Junior Class Board President Abby Vulich ’17 entered the Field Museum in downtown Chicago, but she wasn’t there to see the exotic exhibits. Looking around the main hall, she imagined what it would be like to hold her senior prom there.

“My favorite venue was the Field Museum,” Vulich said. “I really liked the classy look and thought it would be perfect for a sophisticated prom.”

For the class of 2017 and beyond, the location for prom is not yet confirmed. Although the traditional Navy Pier venue is back in the running, Class Board visited the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry on Oct. 27 to see what they have to offer.

For the past 11 years, LT’s senior prom has been held at Navy Pier. Last spring, Navy Pier contacted LT to let the school board know that LT did not have a secured date for prom in 2016. A trade show was scheduled to be hosted the same day that LT planned to have prom and they signed a multi-year contact.

After negotiations with Navy Pier, LT was able to keep prom at Navy Pier for the class of 2016 by rescheduling to Friday, May 27 rather than Thursday, May 26.

In response to this prom debacle, Class Board brainstormed alternative locations for LT’s future prom venues. Students had specific criteria for the venues such as: being located downtown Chicago, having a scenic view, and being a memorable, iconic location.

“Something that’s very unique to our students at LT is that they are very adaptable and are able to adjust as necessary,” Director of Student Activities Peter Geddeis said.

Due to LT’s large class size, it is limited to spaces that could hold over 1,000 people— Field Museum and Museum of Science and Industry both fit that requirement. Shortly after that decision, Navy Pier advised LT that they would still be able to host LT’s prom for the class of 2017.

“All three venues have great qualities,” Prom Sponsor Mary Gresge said. “Navy Pier is special because, we are one of the only schools that holds prom in the Grand Ballroom, the Field Museum is a very classy historic building, and the Science and Industry Museum’s main atrium offers a natural dance floor.”

With the information from their trip, Class Board will be setting up a website with information and a survey that students can complete to vote for the venue of their choice. Geddeis said that Class Board wants to make the decision process as democratic as possible.

The website with the survey was supposed to be posted at the end of November or the beginning of December. The final decision should be made by winter break.

Each venue had positives and drawbacks that need to be taken into consideration.

“Navy Pier is familiar and the tradition,” Geddeis said. It provides the most communal and ‘prom like’ experience for students. Holding prom at Navy Pier also makes it easy to continue with the Odyssey as post prom.”

The Odyssey boat ride has been a long time post prom tradition. However, changing venues to either museum creates difficulty in continuing this tradition since a fourth bus route to bring students to Navy Pier to board the boat would likely need to be added. This would be possible, but would add to the cost of the evening.

The main concern for holding prom at Navy Pier is the uncertainty of dates for the future, Geddeis said.

If prom is hosted at The Field Museum, dinner and the dance would take place in the main hall. Geddeis said that the set up would be similar to Navy Pier. Additionally, the option of opening exhibits for viewing offers a change of pace for prom.

“I was especially drawn to the fact that the Field Museum [banquet venue] was all white so the opportunity for creativity when it comes to lighting and color schemes was endless,” Vulich said.

The Museum of Science and Industry also offers the possibility of opening exhibits. In addition, it has the largest dance floor which would be located in the impressive main atrium.

Vulich favors the Field Museum or Navy Pier.

“I don’t think the prom experience will change [if the venue changes] because The Field Museum is much like Navy Pier— its set up on the ground floor,” Vulich said. “Both venues are promising. I think students will enjoy the venues as much as Class Board did because they appeal to the average high school student.”

If prom is held at either museum, the ticket price would increase by about $30, Geddeis said. The transportation cost for the charter buses would also increase if we need to add a fourth bus route to Navy Pier to load the Odyssey. There is a possibility that the boat would be able to load near the Shedd Aquarium and that would not entail any extra transportation cost.

“LT’s prom attendance really impresses me,” Geddeis said. “The attendance seems to be a direct correlation to class size, not so much the ticket price.”