This was the first time that we visited the Elmhurst Art Museum.  Our daughter was invited to…read morepreview the exhibition "Picasso: Fifty Years Later" before it opened to the public, Hubby and I were her guests.  The exhibition focuses more on the influence of Picasso fifty years after his death.  So, other than some nice prints from Picasso, there was artwork from his colleagues and contemporary artists as well.  Interestingly, some of the work from other artists might appear to be even more "Picassoesque" than Picasso's work in this exhibit.  All in all, it was a good show and professionally done.   We met the Executive Director John McKinnon as soon as we entered the museum, who was very friendly and professional, and enthusiastically gave us a brief introduction of the exhibition.  John was also the co-curator of the show.  Katie, the publicist of the museum, was also very friendly and welcoming.  She talked about how proud the artists must have been to be able to have artwork exhibited alongside Picasso's art, and that the Director John even improved the air system in order to meet the requirements of the lenders of the Picasso collection!  I like that both John and Katie are very passionate, enthusiastic, and professional about what they do!   The museum itself is rather small.  It's very clean with professional setup.  It would have been nice if the rest of the museum was opened to explore when we visited on the preview day.  However, nothing was opened except for the Picasso exhibit, even the small gift shop was closed.  There is a sculpture named Skycube in the museum courtyard that is worth visiting.  It is a great spot to take interesting selfie.  All in all, Elmhurst Art Museum provides a good opportunity for art museum-goers in the suburbs to visit without driving all the way to the city, and you don't need to worry about parking, as it provides ample free parking as well!

Great little art museum with amazing exhibits. There is also a little house "The McCormick House"…read moreattached to the museum which has updated themes. You can shop at the gift shop, really interesting items. Most of all, I love the art for sale behind the gift shop.

What a fabulous place! I expected to see rocks - polished and unpolished. Yet this small museum…read morecrams in antique and ancient rock carvings - beautiful and impressive. We went on a Wednesday, a free day at the museum. (Make sure you leave a donation.) What you see are beautifully carved stones - precious and not precious, jade, rock crystal, and much more. There is even petrified wood (beautiful without carving). The size of the collection is impressive but (a word I'm overusing) everything is beautiful. There is plenty of free parking right outside the museum. The gift shop was also lovely. Definitely a must go to. We're already arranging another trip to Lazzadro with friends.

This museum has an absolutely beautiful and very impressive collection of jade. Even though they…read moredon't have as big or varied of a collection as a larger museum, each of their pieces are absolute works of art and left my family and I in awe. Despite it's small size, you could easily spend 2-3hrs here. Each piece has a nice introduction and it gives a great introduction to lapidry. In addition to the jade pieces, they also had stone dioramas, mosaics, and a gem collection. While we were there, they also had an exhibit on the minerals that go into cellphones, which was fun to learn about. Additionally, it's quite affordable for a museum with this impressive of a collection. It's $5 for students, $8 for 65yrs or older, and $10 for adults. I think that it is very worth a trip.

Very cool art instillation in downtown Elmhurst…read more I'm guessing they change the colors of the umbrellas during the year. It was lovely to come here on a warm day and see this and walk around the area.

Great little walk through whimsical art throughout downtown Elmhurst…read more We enjoyed the colors on one of the hottest day of the year

Small but mighty!…read more Wilder Park Conservatory is a beautiful, small, indoor plant menagerie! It's free to enter, donations are encouraged.

This is a very small facility but the spring flower display was lovely and well cared for. A nice…read morespot to pop into when in Elmhurst especially on a cloudy day. Parking is usually challenging but this was spring break week so we didn't have any issues finding a spot nearby.

Took the Art Deco tour yesterday, what a great way to learn about some of the history of Chicago as…read morewell as the gorgeous buildings!! Our guide was knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting. Unfortunately I flew out yesterday afterwards, but will definitely be back to check out the Center as well.

Entry to the museum is only five dollars if you show them your ticket from the First Lady boat…read moretour. The ground floor has a short eight minute clip with information about the city. There is also a great display of the city as well as a Wrigley ballpark exhibit. Unfortunately, the upstairs is currently being renovated, so there was not a lot to see this trip. They have a great gift shop.

When we're eating dinner on a Friday night in downtown Elmhurst we like to stop by and visit. It's…read moresuch a cool place and so big. Located downstairs next to the railroad tracks and police department, you won't miss the sign posted. It's home of the Illinois Western Railroad. They have both HO, HOn3, and N scale layouts depicting a nostalgic look at life as it was in the Midwest in the 40's, 50's and 60's. Scenes vary from rolling hillsides and farms to a large steel mill. All the club members are very friendly and love to share their knowledge on model trains. So much attention to detail that you can spend all night down there. Bring the kids and your date...it's free. Kindly leave a donation though. This is similar to the Museum of Science & Industry! Much smaller of course. Look for the Oscar Meyer Weiner mobile! Open Friday nights & Sunday afternoons.

