Chicago Children's Museum — Attraction in Chicago

2nd time return visitor, temp resident. Two stars reflect my visit on a Thursday afternoon between 1130-145. This review is to help another mother. I cane alone with my two children 18M&3.

As a whole it is ENTIRELY too crowded. An overwhelmingly amount of energy in a not a big as you think space. There are no capacity limits on exhibits to control playtime for children. There were a few very large groups with middle age children running everywhere and very very excited with every activity. This was a safety concern I’ll touch later. 2. Bathroom sizes do not reflect the amount of people that visit. I was waiting in line to use a changing table and something doesn’t sit right about that being a problem in a children’s museum. ALOT of foreigners/tourist meant a lot of languages, alot of noise, alot of chaos. Establishment is clean and somewhat maintained for the traffic I saw. I do think more staff should be on duty for safety I’ll touch later but again these areas are small and a lot parents. EXHIBITS I do not believe the car room, fire truck area, Dino dig, & kids town are appropriate for children under3.

CAR ROOM is a great concept however I found several chipped wood corners, and the designers of the room did not take into account the speed and height the cars would be flying. I found myself catching several cars from hitting my children and another. Two these are small hot wheels. I JUST NOW am getting my 18M to keep things from his mouth and I think these are too small. There is nothing separated for smaller children despite their website stating every room has a section for small children. 3 Y did love it but again. Flying cars. DINO DIG is also a great concept. However, the mulch on the fossils is too thick to scoot with brush or the plastic piece which I hope does not break easily. Due to the rubber mulch being thick children will fling the pieces everywhere. There was too large of a group flinging mulch pieces towards my children a few times and climbing and running across exhibit. An additional staff member could have assisted esp due to group speaking Spanish. There’s an apron, vest, brush, and plastic plate piece? But no safety goggles. Again no smaller child area. KIDSTOWN again wayyyyy too many children. They did have a small child area but sadly just a wood truck trailer and blocks. This is also by an exit door. The shop is too crowded, only had two grocery carts. shelves too low kids hit head when grabbing food. Children constantly pulled cart away from another. Was a bummer when my 18M nor 3 YR enjoyed that prop bc of how swiftly it was stollen even from their hands. Food is scarce. 1 register. ATP if you’re going to allow that many children into the exhibit it needs to be a supermarket and not a corner store. Kids were fighting over the food taking baskets out of each others hands etc. Car wash station is nice, gas pump is in an unsafe location. Pump stretches across pathway. The side mirrors are also square sticking out from car. My 18M caught the corner on his temple and was not happy. 3 YR hit his shoulder getting clear of children racing after tires. 4.FIRETRUCK not for smaller children, also no hats, gear is for large kids. My 3Y fav area but kept having the hoses and cones taken from him. No gear would fit

Overcrowded and overwhelming for smaller children. Both of my children would have absolutely loved the exhibits if the capacity was controlled. I paid near $70 for just myself and two small children so I did expect more. Especially being the children’s museum. I believe age restrictions need to be in place OR stations for age groups should be established. More staff to manage uncontrolled groups and set safety standards. This would have been an enjoyable and worthy experience if my kids had enough time in controlled exhibits, again, did not see every room but the ones both children would enjoy together. I wouldn’t return again. ATP I might as well take them to a theme park. At lease you get a ticket and stand in line to enjoy the same amount of time on the ride as...

By far, one of my son's favorite places to visit. I am excited that they have finally reopened because they were closed for some time due to the pandemic. When I told my son we would be going to the Children's Museum, he literally jumped with pure happiness.

As soon as we walked in, he was intrigued in every room and was looking forward to the next adventure. You can easily spend the whole day at the museum. There are multiple floors, rooms, and activities available. Be on the look out for scheduled programs in the Tinkering Lab, the Art Studio, and Pritzker Playspace. You will need a ticket which is provided at the designated rooms for the specific time slots. They are not an additional charge as it is included with entry.

Check out the Zoom Room, there's more than 40 tracks to play with and plenty of toy cars to use. There is even a Dinosaur Expedition, where children can "dig" for fossils. Don't miss out on the new exhibition, the Cloud Buster showcases 37 climbable feet of FUN. It is inspired by Chicago apartments and the design is magnificent. My son zoomed through it without any fear and wanted to keep going. I had trouble keeping up!

Throughout the whole experience, attentive staff members were cleaning and ensuring everything was in order. Clearly, there is attention to detail and great organization. Plenty of hand sanitizers available and restrooms as well. There is a stroller/coat room available at the front entrance to store your things. There are lockers throughout Navy Pier that be used, however, you will have to pay for them. Food and beverages are not allowed in. Since the snack area is closed temporarily, it is best to eat before or after your visit at the food court. Try to pack your own food and drinks to avoid the long lines.

We parked elsewhere and took the Grand Bus. Otherwise, if you don't mind paying for parking, there is a parking garage right next to the museum. If you are a Chicago resident, you can find a museum pass at your local library for free admission. If you're tourists, please visit the museum especially if you have younger children, it is worth...

I arrived at 12pm on a Monday afternoon with my son. This located on Navy Pier. We had the go city pass. There are 3 lines: one for members, one to buy tickets, and one for pre purchased tickets.

Check in was easy. The adult gets a wrist band that allows for reentry up until they close, which was at 5pm today.

They do have an unattended coat room and lockers. The steps to the 2nd floor had numbers in English and Spanish, which I thought was pretty cool.

One area is water city and they provide rain coats to protect clothes from getting wet. There is also a changing room as well. My son spend a lot of time here.

They had games such as bowling, chess, checkers, dominos, corn hole, etc. There were a couple engaging labs but they can get gone fast. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do anything due to timing and certain slots being gone.

There is a space where kids can make a paper rocket and launch it. Making it didn’t seem kid friendly but we got it done. The rocket launcher was cool! They had an airplane seat in that space too.

My son really enjoyed the Cloud Buster! It was fitting for his age. There weren’t many areas for an 11, almost 12 year old. If I had a suggestion, I would include more activities geared towards them, as they are children too.

They have an eating area that is small and can’t fit many families. They had a vending machine that was actually affordable. I got myself a pop tart for $1.25 as I was hungry, lol.

Overall, it was a good experience. We spent 3 hours here. If we didn’t have a 3pm appt for the flyover, my son likely would’ve wanted to stay until 5 as he made a friend and they were doing...