Travel the world and explore the latest scientific discoveries right here in Chicago at the Field Museum. From permanent exhibits to temporary installations, this interactive museum always has something new in store for curious visitors. Keep reading below to get a snapshot of the best exhibits currently going on at the Field Museum.

Wild Color

One of the museum’s newest and most popular exhibits, Wild Color invites visitors to discover the wonder and splendor of color. With immersive rooms representing each color of the rainbow, the exhibit uses light, texture, and sound to investigate the science behind color. Each room in the exhibit’s 7,000 square foot space offers a new perspective on color and a chance to magnify your appreciation of our colorful world.

Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet

Uncover the creatures of history in the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet exhibit. From single-celled organisms to our distant human family, this exhibit provides a glance into life billions of years ago. You can check out the Tully Monster, which was found here in Illinois and is the official state fossil. The Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet exhibit is also home to SUE, a 40-foot-long and 90-percent-complete Tyrannosaurus rex.

The Machine Inside: Biomechanics

Have you ever wondered how cheetahs run so fast? Or how exactly the wings of birds enable them to fly? The Machine Inside: Biomechanics inspects the engineering within some of nature’s most incredible organisms. Using models, video footage, and even real specimens, this interactive experience highlights the pumps, pipes, motors, and springs found within plants and animals. The exhibit then applies biomechanics to everyday life, showing how scientists have adopted the mechanics of nature for things like Velcro, chainsaws, and turbines.    

Inside Ancient Egypt

The Inside Ancient Egypt exhibit presents a look into the lives (and deaths) of ancient Egyptians. With 23 mummies on display, the museum holds one of the largest collections of mummies in the United States. Gain an in-depth look into the mummification process as well as a glance into the everyday activities of ancient Egyptians. The exhibit includes a recreation of an ancient marketplace inspired by market scenes depicted on tomb walls.

Underground Adventure

Explore the world beneath your feet as you “shrink” to 1/100th of your actual size for the Underground Adventure exhibit. Every species needs soil to survive, and you’ll learn how exactly soil supports the diversity of life above ground in this larger-than-life exhibit. Interact with powerful ants, plants with complex root systems, and even a wolf spider as you gain a picture of the organisms working behind the scenes to make life on earth possible.

If you’re interested in any of these events, check out the Museum’s ticketing, membership, and free admission information here!

Featured Image Credit: Field Museum

The post The Best Exhibits to See at the Field Museum Right Now appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way…” Did you hear that? That’s the music of a dreamscape opening her arms to embrace you. Quietly, the Historic Medinah Temple in Chicago has turned into an artistic collaboration. Filled with sculptures, mural arts, and an iconic kaleidoscope ice cave, Sleigh Bells is now the hottest holiday pop-up in town.

What is Sleigh Bells? Simply put, it’s a pop-up experience put together by a bunch of passionate artists, showcasing the coolest artwork, murals, sculptures, and installations related to Christmas for a limited time this year in the renowned historic Medinah Temple of Chicago.

“Chicago is home to a variety of Christmas markets, holiday themed bars and pop-ups, but we wanted to present a totally unique experience that stands out from the rest by using lighting, technology, projection and art to put the spotlight on local Chicago culture,” says Superfrüit’s John Schroeder.

Walking into the Medinah Temple, we were instantly transported to the North Pole. Following the road signs, we walked across a flashing light dome, announcing the official entrance of Santa’s reign. “Where’s Santa?” A perplexed elf ran by, “Could you let me know if you see him? Follow the beer cans!” And that got us in the Holiday mood right away (wouldn’t you too?) — supposedly our Santa had a bit of a drinking problem. But hey, didn’t we all?

As we ventured deeper into a land nobody had ever been, we were so impressed — seriously, this must be the most developed and systematic North Pole we’d ever seen? There was a whole infrastructure here! Mrs. Claus’ kitchen, the elf’s workshop (with miniature tools!), Santa’s armory (wait, what!? Apparently being Santa is a dangerous job!). The coolest part? Each structure, sculpture, and mural was created by a local artist, many of whom cannot be more familiar to the public ears: Birdmilk, Matr, Eva Lucia, Jeremy Stefen… So come down to Sleigh Bells, and let’s play spot an artist.

