For those who enjoy the write stuff, are secret spies, think the sky’s the limit, or just want to be spaced out.
1 – CHICAGO – AMERICAN WRITERS MUSEUM
Forget hushed rooms and stands of dusty books; this is fun as well as educational. Use interactive touch-screen tables to learn more about classics such as F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. The ‘Surprise Bookshelf’ is actually a wall, where 100 plaques have the names of authors and one of their significant books. Push the panel for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and a video starts; MFK Fisher’s The Gastronomical Me releases a cooking smell. There is even a Children’s Literature Gallery, with favourites, such as Charlotte’s Web. The America Writers Museum is conveniently close to the Art Institute.
2 – IDAHO – CENTRAL IDAHO DARK SKY RESERVE
Idaho boasts dramatic natural wonders, such as Hells Canyon, Craters of the Moon and Shoshone Falls. But what you see by day is dwarfed by the night-time sky. In Central Idaho, America’s first ‘gold-tier’ International Dark Sky Reserve is a 14,000 square-mile area that includes Ketchum, Stanley, Sun Valley and the Sawtooth Mountains. With the naked eye, the Milky Way galaxy seems close enough to touch. As the late Dr Stephen Hawking’s said: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” Idaho is perfect for doing just that.
3 – KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – ASTRONAUT TRAINING EXPERIENCE®
What will it be like to go to Mars? And how difficult is it to drive on the Red Planet’s surface? What does walking in space feel like? Even if you had fun on the original Astronaut Training Experience, this brand-new adventure is even more thrilling. Learn about the individual skills needed in space, as well as the needs of a team. On Mars Base 1, rookie astronauts harvest vegetables in the botany lab. For many, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is Florida’s best day out.
4 – KEY WEST – THE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS MUSEUM
Close to where The Rose Tattoo was filmed, this new museum is full of memorabilia of the author, who wrote The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. There are playbills, books and even the typewriter on which he hammered out the dialogue. Key West was Williams’ home from 1949 to 1983, and acquaintances with tales to tell are still around. The biggest surprise? Williams’ skill as an artist. See a couple of reproductions of his works in the museum, then pop round to the Custom House, with its permanent exhibition of the – sometimes risqué – originals.
5 – NEW YORK CITY – SPYSCAPE
Have you ever been hacked? Do you worry about foreign powers interfering with elections? Or are you just fascinated by The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Mission Impossible? Then SPYSCAPE is for you. Learn about real-life special agents; test yourself on cracking secret codes. The seven galleries range from cyber warfare and encryption to deception and special ops. Pull on a digital wristband; take a lie-detection test; discover whether you have what it takes to be a spy. It is all designed by a former British intelligence expert.