I was a "social member" of the Elmhurst Model Railroad Club (EMRRC) for a few years, accompanying…read moreregular members and their operations. Although the train layouts are excellent, the attitude of the Board of Directors and "key monitors" were horrible. Unfriendly, arrogant, and a sense of making visitors feel like imbeciles was present every time I was there. When I spoke with some of the Board, I was told to pay up, or get out. If I didn't like it, there were plenty of other train clubs out there, so go find one (which I did). It's really too bad, because there is a potential for camaraderie, fellowship, and good faith, none of which have been exhibited any of the times I was at EMRRC. Only reason I didn't give them 1 star is because they have the potential of being a great organization with excellent facilities. They just need to clean up the upper echelon, and remember that what they do reflects the rest of the Club and its posture. My close friends who had been long-time members of EMRRC, have recently refused to renew their dues, and have moved on to friendlier clubs in the immediate area.

A great place to explore the sky with a Knowledgeable guide. It's a small venue and museum so you…read moredon't lose track of the little ones. There's also a small souvenir area. Parking is free. It's certainly worth seeing.

Neat little display if you are visiting the campus but not worth going out of the way for.read more

Are you a Ghostbusters fan? If not, you will be after visiting this location. Who ya gonna call?…read moreWonderverse! The VR experiences are well thought-through and motion sickness isn't much of a factor at this resolution. The overall experience of the location is polished, with a clear flow, very good layout, and nice separation (despite being an open space) between "the bar" and the rest of the activities. Not too many obnoxious kids when we went (although some are a given due to the nature of the place and the town it's in). Staff was beyond incredible. Everyone seemed to care deeply about customer experience, cleanliness, and safety.

Alex, General Manager and Bud our server took really good care in making sure we had a fun time…read more From the moment of entering this establishment, giant movie-themed characters are everywhere creating great photo opportunities. First to arrive had drinks and a shared appetizer at the bar. Once the table was ready we made sure our glasses were full and decided to share appetizers. Buffalo cauliflower was good, chicken wings were ok, jerk tacos lacked spice and the salmon bites were amazing. We ordered dessert as well. Lime Light which is a fried key lime pie ice cream with marshmallow meringue. Good flavor. The S'mores Ghost, with a house made graham was torched table side and drizzled in chocolate sauce. There are two options for the game card, you can either choose time or credits. We chose to share 90 minutes of time. We were able to play most of the video games, bumper cars and two VR experiences. What a way to channel our inner child. To wrap up the day we headed to the Ghost Trap which is a Ghost Buster's themed speak easy. Ghosts dance on the walls and some of them even chomp on the paintings. Tequila birthday shots were served in skulls. We laughed uncontrollably and had a really good time being BIG kids for a few hours.

This is a little two-room (one and a half?) museum in an old depot building on the National…read moreRegistry of Historic Places. It's probably mostly of interest to locals, fans of small museums, or anyone interested in Ovaltine or Little Orphan Annie advertising memorabilia. The lobby/entryway features a few items, such as a music box/mini-organ which may or may not work; a small display on Sears Catalog Homes, mostly shipping labels and a doorknob or two; someone's wedding dress; and a vitrine of advertising memorabilia through the years. (Also the research archives, if you look, behind a curtain.) The second room is where you find the goods advertised in the window: Little Orphan Annie and Captain Midnight, both used to advertise Ovaltine in the glory days when the factory was Villa Park's only industry. Lots of Little Orphan Annie memorabilia and a fair amount of Ovaltine memorabilia. Apparently while the company moved to Minnesota decades ago, it's still beloved for providing employment for years (and not laying anyone off during the Depression). Walk outside and you can see the hulking factory. The rest of the room houses the permanent collection, and the current special exhibit. Items are either just sitting out jammed into available space ("Please don't touch so others can enjoy") or packed into narrow panel-like vitrines which require careful positioning by the observer to avoid glare. To follow Villa Park's history in chronological order, veer away from the Ovaltine display and check out the panel vitrines. You'll see information on how people were coaxed to this suburb, the Indians chased out, and learn about the town's name changes and mergers. Many photocopies, but some original pieces - there's a seat from the defunct theater; a "horse drawn" license plate; War Bonds sheet music, and a "Villa Park Belle" button (with attached bell) for the town's anniversary. A door from a local bank makes up part of one of the vitrines; an old farmhouse door is leaned against a wall, and there's someone's doll collection; it's pretty eclectic. A lot was apparently found in people's attics/garages or behind a filing cabinet in the town offices. A couple of xeroxed handouts ("Did you know?") are stored in pamphlet boxes on the floor. The current exhibit is on toys and the 1930s kitchen, with an old-fashioned refrigerator, a bunch of green ("jadeite") modern 1930s accessories, and 3-4 vitrines of toys, including dollhouses, a funky Parker Brothers "Careers" 1970s board game, and an old Monopoly set. There's the required display on the history of the railroad (you are in a depot, after all) with a couple of reproduction toy trains, lanterns, etc. On your way out, in the lobby you can pick through a display of dishes and knick-knacks selling for cheap; I picked up a Gerz beer stein for $5 and was pretty pleased.

These small museums often have very old people volunteering there. This one, like the majority of…read morethem, doesn't get that many visitors. Honestly, it's not that special but they have paintings now! That they didn't have before. The staff running the place is more interesting to talk to than looking at the objects. They have the best stories to tell! It's an experience to go there and see what life was like long ago.