Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Exploritorium

    4.2 (81 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Exploritorium Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Exploritorium

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Toddler area for children under 5
    Danielle R.

    This place is great! It has everything you need and would find at a children's museum but on a slightly smaller scale but much easier to watch and see kids, especially with multiples! My kids 3 & 4 played for over 3 hours! Perfect for a rainy day. $6 per person for Non-residents

    Rebekah L.

    Great service at the front counter. We got tickets off of the group on special for our family which really made it worth it. My twins are 15 months old and don't walk yet. I felt like they were just a little too young to truly explore all the areas that the exploratorium offers. They were also a little too short to play in the water play area. I wish that they had a lower section for smaller kids to also be able to touch and play with the water. It was SUPER busy on a Saturday before close. We got their around 11:30 am. I do wish they stayed open later on the weekends for those working parents that can make it out during the week. We still enjoyed our short stay and our kids loved their time here.

    March 2019
    Allison T.

    Great place to have a birthday party for a toddler! I've never been to the Exploritorium prior to the party but trusted that this was a good place and sure enough, everything went so well! The website information states to contact at least 12 weeks before the planned date due to high demand. I happened to plan a last minute party so I sought out about 3 weeks before the needed date. Mike got back to me the next business day and I was able to book a party! From then, it's been a smooth ride. It was easy to sign the contract & make a payment all via electronically without having to walk in. The party package actually comes with a "party planner" who helps you set up and clean up! I was assigned to Allison and she was great! I was stressing out about the 30 minute time limit before & after party but to my surprise, we were able to set up the room in 30 minutes and we finished cleanup in 10 minutes. The kids had a good time. The day was super fast paced for me as a planner, but I don't think guests felt that way. We were able to bring in our own decoration, food, and drinks. They had a 2-tier cart for easy transfer of food from car to 2nd floor. Overall, I'd definitely recommend having a kids party at the Exploritorium and would even consider doing it again!

    Super big tunnel indoor playground, it's like 2 stories tall!
    Rebecca A.

    This place is maintained by the Park district so it's reasonably affordable to go in compared other places. Be prepared to bring a change of clothes for your kid if they plan to play in the water section which is actually a very cool area. There's a Play land area that's three stories tall it's huge. And there's a little space for Littles.

    The colored peg wall. Such a cool thang
    Charmaine D.

    Perfect place for a toddler to explore. Place is clean, staff is nice, and ample seating for parents. Masks are required for all.

    See all

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rosa J.
    540
    1239
    4024

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    The actual facility is great. I think it's a reasonable price for the space ($7 nonresident). Parents have to pay, however.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    So many fun activities for little kids. Bring a change of clothes in case of excessive splashes in the water area

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of J M.
    2
    56
    6

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lily Z.
    121
    951
    1031

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    17 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Andrea R.
    3731
    3411
    1864

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Peter P.
    257
    2271
    5388

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Angela S.
    3554
    1061
    11776

    12 years ago

    Helpful 9
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dee W.
    187
    1604
    1301

    13 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    15 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nicole W.
    2480
    1527
    1072

    11 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Joanna G.
    292
    21
    3

    10 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Exploritorium

    Review Highlights - Exploritorium

    The toddler area with activities on the walls and riding toys is nice for the little ones to crawl around.

    Mentioned in 10 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Performing Arts 2,919 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Northbrook Play - Fun stage for pretend play. Apparently there are different curtains for different backgrounds as well

    Northbrook Play

    (8 reviews)

