans to return to the moon. Explore space with astronaut Jim Lovell and take a ride in a fully restored Gemini 12 spacecraft. In Mission: Moon, young visitors discover the thrills and dangers of being an explorer and imagine their own futures in space.

Wolf Creek State Park
If snowmobiling is more your speed, then head to Wolf Creek State Park. You'll find over 16 miles of trails that whisk you through indigenous woodlands and skirt the shoreline of Lake Shelbyville.

Lizards and the Komodo King – extended thru end of summer 2008!
Yes it’s true - we can make an 8-foot lizard stay!  Faust, the Komodo dragon, with his court of 25 other lizard species, continues his reign at Shedd Aquarium. Whether you're planning your first visit to "Lizards" or your fifth, Faust, at 154 pounds, will amaze you. But so will the wall-walking geckos, camouflaged chameleons, busy bearded dragons and all the others.

Wild Reef: Sharks at the Shedd! – permanent exhibit
Only five inches of glass separate you from two-dozen sharks. Watch them prowl overhead, cruise across and lurk in this 400,000-gallon habitat. Discover how the reef ecosystem depends on these ultimate predators and others – such as groupers, jacks and snappers- in this one-of-a-kind shark experience. Then “walk on water” as stingrays glide beneath your feet, thanks to a see-through door.

Nelson Algren: For Keeps and a Single Day - June 4 thru June 29
Performed against a backdrop of Chicago, this intimate multimedia portrait sets Nelson Algren's backstreet poetry to the pulse of a live, onstage jazz combo. Thomas J. Cox reprises his role as one of Chicago's most enduring literary figures.

Graphic Thought Facility: Resourceful Design – March 27 thru August 17
Rejecting the slickly styled graphics that characterized much of British design in the 1990s, Graphic Thought Facility instead favors a “do-it-yourself” aesthetic. This handmade feel is evident in Stealing Beauty, a catalogue for the Institute of Contemporary Art in London.  It consists of a humble binder compilation of original materials such as postcards, labels, and handwritten questionnaires by designers in the exhibition.

Big Picture: A New View of Painting in Chicago – thru August 3
Chicago offers a history of painting in the city by showcasing works ranging from the late-19th-century realist, satirical and folk traditions to mid-20th-century expressionism and abstraction. Works selected for this exhibition include 49 pieces from the Museum’s own collection, and approximately 30 on loan from private collectors.

Skyscapes: Meteorological Phenomena – April 5 thru June 29
Whether it’s a spectacular sunset or a lightning storm, the skies are a continual source of fascination. David Mayhew's collection of photos is a presentation of unique and diverse phenomena attributed to both the beauty and sheer power of Mother Nature.

Chupacabras! - Artists Reinterpret the Myth – Thru July 20
Explore the legend of the Chupacabra (which translates to “goat sucker”), known for sucking the blood out of farm animals throughout Latin America and the southern United States. Chicago artists explore the impact that Chupacabra sightings have had over the last two decades in this engaging exhibit.