It all began with a sailing adventure with a crew of "pirates" on a tall ship. The students were put to work hauling the sails and pulling the line. We quickly learned that you do not pull the sails and it is not called a rope. Once we were out on the water, the students were divided for a lesson on the history of tall ships in the Great Lakes and why they were so profitable and a lesson on the pirates of the Great Lakes. The two sailors who gave the lessons were dynamic and the students listened and contributed really well. The view of the city was stunning from Lake Michigan and I am so glad we were able to go out on the Red Witch.
After our sailing adventure on the not so stormy lake, we headed to DePaul University for a tour and lunch. I am really impressed with how gracious and welcoming everyone has been to our group. DePaul rolled out the red carpet for us and gave us a tour, provided lunch and introduced our students to the next step in the TRiO path, Student Support Services. They got to learn a little bit about the SSS program and how it can help them during their college career. Lunch gave them an opportunity to chat with some current SSS students and to enjoy DePaul's cafeteria. The kids took full advantage of the $10 voucher they were given and ate a lot of food. I am always amazed at the amount of food they can consume!!
After the tour and admissions presentation at DePaul, we hopped on the train and headed south to the Museum of Sciene and Industry. This museum is huge and we only had about an hour in there. I sat in the atrium and people watched, but handed my camera off to Catherine, Joe and Kyle from Highland. I got some very interesting pictures back. :) The kids really seemed to enjoy the museum. They were able to see chicks hatching, see a full size plane and other fun things. Hopefully someday, we will get to go back and spend more time there.
A few the kids were interested in visiting the University of Chicago, which has a campus right next to the museum. Erin and six of the kids headed over and were able to get a mini tour with admissions and explore campus on their own. I think they were all impressed with the university and I know for sure at least one of them plans on applying there in the fall.
For dinner we took the train back in the city and had Portillos. This place is huge and the kids had a ton of choices for dinner. A lot of them enjoyed a Chicago hot dog and a milkshake or hamburgers. It was a nice rest for all of us and gave the kids a chance to regain their energy before we headed to the beach on Lake Michigan.
We enjoyed an hour on Lake Michigan, playing in the cold(!!!!) water and building sandcastles. There wasn't a moments hesitation on the kids part...most of them plowed straight into the water without a second thought! It was a bit chilly for me, so I put my feet in and chose to watch them play. The kids burned off a lot of excess energy while we were there, which is always a good thing.
We made a quick stop at Buckingham fountain, before we came back to the hostel for the night. I am looking forward to tomorrow morning. We have a slightly later departure for Northwestern, so we can sleep in a little bit! Tomorrow is our hour and a half train ride to Northwestern University, where 15 of the students who are intrested in mechanical engineering and robotics will be able to tour the LIMS lab and we will all be taking a tour of campus. The afternoon will revolve around the many questions I have had regarding shopping on this trip, so we are heading to the Magnificent Mile so the kids can check it out. We will end our last night in Chicago on Navy Pier with fireworks, which should be a lot of fun!
I will leave you with the picture highlights of the day. Sadly, I didn't get any of DePaul with my camera, but I know Dan did, so hopefully those will be up soon.
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