So many feelings. First of all I loved this WAY more than I thought I would. I HATE slime but my…read moregirls love it. So deep breath and who cares if clothes get ruined?! We went on Good Friday, lots of kids were off of school. We got the first time slot! Highly recommend this! The place is self guided and you can always go back to feel some more! If you think about germs and are easily grossed out, there's plenty of hand sanitizer around, or bring your own! But everyone is basically reaching in to feel the same slime you are. There's a small area the kids can take their shoes off and play in. Some squishes and slime they can go into (it's hard and doesn't stick to clothes!). They also have the "get slimed" station. I believe it's $30 and from the looks of it, it's just blue water. Didn't seem worth it to me. But my kids loved watching! The best part is being able to make your own slime! You can pick the consistency, smell and color! And as an added bonus you can pick out 3 charms! There's no food or drinks allowed in and they have a complimentary coat/bag check! Take a picture of your bag in case you drop your ticket! In addition, I find it hilarious that people are complaining about the price. Of course the place raises the price during peak hours. Now do I think $56 for a ticket is steep, yes! But plan ahead and always purchase tickets ahead of time! We paid $135 for 3 and were there almost 3 hours! We only left because we had lunch reservations!

If you see ticket prices online in your budget BUY THEM. Made the mistake of driving an hour a half…read moreto get there before close and the pricing almost DOUBLED. Family of 4 and paid $222 (the AGM on site didn't have a hospitable bone in their body and informed us "ticket prices hike due to demand") and didn't seem to care if we left or stayed. The museum itself is short lived. With a couple extra add ons for more $$$ The slime-tenders were a lot more pleasant than the AGM and made our experience more memorable. Also google is wrong and you can NOT pay upon arrival so that was misinformation as well. Overall 6/10 experience

Stopped in while on the job…read more What a great place to bring kids both young and old. And to have it on the pier is perfect. After you spend a few hours burning the little ones out pop out and grab a bite. Employees are wonderful. So many things for the kids to do and see. If you have kids and you're visiting navy pier this is a must stop

This place is perfect for children and there are so many areas of play, creativity, and adventures…read more There is a lot to do and a lot to see, so you really can spend the whole day here. I'm from Houston, Texas and didn't like how we had to pay a non-residential entrance fee, which is more expensive. I feel like there should only be one flat fee. Also, the ticket price is so expensive, especially since we have to pay for the children AND adults. I mean, it's a children's museum so the adults HAVE to be there to accompany them. It's not like the adults come to play on their own. We come to play with the child. I just feel like adults should be free, or at least only pay like $5. On a normal day, it would not be reasonable to come here. I did see that they are hosting a Family Day when tickets are about $5 a person; that is an amazing deal and is so worth it. The hours are so short! We came on Thursday when the hours are 10-2pm. We came in at 11:30pm and I felt like we didn't have enough time! My boys wanted to play more; I wish we had come in earlier. So if you plan on going, I recommend going at 10am when they open, especially if you're going to pay full price. I didn't like how the hours are short and when it came to closing time, stations were shutting down early. At 1:45pm, the Cloud Buster exhibit was closed, which was disappointing because my boys wanted to go in there. A lot can happen in 15 minutes, so I didn't like that. The staff were all incredibly nice, sweet, and patient, though! They all kept their cool and were great at encouraging my boys, especially when climbing the Schooner. The museum reminds me of Montessori school, where it teaches independent play and discovery. I wish it included some facts and interactive play that reinforces the subject, like at a science museum. Overall, my two boys had a blast. They really enjoyed the "Play It Safe" and "Water City" exhibits. My favorite was Michael's Museum. I appreciated all the small messages of advice and reminders for parents in all play areas. It encouraged us and helped us understand the reasoning behind how children play or the purpose of the activity. From a child's perspective, this place is AMAZING, so I'm glad my boys enjoyed it.

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.

My 7 yr old daughter loves this place. It's not a big space but the staff (e.g. the owner and her…read moreyounger daughter) were extremely helpful and loved the creation process as much as my daughter did! In a nutshell you tell them how much slime you want (small, medium, large sort of deal) then you select the colors, trinkets and consistency you want. I sat back and let my kid pick everything, and the owners are there to assist which is super helpful The price was very reasonable; we took home enough slime to keep her occupied for weeks. Parking was easily available on the street, but I can see how it would be hard to snag if a spot if the business in that area were busy. Highly recommend and look forward to going back! I would say this is a good way for a child ages 5-10 to get creative and have fun. If they're younger than that be prepared to lend a hand and get dirty.

This store doesn't exist anymore ; neither on asbury or prairie...was looking to buy a gift this…read moremorning...

This is such a gem for the 2-7 age range! It was $15 for a 4 year old and 1 year old. Our 1.5 year…read moreold even got to ride the train (with an adult), go down the giant slide and play on the playground. Quick drive from the city. We spent 2 hours here and got to try every ride and have lunch. It's small so 2 hours was perfect. Our 4 year old rode the carousel, flying pirate ship, train, Giant slide, water boats and rock climbing wall (with harnesses). There is a big play lot that is really fun too. Concession options were good - pizza, chicken tenders, corn dog, hot dog, fries, ice cream. No juice boxes. Clean bathrooms and water fountain. Lots of tables in the shade to eat. The ride operators were extra special nice to the kids. One stopped to help our kid with her shoe at the top of the slide and one put towels on the seat of the ride so it wasn't too hot from the sun. We left happy!