Finally, the most iconic stop throughout Sleigh Bells — the Kaleidoscope cave. Trust us, pictures cannot do this place justice because of how the colors were contorted with the laser lights and the mirror surroundings. You must experience this yourself to understand why everyone was making so much buzz about it.

Starting with a giant throne full of Narnia’s Ice Queen vibe, we turned around and headed into a crystal tunnel. Then the view opened, and here it was, the most fun, bedazzling, trippy moment throughout the pop up — a cave made with mirrors from ceiling to floor, decorated with glittery Christmas ribbons, where colorful lights shower down everywhere with a northern star hanging in the center to guide our way.

Image Credit: UrbanMatter Chicago

So, if you haven’t got your tickets for Sleigh Bells, this is your last chance as we’re heading into the final week of the pop-up! Treat yourself to interactive art, an outer space experience, and tons of Instagrammable moments, and don’t forget to grab a specialty brew from the bar. Tickets are available via Fever Up Events. Guests are recommended to arrive 10 min early. Face coverings are required throughout the experience.

Featured Image Credit: UrbanMatter Chicago

The post Sleigh Bells Brings You a Kaleidoscopic Christmas Dream at the Historic Medinah Temple appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced more than two dozen changes to their front office staff Thursday, including the addition of veteran baseball operations executive Jason McLeod, who helped build the 2016 Chicago Cubs’ World Series champion roster.Read More

The highest-graded ticket stub from Michael Jordan’s NBA debut sold for $264,000 early Friday, breaking the record for most expensive collectible sports ticket ever sold.Read More

The NBA will increase daily testing and face mask use for players and staff through the holiday season, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.Read More

Last year during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary was the talk of the Summer. Now, over a year later the Chicago Bulls are back in the spotlight for good reasons.

Chicago is 17-10 and in third place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference going into the final weeks of December.  Despite being hit with COVID-19 issues, the Bulls are a fun story behind the additions of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. But what does one former player think?

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Getting traded to the Bears two months ago could’ve been the beginning of the end for Jakeem Grant.

It’s never a good sign to be approaching 29 and have a team bail on you by shipping you off for a sixth-round pick. Grant played just 17 snaps on offense for the Dolphins over the first four games and got the ball just twice — losing it on a fumble both times.

Ostensibly, the Bears traded for him primarily because they were thin at running back and needed to be able to move rookie Khalil Herbert off of kick returns.

But rather than signaling Grant’s demise, the trade might reinvigorate his career. The Bears told Grant from the start they wanted to use him at wide receiver and running back, and he has given them a surprise boost the last two games.

“They honestly trusted me right off the bat,” said Grant, who added that it took time for him to get the playbook down before he could be a regular offensive player. “That’s all I needed from anybody… to trust me and be able to go out there.

“In Miami, yeah, they totally gave up on me on offense. And as you can see, I’m getting put on offense and I’m doing great things here with the Bears. I love that, because that was always my message: I’m a receiver first and then a returner.”

His incredible speed — the NFL clocked him at 21 miles per hour on his 97-yard punt return for a touchdown and 46-yard touchdown catch (it was a shovel pass behind the line of scrimmage) against the Packers — could give coach Matt Nagy an opportunity to revisit the Tarik Cohen section of his playbook over the final four games.

Cohen was Nagy’s favorite weapon in 2018, but he has been out since tearing his ACL in September 2020, and there has been no indication he’ll make it back this season.

Grant played sparingly on offense until getting 19 snaps against the Lions on Thanksgiving. Over his last three games, he had eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns and two rushes for five yards.

“He’s got this great confidence level and this great attacking mentality,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Friday. “He has proven that he can learn and be part of the offense and find ways to fit in and be out there as a third-down receiver as well as just a ‘gadget’ guy. Really, you have to give him the credit of being able to get worked into the normal offense.”

It’s an adventure every time Grant gets the ball, as he illustrated on his punt return against the Packers when he went against conventional wisdom by catching the ball at his own 3-yard line and almost got dropped for a loss at the 4 before turning sharply and outracing everyone on the field.

“He’s definitely got some guts,” tight end Cole Kmet said.