    "Northbrook Play" is a children's play area located inside the Northbrook Court. It's a wonderful…read moreuse of a vacant space, as many retailers have closed their brick and mortar stores nowadays. I would say if you happen to be nearby with a young toddler, stop by and let your kid release some energy and gain some fun playtime. It's a small venue. Parents get to sit down on comfy couches and watch their love ones play. I would say some parents there were too comfortable and they were on their phones while the kids were left unattended for a little bit... Anyways, all I wanted to say was that parents may take a short break to catch a breath. There are a theater stage, a walkway leading to a small slide, climbing obstacles, a fun selfie station and an infant playground. There is not much else, so don't make a long trip coming here. There is a designated stroller parking and shoes are asked to be taken off. I saw most kids do that, yet the parents were walking with shoes on. I wasn't sure what the policy really was. Certainly everyone's shoes should be dirty enough and shouldn't be worn on this relatively clean area. Our 2-year old toddler had fun. There is a tree house downstairs in the mall for kids as well, free of charge. I found this mall pretty boring and noticed a good amount of vacancies. I think they started some type of renovation or expansion. The restrooms were quite clean and maintained, with toliet covers provided. "Northbrook Play" is completely free and anyone is welcome.

    Can't believe this place is free. The cleanliness and well-made decor remind me of other play areas…read morethat you have to pay to get into. We came here with some friends who also have young kids. The parents hung out on the comfy couches (enough room for us and much more) while the kids ran around and played. There's no staff on site, so I'm amazed how well they keep it clean. There's things to climb, a slide, a stage for pretend play. Not too many interactive activities like at a children's museum per say, but my kids just needed a place to run and climb around. There are certain times of the day it's closed (for cleaning I'm guessing). We came at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and had the whole place to ourselves. It was luxurious. I'll definitely be back again.

    Fit City Kids

    Fit City Kids

    (41 reviews)

    Ravenswood, Lincoln Square

    We had the opportunity to visit Fit City Kids for a private birthday party. The facility is…read morespacious, sectioned off by activity, and has a nice party room. At the entrance, they have tables/chairs and many cubbies for shoes/coats. Make sure you have socks as shoes must be removed in most of the play areas. A waiver needs to be filled out in order to participate. I liked that you could do a paper version, use a tablet, or scan a QR code and do it on your phone. That helped the line move fast! They have a little toddler section, a basketball court, soccer area, gymnastics area, and slides! So, there's something for littles and the big kids...and they are sectioned off. There are benches in between all areas for parents/grownups to sit. The party room has an area to set up food and then the area with tables. I loved that it was a private event. I'm assuming this is an available option after hours, as this party was at 7PM. My daughter had so much fun and wants to have a party there now. If we were in the area, we'd love to check out their classes and other offerings. They also have a free parking lot which is a huge plus in the city!

    It has been super cold for the last week or so and a friend and I decided we needed to get our kids…read moreout so they could have fun and run wild. I've seen Fit City Kids, having lived fewer than two miles away, but this was our first visit and it was great. The entrance fee wasn't bad, especially since one can stay for the full open play time. They have several different areas for play. There is a basketball court area, a play soccer field, gymnastics space, and an indoor playground. There's also a small area that is specifically designed for children aged three and under, although we were told that kids can play in any section (except for the bounce house, which is for the private parties). Our one year olds mostly played in the soccer area, having fun just running around. There's one half of the place where you can wear shoes or not (the basketball/soccer areas) and then in the other half you may not wear shoes. There are one or more party rooms in the back of the facility. (I'm not sure if they overlap parties or not; there were four happening on the day we were here.) Food is not permitted in the facility except for in the party rooms or in the front "lobby" area. They have a few snacks for sale, and based upon the water I bought for my babe the prices don't seem ridiculous. I really appreciate that they don't appear to have any restrictions on bring your own snacks and water, just asking that you respect the areas in which you can eat them. They don't have a water fountain (unless I just wasn't looking in the right places) so bring your own drinks. One downside is that I found only one changing station in the entire place. Don't look for it in the women's room (or probably the men's room, either, I'd expect) but in the individual gender neutral bathroom. With the number of children who might be here at any time and the age ranges they welcome, I was really surprised to see just the one. On the other hand, it was an actual changing table rather than a station that is bolted into the wall and folds down, which always make me a little nervous. They also don't have much space for parents to sit. There are some tables in the "lobby" and a few benches outside the various play areas, but it might be difficult for someone who needs a chair/seat, or someone who's disabled, especially if they want to be closer to the activity areas and keep an eye on their children. Another thing they need to work on is the parking lot. Their parking lot is really large, especially for Lincoln Square--and it's free!--so that's all to the good. Ideally they'd have straight parking spaces since that allows for the most spots; the lot is a bit narrow, so they've opted for diagonal with a few straight. But they need to paint the lot! Driving through this lot was difficult because people parked like they've never parked before. We will definitely return. There are several indoor playgrounds around and I'd like to try the different ones that offer entrance to kids as young as mine in part so we can figure out which are our favorites. But after my experience here I imagine we may be purchasing a membership in the future.

