One-third of the nation’s population is within 500 miles of Chicago, and even with the depressed economy, continued interest in taking vacations has seen Chicago’s tourism increase over the past year, said Karen Vaughan, manager of communications for the Chicago Office of Tourism.

“No one has been immune to the effects the economy has had,” Vaughan said, “but Chicago has also been lucky in that aspect. Even with the down economy, people still value what a vacation has to offer, and since one-third of the nation’s population is within 500 miles of Chicago, our tourism has been thriving lately.”

Melissa Kruth, spokeswoman for the Shedd Aquarium, said the number of visitors to her organization last year proves that people are still vacationing, but are staying closer to home.

“The number of visitors from the Midwest was up to 44 percent in 2009,” Kruth said, “which is an increase from the 38 percent in 2008.”

Shedd’s neighbor, the Field museum, also noticed an increase.

“We had 1,325,000 visitors last year, which was a lot more than we expected,” said Nancy O’Shea, spokeswoman for the Field Museum. “We average between 1.3 million and 1.4 million a year, so 2009 fit right in there, but that was surprising with the how the economy has been.”

O’Shea added that even in a recession, museums offer great value.

“You can spend an entire day at a museum, like The Field Museum, for about the same price as a movie ticket, popcorn and soda,” she said. “And a museum experience is both entertaining and educational.  Even in tough economic times, people will seek out quality experiences for them and their families.”

According to Mapquest, the 500-mile perimeter around Chicago includes places like Pittsburgh, Penn., 463 miles from Chicago to the east; Nashville, Tenn., 470 miles to the south; Omaha, Neb., 467 miles to the west; and Duluth, Minn., 468 miles to the north.

Vaughan thinks she knows reason why the Loop community remains so lively.

“Since 2003, Chicago has increased the number of annual tourists by 46 percent,” Vaughan said. “The national average is just 6 percent.”

Vaughan said the potential Olympic bid, Obama’s election to president of the United States and the expanding South Loop community have made the Loop a popular place for tourists as well as residents of the area.

Jill Wettersen, account executive for Performance Media, a company that helps promote tourist spots, said they understand that long-distance travel may be out of the question, so many people are doing the things they enjoy close to home.

“Attendance is way up in the venues we represent,” said Wettersen, whose clients include the Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony, Harris Theater, Chicago Botanic Garden and the Randolph Street Market.

Attendance will likely continue to increase with summer on the horizon.

“The four seasons are pretty close in the number of tourists that visit in each,” Vaughan said, “but obviously summer is the best quarter for us. Summer brings in about 30 percent of our guests, and winter is second with about 25 percent.”

Free events, such as the Jazz Festival, Ribfest and Taste of Chicago, are also a draw for many people in the down economy. The renovated Buckingham Fountain also has Vaughan excited.

“A lot of people visit because Chicago is within driving distance and we offer a lot of free entertainment,” Vaughan said. “Forty percent of our guests visit the Art Museum and its new modern wing. It doesn’t hurt that we have a lot of entertainment surrounding the Loop, either.

The academy is in its second school year this fall, with 50 children each in kindergarten and first and second grades.

Events on tap at the school in October and November offer a glimpse of what it means to develop young students as “global citizens.” On Oct. 20, teachers held an event to share their recent experiences in Tanzania as part of a United Nations-sponsored international organic gardening program. In November, the school will host a solar panel installation celebration, part of a larger project to power much of the building by the sun.

Ippel’s work caught the eye of the Obama administration, which invited her to visit Sept. 22-24 to tour the White House organic garden, meet with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials and brainstorm with staff at Sidwell Friends, the school attended by the president’s daughters.

Ippel is thrilled with how her students and colleagues in the education field have responded to her ideas, which include yoga and organic food as a regular part of the school day. But being different and wanting change isn’t always the easiest thing.

“We are very different from other schools,” said Ippel. “It takes a lot of energy to create change, and we are very passionate about the school, but it is very hard when you are trying to be innovative.”

She said it was originally very difficult to convince people to support the International Baccalaureate curriculum for students in Archer Heights, on the Southwest Side of Chicago just north of Midway Airport. Most of the school’s students come from the surrounding neighborhood of nearly 13,000 people, about 53 percent white and about 43 percent Hispanic (as of 2000). The area is also known as the center of Polish culture and the home of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

The school works hard to involve parents and the community. The PTA is planning an Organic Planet and Earth Day for next spring in which the community and school students and staff will come together to pick and enjoy food from the garden.

“We are working with a neighborhood that just has phenomenal parents and is a great community,” said Ippel.

Audrey Becerril, whose daughter Normandy is in kindergarten, attends her daughter’s class every Wednesday, taking part in the yoga herself.

“She likes it,” said Becerril. “It’s good for her and it is good for me.”

Anyone can apply to attend AGC by filling out an application, getting a number and waiting for the lottery. Once a student is accepted through the lottery, all their siblings are also automatically accepted.

The Chicago Public Schools funds AGC at the same per-pupil level as other schools. The school must raise funds for all its extra projects and programs, including field trips, yoga, organic gardening and world languages. Organic breakfasts and lunches made on site are part of every school day.

“At the beginning it was hard to get the kids to buy into the healthy foods,” said kindergarten teacher and school co-founder Meredith Polley. “A lot of them never had some of the food like the Swedish meatballs or salads with apples and walnuts in it.”

Students learn about the world by communicating with students in other countries over email and Skype and through hands-on lessons about their teachers’ travels. When Ippel went to Washington, D.C., she kept in touch with students and did a slideshow when she returned home.

“I met with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan at the USDA to share with her the exciting work that AGC is doing, with regards to organic school meals and the environmental sustainability curriculum integration,” said Ippel. “I also had the opportunity to visit the White House organic gardens, kitchen, composting and honey bees with (Chicago) Chef Sam Kass, and had the opportunity to learn more about the inspiring work within the Obama administration to support local food systems.”

Day in and day out, a lot of time and energy goes into making the kids “global citizens” and seeing that they become better all-around people, not just students, according to Ippel.

“Everything we do starts with understanding ourselves and our community,” said Ippel. “We want to connect the kids globally.”