Activity: Skate Park

Thanks to some friends, we learned about this great idea.  With our kids feeling confident on their scooters and getting pretty solid at their bikes, we thought it would be fun (well, husband thought fun, mom figured terrifying) to take them to a skate park.

The boys loved it.

They quickly settled into their own routes with ramps and inclines - the older one even trying out a little wall climbing action.

While I was indeed terrified, I did my best to hide it and no one walked away injured.  Our oldest fell a few times (one while attempting to take his bike straight up a wall), but no blood was spilled.

Noteworthy:
Go early in the morning, before the park is packed with legit skateboarders.

Cost Savings:
Free!  ...unless you experience injuries ;)

Location/Transportation:
There is probably a skate park near you!  We used the one at Roosevelt & Michigan, and early morning parking was easy.

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
Great time!

Annual Event: Midnight Circus

This is the second year we have attended the Midnight Circus in the Parks show and we plan to make it an annual tradition.

In short, it is a legit, talented, and entertaining Circus group under a "little Big Top," performing in Chicago parks all throughout the city.  There are tightrope walkers, hula hoopers, jugglers, acrobats, and perfectly timed comedy (see the photos on their site).

Performance proceeds go toward Chicago Park improvements, so everyone wins! We get a good show, and our parks are improved!

Noteworthy:

• Tickets are inexpensive, showtimes are plentiful
• Arrive early to find a good seat, as they are not assigned
• At the end of the show, families can meet and talk with the performers.  I may have used my children to speak with certain performers :)

Cost Savings:
Ticket prices vary by location, check here for remaining shows and details!
There are a few shows remaining for October...

Location/Transportation:
Various locations - we typically attend McKinley Park

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
Parents also get to vote: 5 stars!

Road Trip: St. Louis

After an amazing, jam-packed, family-friendly trip to St. Louis, wanted to share our experience to make sure you consider a trip to this city.

Quick Family Travel Facts:

• We like to save money & time where we can
• We wake up at the crack of 6 am, so we over-prepare and plan to fit in everything we can into each day before the kids tire out and/or have melt downs.  This has continuously worked well for us and wanted to share some of the tips.
• Assume for each section, we arrive at or before the place opens.

Accommodations, Transportation, & Misc:

We stayed near the airport, and while it was only 20-30 minutes to get to each activity, would look for a new area in the future (open to suggestions) - contemplating downtown or the Galleria area to be near evening activities & restaurants.

• Car: We drove to St. Louis (5 hours from Chicago). Parking at each venue was inexpensive.
• Stroller: We used our stroller at the Zoo and Botanical Garden to extend the "life" of our kids.
• Apps: Used the zoo app a few times to give animal facts to the kids.

Gateway Arch:
The quintessential Gateway Arch monument is a fun stop if you have never been. Not to mention it is the tallest monument in the world (stands 630' high and 630' wide - remember this fact to share during the tour. You're welcome).

If you pre-purchase tickets, the wait is no issue. We purchased online when 3 hours from the city. You leave with your assigned "group" time, then are shuffled to another area for quick facts and then routed to the transit to the top - which may feel claustrophobic to some as 5 people sit in a cozy egg-shaped car. The viewing area can feel congested, but be patient for the ebb and flow to see the nice views of the downtown and river.

Note: During our visit, the grounds surrounding the Arch were under construction, making it a longer walk from where we parked ($6).  However, we loved walking through Laclede's Landing & Riverwalk - the cities oldest district.

After the Arch, we walked to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Kids loved the roaming balloon artist, parents loved the warehouse feel.

St. Louis Zoo
Although the St. Louis Zoo is the Best Free Attraction in the US, it could easily compete with many of the nation's zoos that have an entrance fee.  The zoo is beautifully kept, signage is great, and animals are plentiful (They have a ton of elephants!). We could have spent another day there.

While entry is free, add on costs are: Train, Children's Zoo, Carousel, 4D Theater, Stingrays, and the Sea Lion Show.  Purchasing an Adventure Pass is recommended to save money and/or these areas are free for the first hour the zoo is open (confirm this before going).

Parking is a cost at their lot, but the surrounding area has street parking for free.

