Chicago with Kids

Chicago with Kids

Chicago sometimes seems to have been designed with kids in mind. There are many places to play and things to do, from building sand castles at one of the lakefront's many beaches to playing indoor minigolf at the Navy Pier in winter. Here are some suggestions for ways to show kids the sights.

Museums

Several area museums are specifically designed for kids. At the Chicago Children's Museum (700 E. Grand Ave., Navy Pier) three floors of exhibits cast off with a play structure in the shape of a schooner, where kids can walk the gangplank and slide down to the lower level. Also at Navy Pier you'll find a Ferris wheel and Viennese swings (the kind that go around in a circle like a merry-go-round). In winter a Chicago-theme minigolf course is set up in the Crystal Ballroom, an atriumlike space with fountains that spring from one potted plant to another in synchronized motion.

Many other Chicago museums are also kid-friendly, especially the butterfly haven at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the replica coal mine at the Museum of Science and Industry, the dinosaur exhibits at the Field Museum, and the sharks at the John G. Shedd Aquarium.

Parks, Zoos & Outside Activities

Chicago's neighborhoods are dotted with area play lots that have playground equipment as well as several ice-skating rinks for winter months. On scorching days, visit the 63rd Street Beach House, at 63rd Street and Lake Shore Drive in Woodlawn. The interactive spiral fountain in the courtyard jumps and splashes, leaving kids giggling and jumping. Millennium Park (55 N. Michigan Ave.) has a 16,000-square-foot ice-skating rink. Skaters have an unparalleled view of downtown as they whiz around the ice.

For more structured fun, there are two zoos: the free Lincoln Park Zoo (2200 N. Cannon Dr. at Lake Shore Dr. and Fullerton Pkwy.) and the large, suburban Brookfield Zoo (1st Ave. and 31st St., Brookfield), which has such surprising exhibits as a wall of pulsing jellyfish. The Buccaneer Pirate Adventure Cruise (Wagner Charter Cruise Co. Dock, Lower Wacker Dr. between Wells St. and Franklin/Orleans St. bridges) sets sail with wannabe pirates, teaching them about the river's locks and entertaining kids with magic tricks.