Chicago Children's Museum

Chicago Children's Museum Review

"Hands-on" is the operative concept for this brightly colored Navy Pier anchor. Kids play educational video games, climb through multilevel tunnels, run their own TV stations, and, if their parents allow it, get soaking wet.

Highlights

Kids can don raincoats before they start splashing around in the WaterWays exhibit, which has oversize water tubs with waterwheels, pumps, brightly colored pipes, and splashing fountains. If everyone pumps hard enough, water squirts 50 feet into the air.

In the Big Backyard exhibit, children "shrink" to the size of bugs amid giant giggling flowers. Butterflies seem to flutter around their bodies and water appears to splash down on their heads, all through the magic of a tall video screen.

Parents, get ready for a workout. You and your children can scurry up a three-story-high rigging complete with crow's nest and gangplank on the Kovler Family Climbing Schooner. It's reminiscent of the boats that once sailed Lake Michigan. If you make it to the rope tunnels at the top, you can take in bird's-eye views of the museum, then slide back down to the lower level, where there are tanks of fish.

Crouch beside your child to search for fossils in Dinosaur Expedition. Brush away dirt to discover the bones of a Suchomimus, a kind of fish-eating dinosaur that's on display nearby. The exhibit re-creates a trip to the Sahara led by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno.

Collaboration is the watchword at Kraft Artabounds Studio, where kids participate in rotating group art projects that include activities like creating a castle out of clay.

Tips

The museum issues readmission bracelets that let you leave the museum and come back on the same day—a great idea for weary families who want to get a bite to eat or simply explore other parts of Navy Pier before coming back to the museum.

Stop for lunch at the nearby space-themed McDonald's (312/832-1640) or bring a picnic and grab a sunny seat outside (in warm weather) or gather in the Crystal Ballroom (amid tropical plants and fountains).

Most families spend an average of three hours visiting the museum. Hour-long art workshops at Artabounds are free.

The museum is designed for children 2 to 12 years.

Adults may not enter the museum without a child.