This is great a place for young children…read more You only have to pay for the child. $15 for non residents. There's only two rides parents can join on - the train and the burlap sack slide. The other rides the child does by themselves. My 3 year old son had a blast! A young 3 years old was the perfect age and we will definitely take him back next year. This would be a great place for birthday parties too.

We had a great experience at wonderplay today. We met up with a couple friends after having lunch…read morenearby. I was very surprised that it was too busy/crazy for a Saturday afternoon! There is a parking lot!! It's not big but HUGE WIN... We got two parking spots in the lot and didn't have to search for street parking. PTL! The play place is so big and very clean. There is a variety of spots for the kids; a big climbing area, a camp area, a small play cafe/market and of course a soft Play and library for littles under 4. I especially love that there is a cafe with coffees, drinks, juice and snacks for people to enjoy in their many seating areas. It perfect! The staff is super nice! We will for sure be back.

Wonderplay and Coffee is a fairly new indoor kids play and climb facility with a coffee shop…read moreattachment. We spent a cold Chicago morning at Wonderplay after hearing positive feedback and stories through social media. To avoid cabin fever (for our toddlers and ourselves as parents), we loaded ourselves in the car and bit the $22-play-fee bullet (two free adults included). Play areas are shoe-free and socks-only. There are little cubbies for adults and kids alike to store shoes, jackets, and bags. It was pretty chaotic at the entrance when we arrived but we still managed to find an open cubby. We arrived to a PACKED facility but manage to find our way to a corner with our coffees (I ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee; it's VietFive so I pretty much had to!) where we can tag team playing/supervising our toddler. There's a nice area for little ones under 4 to read of quietly place; surrounded by couches where caretakers can relax. Our toddler most enjoyed the adjacent market/kitchen are which included several wooden climbing structures and slides. Next, we went up into the climbing area which requires supervision for the littlest ones. Our brave little toddler had fun going through the whole structure twice before tapping out ("all done") despite the older kids 3+ as well as adults darting around / past us every so often. Last area we played in was the camping area. Our toddler loved the different play houses available and how it was less crowded than the kitchen area by the time we ventured over. There was a large climbing dome in the middle but it was still too advanced for us to really partake. I'm glad there were sanitizing stations throughout the facility. I wish that bathrooms weren't socks only since I did see liquid on the floor as well as a dirty shoe mark. And my only easy peasy suggestion would be adding adult height ledges so that we can place our coffees safely out of reach from the kids. We had a lovely time and plan to be back again!

This place was incredible! My kids had so much fun! They…read morehad climbing structures of varying levels of difficulty for my bigger kids & a fun toddler area for my littles . They even had ninja warrior style ramps up to some of the climbing structures which my kids could do safely with the harnesses. And in the back there is a zip line obstacle course, video games, laser, tag, and more. We did not have time to do everything because there was just so much to choose from! I definitely recommend the physically active options over the video games. It is a bit on the pricey side, but definitely worth it!

We went to a birthday party this weekend at climbzone! I have seen ads for it all over the place…read morebut this was the first time seeing it. What a fun place!! There climbing walls, a soft play area, ropes course, zip line, laser tag, and bumper cars. As well as rooms/alcoves for birthday parties. It seems like there are activities for kids of all ages. I can't wait to go back with my little one.

Celebrating her 7th birthday my grandaughter was able to tap into her creative side and make two…read moremasterpieces with great pride! The encouragement and gentle leadership from Robin allowed us to share an experience that will surely be a core memory forever. I highly recommend Painted Penquin!!

Good place where you can take a stress off, enjoy the art that you make and feel comfortable. The…read morePainted Penguin at Water Tower Place it's for kids and grown-up have enough assortment of sculptures, nice paint material and friendly employees. I was excited to spend there are almost whole day and I made my beautiful sculpture:)

Perfect place to have your toddler's party!…read more There's a reason Purple Monkey keeps popping up every time I looked up toddler birthday party! I was a bit hesitant for the price of the venue but it was so worth it. First, it's private. Just for your kid(s) and their friends. It's a large room with a section that has tables and a kitchenette for the food and cake part and the rest is for the kiddos. There's a play kitchen, train set, a slide, all the things any toddler would love. Even my 11 year old enjoyed it because it reminded him of his younger years. I love that you get a "helper" with the part packages. Ours was Shannon and she was great. Helped decorate a bit. Cut the cake. All the things you need help with that you may not have time for and feel bad asking someone else to take charge of. Overall we had a great party. Couldn't ask for more.

Food was great and the helper was very attentive .we will definitely come back for another round!!!read more

Sean rocks! He had great advice for getting my planted tank established and he set me up with some…read moreember tetras and red cherry shrimp, both of which had pregnant females. The population in my tank is healthy and booming!! Thank you Sean!

As for the retail shop, not super knowledgeable people with terrible livestock choices. I've only…read morebought a handful of corals and they have introduced aptasia, an insane number of flatworms, bubble algae, and none of them were health either.