When we get to Navy Pier in Chicago, we always make time for the Children's Museum…read more There's a fire engine climber and pole that we love to play on, with hoses, a fire-station-pole, and a fire-targeting game. The fire engine includes uniforms, and there are some other costumes. There's a bulldozer with moving levers to play with. There's climbing ropes. There's a log-cabin to play in, and a colorful steam-punk horse-sculpture made of gears and gadgets. We play here every time. We never get tired of it.

We had a great time visiting here on a vacation with family. We were not sure about the age range…read moregoing in but this is a big enough museum/play space that it will appeal to a pretty wide variety of ages. Our kids are 7 and 9 and while many exhibits are geared for younger children and we skipped (such as the seemingly favorite water play space and the little pretend village) these, there are a number of building/tinkering as well as climbing spaces that our kids really liked. You could spend probably a whole day here but it's fair to budget just a few hours to a half a day too depending on how much playtime you want to give them. The games area is fun too. They have bowling, giant dominos, checkers, and corn hole. My daughter also appreciated the tiny room with miniature versions of everything. A lot of the tinkering and building stuff relied on recycled materials which you could easily find at home so the experience maybe could inspire for after visiting creative projects. I actually myself enjoyed the painting lab. Since the exhibits change from time to time I think I would come back. I understand that kids must have an accompanying adult, but when you add the non-local pricing up, it's $100 for a family with two kids. I guess everything is expensive in touristy areas like this but it does make this visit somewhat prohibitively expensive when you could, for example, visit the zoo for free. Obviously that's hard to compare and we did have a good time here but that might be my one hesitation.

We probably covered 30% of all MSI has to offer, and my almost three year old is already planning…read morehis next trip! This place is really incredible. I was worried my toddler might be a little bit too young, but MSI does a great job of having spaces for all ages. We spent a lot of time downstairs looking at the fairy castles, baby chicks, in the mirror maze, and the idea factory! The idea factory was definitely a little outdated (my husband said nothing has changed since he came here as a kid) but even still, it was super cool and super perfect for toddlers. It's also great because this area is suuuper interactive (and especially aimed for smaller kiddos). The other space we spent a lot of time was the space exhibit. This is so cool with so much to see and learn. We can't wait to come back and see more of MSI! Super happy with our first visit with a little guy though.

Wow, our minds were blown away by this Smithsonian quality museum! We only expected to check it…read moreout for a few hours but ended up spending the entire day here. Although the submarine was their signature piece, what we enjoyed the most were the thoughtful and engaging displays with the trains and airplanes (especially the airplane engine). This museum is truly a gem and we were lucky to spend the day here.

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!

For myself and three kids it was $200. Pretty steep for essentially 20 vats of slime to try and a…read morecouple extra things like walking on slime or making slime. The process was easy. The place seems upkept and clean. Staff was very nice. It's just a short experience. I think younger kids would like it for an hour.

Love the museum! They have a good number of free days for residents…read more We came by to check out the Pokemon Fossil exhibit and they really did an amazing job. [A note, the Pokemon exhibit does require a separate timed ticket from general admission to the museum]. I love how they were careful to separate fact from fiction through color coordination and how the fossils mirrored some of the exhibits within the museum! We walked around some of the other areas and it was nice to see some of the classic exhibits as well as some of their newer ones. Its a great museum to explore and get lost in. Parking is pricey, but it's worth getting something close considering all the walking you'll do at the actual museum.

We recently visited Yellowstone National Park, and we remembered that the Field Museum in Chicago…read morehas a life-size bison on exhibit! If i recall, it was on the east side of the second floor. We saw a large herd in Yellowstone, and several scattered pairs and individuals. We were about ten feet from one while we were driving to Old Faithful. This felt like that experience. Yikes! Yeah, they are this big.

What a fun time!! The staff is very energetic and seem to enjoy their job. I wish there were more…read morerooms to explore but you can eat all the nice cream you want. While the hot dog ice cream was the worst thing I ever tasted, it will be a lasting memory for my family and the laughs we had trying it. This a fun stop to explore for all ages. Signed- Le'Mon Keezy (my ice cream name) . This isn't a spot I'd continually visit but you should definitely give it a try!!