But adventures often spin into misadventures, which is why the Dolphins unloaded him. He fumbled 12 times in 70 games with them. His lone fumble with the Bears was at the end of a 32-yard kick return in the fourth quarter that gave the Steelers the ball at the Bears’ 42-yard line.

Grant and the Bears would love to minimize that downside, but it’s part of what makes him compelling to watch — there’s an incredibly wide range of possibilities every play. It’s also entertaining to see a 5-foot-7 speedster weaving through gigantic defenders.

Hold on, something about the Bears is entertaining? There hasn’t been much of that this season. While the last four games feel like a dreary end to a miserable season, at least Grant gives them something fresh and fun.

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The Bulls continued sticking to individual workouts on Friday, with the franchise still trying to climb out of the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols that decimated the roster the last two weeks.

In Alex Caruso’s case, he’s avoided the protocols, but he’s still been limping his way back.

The combo guard was sidelined last week with soreness in his lower right hamstring and into his calf, missing two games before he returned for the loss in Miami. But even in Caruso’s comeback on South Beach, he looked tentative in his movement, and was still on a minutes restriction.

Having two games postponed this week, as well as continuing to get physical therapy on the leg, might be just what Caruso needed, especially with the team slowly trying to become whole again.

“No question I think that helps Alex,” coach Billy Donovan said of the week-long shutdown. “So he’s doing fine, there was no kind of residual effects or any kind of issue with him after the [Heat] game where he was experiencing any kind of symptoms in his hamstrings or any problems.

“He actually felt pretty good. Certainly this week gives him more time to get treatment and continue to make that area in his hamstring stronger through the treatment, so I think he’s recovered.”

With starting two guard Zach LaVine likely in the protocol until after Christmas, and DeMar DeRozan still day-to-day, Caruso’s presence is not only important, but needed.

There’s a good chance Caruso could start against his former Lakers franchise on Sunday, and of course it would continue to mean a lot to him.

He was given the starting nod when the two teams met in Los Angeles last month, and while he only took one shot the entire game his impact was felt not only in the box score, but doing the dirty work that doesn’t always register on the stat sheet.

In Caruso’s 34 minutes of work, he guarded almost every Laker starter – including Anthony Davis on several possessions – as well as finishing with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. He also just happened to register a plus-28 in the plus/minus category.

In his mind the Lakers raised him to be the player he currently is, but his mentality remains to haunt them like he tries to do every other opponent.

“I think the most important thing for me was my time in LA and being around so many veteran players, true professionals,” Caruso said recently. “They taught me how you’re supposed to go about your business, how you’re supposed to work, how you show up for practice, how you show up for every game, the attention to detail you take on opponents.

“I was really fortunate the championship year and last year to be around a bunch of great professionals, true pros and great coaches with prior experience. It kind of helped me figure out what I needed to do to stick around. And then obviously I just coupled that with my style, my energy, my passion. And it’s been working so far.”

The Bulls won’t argue that.

Even in missing several games, Caruso leads the NBA in steals per game with 2.2, and was tied for fourth overall in total steals with 52. He was also tied for first with 3.8 deflections per game, and fourth in total deflections with 90.

His hands are disruptive, but his mentality is contagious. Just what a short-handed roster will need, as the Bulls look to resume play.

“Through the course of the game I just try and win each possession,” Caruso said. “If you have that mindset of being present, win each possession, I think they’ll eventually add up. You win enough of them, you win the game.”

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A Chicago firefighter who was seriously injured in a fire in Belmont Central Thursday remains in “very critical” condition.

The firefighter, Mashawn Plummer, 30, is being treated at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said in a tweet Friday morning.

“Please keep him in your prayers,” Langford said.

Plummer was injured while battling a blaze at a two-story building just after 2 a.m. in the 3100 block of North Marmora Avenue, officials said.

Eladio Gomez, 37, died in the fire and another man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, officials said. A woman was also seriously injured.

Plummer had just celebrated his one-year anniversary with the department.

“This is heartbreaking to be standing here this morning,” Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt told reporters at the scene. “Right before the holidays, and families fighting, you know, hoping and praying their loved ones will make it.”

On Friday morning, a Cicero firefighter was also taken to Loyola after falling through the floor of a house fire in the western suburb and suffering first- and second-degree burns.

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