Families traveling to Chicago have some of America’s finest museums to explore: Field Museum of Natural History, Art Institute of Chicago, and Museum of Science and Industry. Each of these has exhibits and activities to engage children, but three other top-notch museums in greater Chicago are designed just for them.
Chicago Children’s Museum
A winner in the 2024 Best Children’s Museum category of USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice, Chicago Children’s Museum is designed to inspire creativity and encourage exploration for all age groups. Treehouse Trails and Kids Town are designed for infants and toddlers. Pritzker Playspace is designed for parents to play with their children and other families with young children.
Children aged 4–8 can climb through the Cloud Buster, dig for dinosaur bones, design and build skyscrapers, and develop their artistic talents and construction skills. Older children can use real tools to design and build more complicated projects in the Tinkering Lab.
Kohl Children’s Museum
Another USA Today Readers’ Choice winner, Kohl Children’s Museum nurtures holistic child development in 17 interactive, hands-on exhibits for children ages birth to 8, the most important learning period in a child’s life. In addition to special exhibits (Curious George: Let’s Get Curious! opens Oct. 4), 15 permanent areas encourage kids to explore such varied topics as art, butterflies, building construction, honeybees, water power, turtles and automobiles. Kids can even learn to change tires and mufflers, charge batteries, and fix the engines of child-sized cars.
Children’s Museum – Oak Lawn
Just 15 minutes from Central Chicago, Children’s Museum – Oak Lawn is all about hands-on experience and active learning. At Health Quest, children explore healthcare and wellness, using real stethoscopes and testing their heartbeat on a drum. In Moo Café, kids can be a chef, waiter or customer as they practice teamwork and communication.
In First Responder Friends, kids can try on firefighter gear and drive a fire truck while learning about fire safety and police work. The ever-popular Water Adventure is filled with hands-on play as they explore the changing nature of water by making waves, experimenting with floating and sinking, and watching water flow and fall.
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