Wow. This place is an absolute joke. My kids were in and out in 5 mins. It's almost unacceptable to…read morecharge people for a space that is so poorly and unimaginatively designed. It's a bunch of rooms with basic and uninteresting activities. I'm not sure I'd even go to this if it were 1/3 of the price. The icing on the cake is that they charge for the ice cream at the end. I thought the place was supposed to be unlimited ice cream but it's only weird flavors like hot dog and then they charge for normal flavors like chocolate. 1 star only for the lovely staff greeting.

Came here for the first time for a birthday party so I wasn't sure what to expect. The place was…read morerecently renovated so things did not seem that dated. There was a variety of different areas to play in, different pretend areas- veterinary, building and grocery. There was a big climbing structure to get into with a variety of different obstacles inside. And there was a water play area. Overall a lot of variety for the space. The things were well maintained. The room was also kept pretty warm.

They raised the prices as of October 2025 and parents still have to pay just to get in…read more Would love if the could partner with a local disability services vendor to run a small cafe. It would be more on par with the other indoor spaces.

We love going here on the weekends! Their membership is such a great deal if you live nearby and…read morethey always have new exhibits so it doesn't get stale for the kids. They also have a great outdoor area.

We visited the Kohl Children's Museum and had a good time. There are lots of different activity…read moreareas for kids to explore, and it's a fun place for children to learn through play. Admission is $20 per person. However, I also visited about four years ago, and I was surprised that almost nothing has changed. Many of the toys, exhibits, and play areas looked the same and felt quite worn from years of use. I would recommend visiting at least once because it's a nice experience for kids, but I don't think it's a place I would return to regularly unless they update or refresh the exhibits.

AMAZING butterfly room. There's sooo many butterflies I was surprised. We were able to watch them…read morerelease a few too. Sometimes they will also land on your arm. It costs money to get into the museum, then an extra $5 to go to the butterfly room.

Beautiful Nature Museum on Lincoln Park. Exhibit for kids and nature walks for adults. Check out…read morethe bird walk on the 3rd floor. Neat nature-related merch at the store too!

This was the most wonderful experience! I highly recommend it if you're in Chicago. It's located in…read morethe Willis Tower, so if you're going to the Skydeck it's a quick little jaunt over before or after. I wasn't sure what to expect, and it ended up being so much better than I imagined! All the people working were friendly, knew what they were doing, and helped us have the best experience we could have. I loved every part of it, and it was awesome tying in all the senses to color! The tasting one was so fun, I ended up guessing mine right! I think my husband and I had the most fun with the partner drawing activity, that's a keepsake for sure, haha! Other faves were the poem and balloon exhibit and of course, the ball pit. We came with our 6 year old nephew but I think the adults had more fun than he even did! It was fun to let loose and be a kid again. I was thankful for all the fun photo ops, it made it easier to get great pics without having our phones out the whole time. The only bummer was the ice cream. We paid $1 per person for it and it was just one tiny little ball with a wooden spoon, and I could taste the spoon more than the ice cream.

Color Factory was definitely a hit with Lani and the girls! From the moment we walked in, there was…read moresomething for everybody. The candy was a HUGE hit -- the girls were excited about that one! The Taste the Color room was really cool and gave the experience a fun twist. The ball pit was another favorite -- the girls had a blast! The Save Her Hut was a fun stop along the way and made for some great memories. And of course, we had to hit the gift shop, where we even got $5 off, which is always a win!

We had an amazing time visiting the Adler Planetarium during our trip to Chicago. There were so…read moremany fun exhibits with interesting history on space. We also went while there was a university student answering questions so we got to learn more about the black holes she's currently studying which was interesting. Our son had a great time exploring and playing in the interactive kids section.

Man what a real treat. It was my daughter's idea to visit the planetarium on a weeknight. Luckily…read morefor us the observatory was open to take in the amazing view of the moon! There was also a gentlemen next to the observatory with a smaller telescope who offered to take a few photos of the moon with my phone! The theatre show inside of the planetarium was insightful and entertaining. Lots to learn! Our host had a great old school FM voice. Icing on the cake was seeing the fireworks show from Navy Pier. And the staff was friendly and professional. I highly recommend Adler Planetarium for everyone.