Speaking of the surrounding area, the zoo is nestled in the city's gorgeous Forest Park.  It is an expansive park with rolling hills, museums, restaurants, and theater.

Check the zoo website for tips on when divers are active in tanks or feeding is likely to occur.

City Museum
I could write an entire blog about the City Museum.  It is absolutely amazing and unique. The best way to describe it is a real-life Chutes and Ladders.

There are no maps. I repeat - no maps. There were definitely areas of the museum we missed (am guessing ...I mean, there are no maps, so who knows). It is a series of rooms with tunnels, caves, slides, skate board ramps, ball pits, airplanes, buses, human-sized hamster wheels, and more.

My (strong) advice:

• Wear workout clothes - athletic fit is best to avoid getting caught on slides and ladders. Long-sleeved and pants will protect your skin as you will be sliding and crawling a lot.
• Wear knee pads - I'm not kidding.  See sentence above. Crawling a lot. On metal. 6 year olds seem unphased.  Those over 30, not the same.
• Take a flashlight - Many had headlamps and it took everything in me not to steal it off their heads. You will need it to find your way through a lot of the space.
• Age - Recommend 5 years old and up. Our 3 year old did fine, but held us back. The 5 year old did great. 

We grabbed a quick donut breakfast at Pharaoh's Donuts near the museum. While it is a hole in the wall establishment, you can watch them make the donuts and they are really good. I may have gone back for seconds. 

City Museum: Indoor & Outdoor Climbing Bonanza

Missouri Botanic Garden
The Missouri Botanic Garden was beautiful and had a lot of great areas to enjoy.  The garden (and parking) is free, though the Children's museum is a small cost.  The kids had a blast playing in the different areas - climbing structures, slides, ropes, and a water feature (kids will get soaked).

In the main garden, we were able to touch turtles and feed Koi Fish.  Another nice touch: Water Bottle filling areas, so you can bring and fill up your own bottle!

Recommend visiting Ices Plain & Fancy in the nearby, historic Shaw neighborhood. The ice cream is made in front of you using fast-churn liquid nitrogen. Very futuristic!

The Magic House
The Magic House is hands down our favorite Children's Museum we have visited.  And we've seen a lot. It is massive, pristine, and creative: something to discover at every turn. The entire family had a blast - we came when it opened, and closed it down.

Some of our favorite rooms (though it is hard to narrow down): Coloring a fish and then scanning it onto a projection wall where it moved around; and the Construction Zone - it features a small scale versions of a house.

Not sure if this is standard, but the museum started to clear out around 3 p.m. so we felt like we had the run of the place.

This shows a glimpse of the facility:

This shows some of our favorite areas:

Clockwise from top left: Construction site (was unbelievable), two Presidents!, Little Car Repair, Musical Balls,
Football Test Area, Art to Action, Ice Cream Cart, Puzzles!

Meals
All of the restaurants were great with kids and had something for them to do at each spot.  Our favorite area for meals was in the Delmar Loop neighborhood of St. Louis. We ate at Fitz's and Salt + Smoke.

Fitz's Root beer is a St. Louis staple for ginormous root beer floats and a bottling room you can watch in action (check site for the bottling schedule). While no reservations are accepted, place your name on the list, eat at a nearby restaurants (Salt+Smoke!) and then have dessert at Fitz's.

Conclusion: We had a great time and still had more we wanted to see - Grant's Farm, City Garden, Butterfly House, and Myseum. However, we are confident the ones we did were a perfect fit for our family!  Hope you are able to take a trip to this city and this was helpful in your planning!!

Playground: Margate Park

Though this playground doesn't appear on recent "best of" lists for Chicago - it sneaked it's way into our top 10!  The Margate Park Playground was larger than I expected with a lot of structures to climb and slide.

Though it has a bit of wear and tear, it has many more pros: two robust climbing/sliding/swinging structures, toddler area, bathrooms (when fieldhouse is open), water fountain, seating, and tables.

Noteworthy:

• Parking (paid) available at the fieldhouse, playground is adjacent.
• The playground is near lakefront paths and a lot of open grassy areas.
• The Margate Park neighborhood is so picturesque, we enjoyed walking around.

