The out-of-towner to-do list can get so overdetermined (thanks a bunch, Ferris Bueller). Sure, you could take your guests on an architecture boat tour, or up to the observation deck of Willis Tower. Or, you could take them to the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Tucked in the basement of the Art Institute, the collection of tiny models of period rooms is a unique, wholly unexpected find. Who could guess that waiting downstairs is a miniature world of built-to-scale furniture where no detail is overlooked? You and your guests are bound to find yourself arguing over wall treatments and whether you would rather have lived in sixteenth-century France or England. Even if interior design isn’t your thing, there’s something about the minute details (keep an eye out for extra-tiny models of children’s playthings) that you can’t help but be amazed by. (Jenny Dally) 111 S. Michigan, artic.edu/departments/PC-15/thorne-miniature-rooms
