Behind the scenes of the Great Train Story

[VIDEO] The video above was posted by artistmac where he was shown behind the scenes of this exhibit The Great Train Story at the Museum of Science and Industry. The duration of this video is 31 minutes and it reminds of me of my own field trips to MSI.

To be honest I don't remember seeing this exhibit. If I did see it upon my visit while in grammar school at the Shedd School branch, the model trains were what caught my interest. Not only am I fan of trains, but at the time of this field trip I also played with a model train set. Sadly those old locomotives and cars are no longer in my possession as they were quickly forgotten when I got older.

The only memory of that field trip was passing through the old American main street exhibit. There was even a "nickelodeon" where we could've caught a movie. At that this nickelodeon caught my eye because it's also the name of a cable TV network for children.

Now I recognize that it's just time for me to make my own return visit to the museum. This time I'm not doing this for school, but just for my own enrichment. The lessons of these exhibits I can appreciate more and hopefully won't so quickly go over my head as they had upon visiting here as a child.

The man whom artistmac speaks with named William, truly has a difficult though enviable job as the museum's trainmaster. All he has to do is set up & operate a model railroad at a museum. He also has to keep it running and keep all equipment in museum quality condition. So kudos to him and perhaps he can tell other model railroaders how they could get his job!

Civics project teaches youths they can do big things

A project that not only informs of Dr. Martin Luther King's movement in Chicago especially in Marquette Park on the south side, but also how it encourages students to be leaders:

Students at Gage Park High School who had been unaware of their community's part in the civil rights movement — that Martin Luther King Jr. led marches through the then-all-white neighborhoods surrounding Gage Park and Marquette Park — wanted to build a tribute to the civil rights leader, hoping to enlighten others.

But students from a civics class at the Southwest Side high school — where nearly half don't make it to graduation — didn't want just a stone monument or a brick in the ground. They envisioned WiFi hotspots throughout the neighborhood where people could download audio and video about significant sites to their phones.

The result is a touch-activated interactive history kiosk that stands at the Marquette Park field house. The idea of hotspots didn't work out, but in January, students will get further recognition when the kiosk goes on display at the DuSable Museum of African American History for Martin Luther King Day.

The story of the Marquette Park memorial is not just about a class's journey to complete an innovative civics project. It's also about how a project can inspire students.

Read the whole thing it's a very good article!

Here's a link to the DuSable Museum.