My daughter is graduating from U of Chicago on June 13. We are meeting some of the family up there on Thursday, June 11 and staying through until Sunday the 14th. The group includes some young children ( 5 and 8), as well as a few couples and of course, the graduate. Since the grad has spent the last 4 years mostly studying (U of C's unofficial motto is "where fun goes to die"), she is not the best person to ask for suggestions on what to do in Chicago outside of Hyde Park. The family wants to get the "Chicago experience." So, we are already planning on doing the architechtural foundation's river cruise, go to the Navy Pier and some of us will go to the Art Institute. We will also get deep-dish pizza at one of the famous places -- Jeno's East or Giordianos. The parents of the children don't want to take them to museums (!) -- I had suggested the MOSI and the Field, as well as the Aquarium and the Planetarium -- all were shunned, as was the Hancock Observatory! (Can't choose your relatives!) Does anyone have any other ideas for the group? I am much obliged if you have any suggestions!!!

I have a suggestion that all of you, especially the kids, might enjoy. There is a Chinese acrobat show at Navy Pier called Cirque Shanghai.
http://www.navypier.com/cirqueshanghai/index.html

The show has played here for the last couple of summers. (Note it is not the same as Cirque du Soleil -- the costumes and sets are not quite as polished.) The acrobats come to Chicago from China each year, and they look quite young.

Anyway, last summer we took my 9 year old nephew and he loved it. And his parents and DH and I were I guess a bit surprised at how much we loved it too! The talent of the acrobats is quite something!

I would suggest buying tickets in advance to make sure you get the time you want. (Although I think it's usually possible to walk up right before the show and get tickets.)

It's too bad the Shedd Aquarium got shunned! This is another place that pleases both kids and adults.

P.S. Travelaw I read your India trip report a couple weeks ago and loved it!

There's Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission) and further afield Brookfield Zoo. You can head 50 or so miles north to Gurnee for Great America and the water park, though that's certainly not a "Chicago experience." You'll have mediocre food but great views if you go to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock for a buffet lunch. North on Devon Street is our "Little India." You can head west to Oak Park to see Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and houses. Do your relatives realize that today's museums are nothing like the ones they may remember?! Kids love the Planetarium, Shedd, Field and MSI.

That is too bad about the museums - its a big part of the chicago experience.

How about Lincoln Park Zoo? Also - check Metromix Chicago - they will give you the outdoor concers and festivals. I think Old Town Art Fair is that weekend as well.

But for the kids - they are shunning the stuff that kids would love the most.

Another suggestion for all ages is a visit to Millennium Park. It is on Michigan Ave, just north of the Art Institute and a couple blocks south of the point on the river where you'll board the Architecture Cruise.
http://www.millenniumpark.org/

Millennium Park has 2 large interactive pieces of art that kids love -- Cloud Gate (AKA "The Bean") and Crown Fountain. The fountain is a joy during the summer -- it spits water and kids go nuts splashing around and standing in the spray. (If you think the kids in your group would go for this you might want them to bring bathing suits or a change of dry clothes.)

The Park also has beautiful gardens and an outdoor concert theatre (designed by Frank Gehry) where there are free (if you sit on the lawn) concerts many days of the week. The web site above has the concert schedule. DH and I love spreading out a blanket on the lawn with a picnic and a bottle of wine. The music is almost secondary to the incredible view of the city you get from here.

As of 2 weeks ago there is a new bridge leading from the park to the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute, both designed by Renzo Piano.

The Architecture Cruise and Millennium Park have become our Top 2 to visit anytime we're hosting guests from out of town.

One of our favorite lunch spots is The Gage, right across the street from the park. (We don't like the dinner menu as much as the lunch menu.)
http://www.thegagechicago.com/

Another vote for Lincoln Park Zoo!
http://www.lpzoo.org/

Yes, the Old Town Art Fair and the Wells St Art Fair (2 fairs within blocks of each other) are both that weekend. Old Town and Wells St are great areas to walk around to get a flavor of "real" Chicago neighborhoods. The Old Town Fair is more family friendly I'd say.
http://www.oldtowntriangle.com/index.html

As for the Wells Street fair, go in the morning if you're serious about art. By early afternoon it becomes a giant street party with wall-to-wall drinkers. (Which can be a blast if you like that sort of thing!)
http://www.oldtownchicago.org/events...-art-festival/

Agree with the Navy Pier idea - there is a huge ferris wheel that very slowly turns and you get to see magnificent views of the city; there are also plenty of boat rides to choose from there, bikes to rent, kids activities, and fireworks nightly, etc. Perhaps the Shedd aquarium wouldn't be shunned...they just finished a huge renovation and have added some new areas ust for kids along with the other shows. Another kid friendly idea is the Lincoln Park zoo - free to all and very nice. One unique pizza place that's been profiles on FoodTV is the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. Its up near the zoo so you could do both with some walking involved. Personally, I like it much better than the deep dish stuff - this is more like a pot pie that is baked and then inverted so the top crust becomes the pizza crust.

Wow! You guys are great! Some really excellent suggestions here that I will follow up on. The zoo would be great for the kids -- and it is free, which no one can argue with -- and with a visit to Chicago Pizza and Oven grinder it sounds like a lot of fun. The street fairs also have potential. And, will definitely do Millenium Park -- that is quintessentially a Chi-town experience.

BTW Marija, my DD wants to have her graduation lunch at Tiffin -- is that in Little India? She says it is veg -- and of course since we've been back from India she wants to indulge in Indian food at every opportunity.

So nice of you to remark on my India report bniemand -- didn't expect to see that in this forum. I am so happy you enjoyed it!

Thanks also for the cirque shanghai suggestion bniemand. We saw a similar show in China and loved it -- good for all ages. I just checked the website and will mention it to the others. Thanks so much!

Trav, Tiffin is indeed on Devon Street in "Little India." It used to be our favorite Indian restaurant but we haven't been there for a long time since we've found one closer to us that we really like. To get to Tiffin you just go north on Lake Shore Drive/Sheridan Road from Hyde Park and then west on Devon. Parking on Devon Street is always a problem, you just have to keep looking. Hope you and your family enjoy your stay in Chicago and have good weather for the graduation. Let me know if you have any questions.

The Old Town Art Fair is one of the best in the country. There is good food, great art and activities for the kids. It really shows off this unique Chicago neighborhood and you'll get to hang out with Chicagoans at one of their favorite events, a great way to get a taste of the city.

In addition to the art fair there is a neighborhood garden tour, so you can get into the yards of these historic homes.

Wells Street is cool too, but if you only have time for one of them, Old Town is the best.

Connie Mettler
www.ArtFairCalendar.com

The kids would love the Science Museum and Shedd; the parents are being dumb. The zoo's a good suggestion. If you go and aren't in the mood for pizza and oven grinder, RJ Grunt's for hamburgers is an institution.