    Ball Factory Mount Prospect

    Ball Factory Mount Prospect

    (114 reviews)

    On a cold autumn Saturday, I had dad brain and totally misread a text message, leaving us without…read moreplans for the day. We were a bit far from home and our kid was getting restless, so I looked up nearby indoor playgrounds and ended up here. It was $25 since it was a weekend until they closed at 6pm. Our kiddo had a fun time! It's not as gargantuan as some other playgrounds, but they have a baby and toddler area, and it's multi-story so there's a lot of climbing and sliding. They also have an area with a bunch of riding vehicles, and most fun of all was the ball room. I thought a place called ball factory would have more...balls? But the ball room is basically a room with air cannons that let you load and shoot these soft play balls around the room. It's surprisingly pretty fun even for the adults to fire off a few rounds. And as someone who has been to a few of these indoor playgrounds, I'm grateful you don't have to buy their proprietary socks. Like I went to one place that wanted grippy socks - and we had grippy socks, but they weren't theirs! Some places need better insurance policies I guess, so I'm glad the Ball Factory isn't insanely strict. What's also nice is there's a Polish grocery next door, so I grabbed a few items while my wife stayed here. Our only gripe is there could be more seating in the play area for us parents to catch up on our phones, but at least the food area has a lot of space. And kids even get a free ball on the way out! Overall I think we'll come back, but we'll be sure to eat lunch before and dinner after since outside food isn't allowed.

    My kids hand a great couple of hours today enjoying the different set ups across the large space…read more The place was clean and well staffed. There is plenty of space to run around and it doesn't feel crammed even when they are hosting a birthday party like one today. Check in was easy and the punch card offers a good deal at $100 for 4 weekday and 2 weekend punches. I also scored a $5 discount for becoming a member and another $5 by getting a coupon their website and that made it totally worth it. There is good food selection of pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets , popcorn, ice cream and slushies but we don't eat today so I can't comment on quality and taste but hope to be back soon.

    Titanic The Exhibition

    Titanic The Exhibition

    (29 reviews)

    All aboard! The Titanic is an iconic movie, and my husband and I have been seeing ads for the…read moreexhibition and decided let's go see what it's all about. The Titantic Exhibition is located in Old Orchard Mall right next to Nando's. There is plenty of complimentary parking as it is in the mall. We love going to exhibitions to learn more about a theme, and they are all styled in a similar way. When we arrived, we checked in at the ticket booth. We pre-purchased our tickets online a the time slot so that we can ensure we wouldn't have to wait in a long queue once we arrived. When we checked in we were given a boarding pass of someone that was on the ship so that we could follow along their journey as we continued through the exhibits. It started by taking us through the build of the ship, and first class. Showing us the different china, set ups, and bedding that were between the classes. We learned fun facts like how many life savors and spots on the boats vs the passengers as the boat was designed not to sink. A fact that I has no idea about was that they kept the gates locked for the third class to keep them from wandering second and first class, and that was a huge part of why so many of that class were not able to make it out. As we went through the exhibits we visited the difference classes. I also read that some of the survivors wrote books about their experience, I absolutely want to check some of those out. As the exhibition continued we walked through the iceberg timeline and how they received noticed ahead of time and how quickly they had to react. They also had a plate for us to feel how cold the iceberg and water was, as well as a seat for us to see the ship sink from the safety boats. Once we go through, you see the ship underwater. It was a true sensory experience. And we got to learn whether or not our given boarding pass member survived or passed. I was a engine crew member and I survived despite the engine room being one of the first to be flooded with water. After we learned all the that Titantic had to offer, they also had an exhibition for the Chicago Titantic which I knew nothing about but learned so much. The only bone I had to pick was how insanely hot the whole exhibit was. It was hot outside, and to come inside and need some relief but be uncomfy because it was so stuff and hot was no ideal since no beverages were allowed. The exhibition ended with various movie props and scripts and we exited into the gift shop. Overall we had an incredible time and I would absolutely recommend it to other if you're into this type of experience.