Cost Savings:
Free
Street parking is free, if you can find it. Otherwise, the playground has a small lot at the fieldhouse (fee).

Location/Transportation:
Margate Park, tucked in Uptown
We drove, as it is just off of Lake Shore Drive (Lawrence exit).  The Lawrence exit has a bridge with a "tent community" -- about 25 homeless people -- and while it was unexpected and startling, we felt completely safe.

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
This park was great. I promised the boys we would be back.

Activity: Museum of Science and Industry

Our trip to the Museum of Science+Industry was a huge hit.
We were there 4 hours and could have stayed much longer because there was still so much to experience.

Stops Today:
Level 1

• The Idea Factory - great for kids and now that the museum rotates groups in and out, we are no longer stuck there all day (!!!).  
• Farm Tech - we just get into the two large tractors and move on.
• U-505 Submarine - they have replicas of the living quarters and periscope
• Circus - has some fun eye spy activities in the wall.
• Henry Crown Space Center - there are rovers to experiment with and their gift shop has some awesome toys. Watched the National Parks movie ($). Was a bit long, and the kids didn't love it.

Level 2

• Great Train Story - This is a must stop for our boys. City scape with Freight, Amtrak, Metra, and El trains - bonus for finding the underground Chicago Red Line stop!
• Mirror Maze - Great! We had a great time getting lost and finding our way out.
• Genetics - baby chicks! Always enjoy this quick stop.
• Science Storms - Can see an avalanche, tsunami, tornado and more

Noteworthy:
- Go early to maximize your time, as the museum can get incredibly packed
- The MSI website is great, giving interesting information for each exhibit to share with your kids.

Cost Savings:
After a few paid experiences, most are not necessary nor ideal for kids. There is so much to see and do, the paid exhibits can take away from the hidden treasures.

Location/Transportation:
Hyde Park
Parking is $22, but if you arrive in the morning you can find free street parking (Parknav App).

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
It's been a few days and the kids are still talking about the museum.  We loved it!

There is still so much to see (whispering wall and toy maker 3000, to name a few), we are definitely going back

Playground: Margaret Donahue

The Margaret Donahue playground is fantastic! It has a great water area with a shower tower, water activity tables, and wall spouts.  My kids spent a majority of their time in the water (it is a Chicago summer, after all) and dabbled on the equipment.

The park was well thought out as it is fully fenced in, provides a lot of seating and shaded snack tables, has an open space  for running around, AND areas for bikes & stroller parking!


Noteworthy:
- Great neighborhood: retail stores and restaurants abound.
- Coax kids to wear shoes on the equipment if the water feature is on (making things slippery)
- Southport El Stop has a quaint, enjoyable farmer's market: check here for dates and times.





Cost Savings:
Free!
Bonus: area restaurants offer free kids' meals: Crosby's Kitchen or The Butcher's Tap, to name a few.

Recommend the KidMealDeal App for kid meal deals in your area, as the above may be outdated.

Location/Transportation:
Lakeview / Southport Corridor
Southport Brown Line stop is so close, I highly recommend. My boys loved being on the train.

Kid's Jury: 4.5 stars
As the playground came into view, my 5 year old excitedly called out: "it looks like the city!"

It is a beautiful playground, with the standout features being the water area and city-scape view. The equipment was good, but slippery when wet (which is always, when the water is turned on). We saw many kids (including mine) injured as a result.

Playground: Ward (Aaron Montgomery) Park

Ward Park is in a serene area nestled along the river, with a beautiful view of the city.  It has a lot of options to play on: rolling hills, monkey bars, swings, slides, teeter-totters, spinning & climbing structures, and a water feature.

Noteworthy:
- Great outdoor seating with shade umbrellas
- Dog park nearby
- Next to Erie Cafe, which has outdoor seating along the river.
- There was a little hot dog stand on the corner which provided our dinner and everyone loved sitting on a small hill with our feet in the grass.

Cost Savings:
Free!

Location/Transportation:
River North
- El Stops: Chicago Brown/Purple line
- There was parking adjacent to the park, which it looked like a lot of patrons used.  Not sure on cost.

Kid's Jury: 5 stars
Great park, great location.