Chicago O’Hare International Airport

New snacking options at O’Hare International Airport

Food

Layovers just got more dangerous (diet-wise) at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Nuts on Clark opened locations in Terminals 1 and 2. A branch of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is now open in Terminal 1. And a second Garrett Popcorn Shops location is now open in Terminal 1.

You’re probably already familiar with the treats offered by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at Denver, DFW and other airports, but Nuts on Clark and Garret Popcorn Shops are Chicago-based businesses with extremely dedicated customers who think nothing of standing on line for up to an hour patiently waiting for locally-made sweets.    Next time you’re stuck at O’Hare airport, join the line and find out what all the fuss is about.

Can I get an ‘Amen’ for changes at O’Hare International Airport?

Food

According to a recent column in the Chicago Tribune, city aviation commissioner Richard Rodriguez wants O’Hare airport to be a hipper, happier, more happening place.

“Viewing the airports as more than a stopover, Rodriguez wants to increase travelers’ exposure to local culture so they return to Chicago, perhaps next time on vacation rather than on business.”

He’s thinking live music, more artwork, a few manicure shops, and perhaps a Thai restaurant, a Caribbean eatery, and someplace welcoming to vegetarian and vegan travelers.

Last chance to name the airport dinosaur

Exhibits, Museums, ,

Last summer, these two dinosaurs from the Royal Ontario Museum took up residence in the Terminal 1 International Arrivals area of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

The display features an “action” scene of a large Allosaurus bearing down on an Othnielia that has tripped to the ground. But it doesn’t include the ‘given names’ of these two creatures.

So the airport has been running a ‘Name the Dinosaurs’ contest.

I’ve suggested Bert & Ernie or Thelma and Louise.

Think you can come up with better names? Hurry and send them in. The contest deadline is October 31.

You can get more details and enter the contest here.

And don’t forget: there are also dinosaurs on display in at least two other airports in North America:

A giant replica of a Brachiosaurus skeleton towers over the Field Museum store in Terminal One at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and, at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, there’s a replica of a 33-foot-long dinosaur in the airport atrium. The Yangchuanosaurus skeleton is on loan from Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Flu shots at the airport

Health

I had a choice to make at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport last week:

Get home a bit early by going standby and taking a middle seat at the back of the plane or hang out for an hour so I could keep my exit-row seat for the 4-hour flight home.

I hung around.

And, after downing a smoothie for courage, I marched up to the kiosk by the escalators and got a flu shot.

It was fast, pretty painless, and awfully convenient.

Ready to get your own flu shot? In my USA TODAY column this week, there’s a list of about two dozen airports where you can get a flu shot on the fly.

Airport Flu Shots

Health

Summer is over. Fall is here. And any moment now, flu season will kick into high gear.

Time to think about getting a flu shot.

Last year I got my flu shot in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport at a kiosk set up on one of the concourses. It was quick and easy (can’t say fun) but it cost no more than it would have cost at home and it saved me a trip to the doctor. I even did a short radio story about the experience for National Public Radio.

This year, the UIC-O’Hare Medical Center is once again offering flu shots for $35 (Medicare accepted). No word yet on where those kiosks will pop up, but right now flu shots are available at the medical clinic on the upper level of Terminal 2.

Not traveling through O’Hare? Last year you could also get a flu shot at airports in Denver, Atlanta, Cincinnati and in and several other cities. So keep your eyes open – and get ready to roll up your sleeves.

Looks what’s popped up at Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Food

Garrett Popcorn Shops, well-known and much loved around Chicago for more than 50 years now, has opened its first airport location at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

This first branch is in Terminal 3, near Gate H1. Another branch should pop up soon in Terminal 1, between Gates B9 and B10.

In addition to the cheese-flavored air-popped popcorn, friends tell me the popcorn shop makes macadamia -nut and caramel crisp popcorn.

Better yet – the airport shops will be selling the popcorn by the bag and by the one or two gallon tin!

Photo courtesy Garrett Popcorn Shops

ART AT ORD

Art,

From now through mid-December, jetsetters passing through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Terminal 5 will be able to check out an exhibit of more than 40 posters from the 2008 Chicago International Poster Biennial Association (CIPBA).

Here’s a sample….

 

 
(Poster image courtesy O'Hare International Airport)

Terminal 5 has some other artwork worth checking out: The “Beacons” – two lit geometric sculptures – and a limestone and marble mosaic from Chicago’s sister city Amman, Jordan entitled “Treasury of Petra.”

A 50-foot long blown-glass painted mural entitled “Jet Trails” and a 40-foot long mural – “Songs of Chicago” – created by students in After School Matters, were also installed this year in Terminal 1.

Art for Airports: O’Hare Gets New Glass Mural

Art

There’s a new piece of public art at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Inspired by the patterns of jet mist across a blue sky, Guy Kemper’s 50-foot long, 12-foot high, “Jet Trails” is made of hand-blown painted glass in soothing shades of blue, green and violet.

Kemper designed the mural to be “suggestive of many things related to flying-such as a kite, or the tail of an aircraft.”

ordguy-kemper-jet-trails.jpg

(Photo courtesy: James Steinkamp, Steinkamp Photography)

See what you think: the mural is just past the south security checkpoint in Terminal 1.

Listen up at Chicago Airports

Music,

Next time you travel through O’Hare International Airport, Chicago’s Midway International Airport or the O’Hare Air Transit System (ATS), listen up.

The Department of Aviation just launched a re-vamped overhead music program – Terminal Tunes – that features instrumental versions of songs by blues, jazz, country and classical artists who are either from the Chicago area or record for Chicago-based record labels.

That’s great news. As I wrote in a recent USATODAY.com column, there are just a few airports where local music is front and center.

Chicago’s new overhead music program replaces and old one which dated back to the early 1990’s. The new program includes a high-tech twist: artist and album information, audio samples and play list logs will be posted on the Chicago Airport System’s website, www.flychicago.com.

So if you hear a catchy tune while rushing to catch a plane, you can go on-line and track down the music. Soon, you’ll also be able to purchase Terminal Tunes CDs from shops in the airports as well.

Fresh – free – tunes for travelers at O’Hare Airport

Free Stuff, Music

On Wednesday, April 23rd, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is celebrating the launch of its new overhead music program with a free live music showcase featuring four nationally-known Chicago-area musicians:

Blues singer and guitarist Lonnie Brooks

Polka artist Eddie Blazonczyk, Jr.

Singer-songwriter Kelly Hogan

Classical violinist Rachel Barton-Pine

The concert will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. airside in Terminal 2, in the main corridor connecting Terminals 1 and 2.

lonniebrooks.jpg

Photo: courtesy Lonnie Brooks Web site