    This attraction is located in a large mall. its main entrance is located off of a courtyard that…read morefaces a patio/lounge area chairs and large Legos to play with. Being that this place is located in the mall, there is tons of parking available. I recommend parking either in the orange garage or in the area of the parking lot near the courtyard entrance. You can pre purchase your tickets for a select time slot online or take your chances and purchase them when you get there. If you wait to purchase your tickets, you may not be able to get the time slot that you want though. As soon as you are admitted into the museum, you are given a card with the name of a passenger on the Titanic, including their class. In the middle of the museum, in the lifeboat exhibit, you can see if the person on the card you were given survives. Only one person in my group of 4 survived. My littles were bummed that their person did not make it. The first thing that you do when you enter the museum is to take an overpriced souvenir photo on a mock bow of the Titanic, like Rose and Jack. You can purchase it for $25 at the end of the tour if you would like. After the photo you get in a line and wait to be let into the standing room only movie. I really enjoyed the movie. It was pretty modern and informative. It lasted about 7 minutes or so. After the movie, you start your self-guided part of your tour. The museum has many replicas of artifacts from the Titanic. It should be noted that they do not have many, if any actual artifacts from the ship. However, they do have some items from the ill-fated ship's White Star Line sister ships. Some items would have captions like "the same china and silver were used on all 3 ships." You will also find a replica hallway, a starry night promenade deck replica, a boiler room and first-class cabin. I like the information placards placed around the museum that detailed certain aspects of the ship and highlighting passengers. There is an iceberg exhibit that was supposed to show you how cold it was when the Titanic sank by putting your hand in one of two slots. However, the freezer element was not working on it. Other Museum exhibits include the exploration of the Titanic wreckage, a short movie showing the Titanic sink, from a lifeboat point of view, a timeline of the Titanic sinking, coal power exhibit, the ship in film and television, including James Cameron's 1997 hit movie Titanic, construction of the titanic, and lifeboat exhibit. You can also take a photo on a replica of the Titanic's grand staircase, but you are limited to going no higher than the 3rd step. Additionally, the museum has section dedicated to the local ship tragedy, the sinking of the SS Eastland in 1915, at a pier in the Chicago River. It is located near the end of the tour and is also where you will find the men's restroom. I found this exhibit interesting. I had never heard of this maritime disaster, and was amazed that it was partially caused by improvements made in response to the Titanic tragedy. I also found the link to George Halas and the Chicago Bears very eye opening. Unlike the Titanic exhibits, this exhibit has actual artifacts from that ship and videos of what happened and the link to the Chicago Bears and George "Papa Bear" Halas. You exit the museum through the........yep, you guessed it, gift shop. The shop is grossly overpriced. I compared some of the items in there such as the Heart of the Ocean Necklace, to the same items online and found them much, much cheaper on there. I also felt that they did not have a good selection of items in the shop. They have a few books, shirts, bags, hats and other trinkets, but nothing really good. You can also purchase an add-on VR experience of the Titanic here. This museum is good, but I have seen much better. I spent about a little less than an hour here. Compared to other Titanic museums that I have visited and what this museum could be makes this attraction just "good" for me. I was not wow'ed and we breezed right through it. Of course, attractions like this are money traps, but this one seems even more so. I probably would not visit here again, but I will admit that it is a nice change of pace from the downtown Chicago attractions. I would definitely seek out discounts such as a Groupon, prior to my visit though.

    Exploritorium - theater - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...