Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Exploring Chicago
with Your Kids
While Chicago has sights that
top
any world trav eler's list (although fe wer
than N ew York or London), Chicago
City on a similar day . S ummer is prime
time here: Families flock
to
Chicago on the
weekends—unlike other urban areas, where
families
escape fr om
the city . When the
weather is warm, you'll find that suburban-
ites, Wisconsinites, I owans, and families
from other surr ounding states head to our
city to enjoy the cool lake breezes.
Chicago's a no-nonsense M idwestern
city, and most establishments are laid-back
and open-minded. You won't get the kind
of urban snobber y y ou might experience
in other big cities. For the most part, Chi-
cagoans ar e “ nice”—another M idwestern
quality—meaning y ou ar e mor e likely to
get a sympathetic smile than the evil ey
offers big family attractions, too . Part of
Chicago's kid-friendliness comes fr om the
location of our major museums, which sit
within walking distance of beaches and
miles of parks. Kids can learn in the morn-
ing and r un free in the afternoon. Com-
pared to some major cities, outdoor space
is easy to find, thanks to miles of unim-
peded lakefr ont. And as ev ery par ent
knows, being outdoors is a w elcome relief
when kids need to let off steam.
Although cr owds do pack the major
e
museums on w eekends and holidays, the
crowdedness is not on the level of New York
when trying to calm a cr ying child.
1
SIGHTS BY NEIGHBORHOOD
THE LOOP & VICINITY
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy
Museum , p. 157
Art Institute of Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Photography,
p. 185
National Vietnam Veterans Art
Museum, p. 186
Sears Tower Skydeck , p. 177
Spertus Museum, p. 190
,
p. 178
Chicago Archicenter, p. 179
Chicago Cultural Center , p. 180
Chicago Fed Money Museum, p. 180
Chicago Public Library/Harold Wash-
ington Library Center, p. 181
The Field Museum of Natural
History , p. 162
Glessner House, p. 196
John G. Shedd Aquarium
THE NORTH SIDE
Near North/Magnificent
Mile
Chicago Children's Museum
,
p. 160
Chicago Water Tower—City Gallery,
p. 181
The Hancock Observatory
,
,
p. 165
The Loop Sculpture Tour
p. 175
McCormick Tribune Freedom
Museum, p. 184
, p. 168
Millennium Park
, p. 168
Museum Campus
, p. 170
