This was amazing and well worth it! I loved butterflies as a little girl in California and they…read moreused to fly on me. So this exhibit took me back a ways to those days. There are hundreds of butterflies from all over the world here flying free in a family friendly environment and some may even land on you. I belive there were around 70 different varieties if I'm not mistaken. It was all very magical. The Butterfly House supports rainforest conservation projects around the world, and your support will help them achieve their goals. The tickets are $17.60 for adults and $13.50 for children (2-11). Seniors, students, military are $15.50. Infants are free. The BigBus tour does a stop right in front of the Butterfly House. It is accessible without steps or stairs. I hope to visit again.

I try to visit butterfly houses / habitats whenever I find them. This one was enjoyable but perhaps…read morenot quite as much as others I've visited. Still, I would never pass up the opportunity to hang out with these lovely creatures.

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.

We had a wonderful time exploring the Nature Museum with our two kiddos (2.5yrs & 5.5yrs old)…read moretoday! There was tons to do - water play (in multiple areas), living & taxidermy creatures to see/learn about, two play spaces to get the wiggles out, and of course the beautiful Butterfly Haven. We went on a weekday around 11am during spring break and it was moderately busy, but there was no line to get in. We paid extra to visit the butterfly haven (100% worth it!). The 1st exhibit included water play, which our kids loved, but def bring a change of clothes for when they get wet. There is another water play zone on the 1st floor next to the play area as well. The highlight of our visit was the Butterly Haven. It's very beautiful and I honestly could sit there forever watching butterflies flutter around. They release butterflies daily at 2pm, but we didn't see that. We also enjoyed the digital interactive butterfly exhibit, where kids color a butterfly on paper, scan it, and it appears fluttering on a giant digital screen. Street parking was full, but there is a small lot across the street from the entrance and it was $24 to park. It was a short walk to the entrance. The gift shop is super cute and has snacks/drinks, but nothing fresh-made (mostly pre-packaged options). They have tables & high chairs near the entrance for snacking/resting. Also family restrooms, stroller parking, & an elevator. Super kid/family friendly and we'll definitely be back!

Great place mainly for small kids. There's an area to walk around that has a hawk, turkey vulture,…read moreand an owl (I'll add pictures). There's a play area in front of the building with lots of fun activities for kids. Inside the building - which is a 150-year old former mansion, there are 4 rooms with some exhibits, animals like snakes and turtles, and a good-sized play area. Outside, one can walk around the pond - which took me about 20 minutes. It is tree-lined and also goes along the Des Plaines River.

Quiet, clean and well maintained museum. The building looks really beautiful from the outside and…read morelooks well-kept from the inside. I saw a small play area for small kids in one of the rooms.

This place I found while walking downtown and it's so nice inside this museum/mansion. They have a…read moreplace downstairs to place food or drinks if you bring it in, but they did offered military discount . It was stunning inside and it had like three floors with the top floor having a gift shop. I really enjoyed all the art and painting around the mansion.

This is the Nickerson Mansion huilt in 1883 which was bought and restored over several years by…read moreRichard Driehaus. It has several items original to the home, plus some of Driehaus' collection. There was an art exibit of satirical prints from London and Dublin on display when we went through. Beautiful Tiffany lamps and chandeliers, marble, tile, woodworking throughout the whole home. Learned more about the history of Chicago and what it was like at the time the mansion was first built.

Absolutely gorgeous historic Japanese Garden, about a ten minute walk from the Museum of Science…read moreIndustry. The garden is truly an oasis from the hustle and bustle of city life (though Hyde Park is decidedly less bustling). The garden is on the small side, which is something I actually enjoy: I can spend time slowly and quietly savouring every aspect of its beauty, from the lovely arrangement of rocks to the gorgeous cherry blossoms. There is a sculpture by Yoko Ono outside the garden, which looks cool but is not particularly exceptional. The path beyond the garden leads to the lovely Jackson Park. The wooded pathways, usually lined with soft leaves that have fallen to the ground and populated by hundreds of bunnies in the summer, make you feel (at least for a few minutes), that you're far away from the hubbub of the city. One disappointing drawback is that during spring, which is the prettiest time of the year, the Garden tends to get quite crowded, with people spilling into the grass, littering, chattering, or clogging up pathways. Given that Japanese Gardens are meant to be a place of peaceful contemplation, this can be quite irksome. If your schedule allows it, I would recommend visiting the Garden during weekdays, or even on rainy days. The Garden is uniquely beautiful when it is raining. The Japanese Garden is quite accessible by public transport, with several bus stops and a Metra station close by. I cannot recommend the Japanese Garden enough, but must stress that it is a place for quiet contemplation, not events and picnics.

It was a nice day to get out and check out the park! First time here! It's very quaint compared to…read moreother Japanese Gardens I've visited in the U.S. but it's a great place. Highly recommended to go early to beat the crowds as they stagger the free entrance due to the size and that's completely understandable. It's beautiful to go on a date or with multi-generational families! Great scenery!

A cute and interesting hidden little garden that is sadly a little overlooked. It's nicely tended…read morewith signs identifying plants by common name, family, genus, and species. I wish they had information on how the plants are used in medicine. Next time I'll have Wikipedia ready on my phone. I'm a regular visitor to the conservatories (Garfield Park, Lincoln Park, and Oak Park) and the Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanical Garden. This little spot had many plants the other spots did not, so it rounds out the three-dimensional botanical information available a bit. Just don't pick anything. Even if you're not a plant nerd like me, this is worth a visit.

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.

I attended my niece's wedding here and it was the most gorgeous venue I have ever seen in my life…read more Grand main dining area with cozy spots all over. It felt very personal and can I just say- you will never find another backdrop for pictures such as this place. We all enjoyed staying locally in Evanston as there were plenty of nice things to see in the area.

The Halim Time & Glass museum has been hosting events such as birthday parties and weddings for a…read morewhile now. We are going to celebrate my wife's 60th birthday party here in May. Working with Jessica, in the events department, has been wonderful. The location is beautiful, and our guests are free to explore the floor used for the party at no additional cost. The only part of the process that I still don't comprehend is that we can't take home the leftover food. Jessica claims it is due to liability issues. Not sure what liability they are referring to... If I hosted the event at Maggianos our we would be able to take leftover food home. Jessica mentioned the staff will thoroughly enjoy our leftovers. Makes me wonder if that is the reason for the policy? I'll update this review in a few weeks after the event. I'll let everyone know how the event went and how the food was...