Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
286
1000 Lake Cook Rd. (just east of Edens Expwy./I-94), Glencoe. & 847/835-5440. www.chicago-botanic.
org. Free admission. Apr-Oct tram tours $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children 3-15. Daily 8am-sunset. Closed
Dec 25. Parking $10.
WHERE TO EAT
The Garden Café, located within the Chicago Botanic Garden, serves soup, sandwiches,
and salads as well as kids' favorites, in a cafeteria-style setting. In the summer you can sit
on a patio o verlooking water or at tables adjacent to the R ose Garden. It's open daily
from 8am to 5pm.
4 DUPAGE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
About 30 miles W of Chicago
Chicago's w estern suburbs ar e rapidly expanding. N aperville, a farming ar ea not too
many decades ago, is now one of Illinois's largest cities. Home to the DuPage Children's
Museum, Naperville also has a historic downtown. The two make for a perfect day's out-
ing. The museum is geared to all ages, but toddlers to age 8 will enjo y it most.
ESSENTIALS
BY C AR Take the E isenhower E xpressway West (I-290) fr om Chicago . Take the
I-294/I-88 West exit toward Indiana/Aurora. Merge onto I-88W, the East-West Tollway.
Take the N aperville Road exit and turn right on N aperville Road. Turn right on East
Ogden Avenue/U.S. 34. Turn left onto North Washington Street.
BY TRAIN Catch the Metra Burlington Northern Santa Fe Line ( & 312/322-6777;
www.metrarail.com) fr om U nion S tation on Canal S treet (btw . A dams and J ackson
Blvd.) in Chicago to Naperville.
EXPLORING THE MUSEUM
DuPage Children's Museum is in Naperville, a historic, formerly r ural community with
a Main Street U.S.A. downtown district worthy of Norman Rockwell. (Naperville main-
tains a collection of 19th-centur y buildings in an outdoor museum setting kno wn as
Naper Settlement, with a lo vely river walk.) A t the museum, visit six “ neighborhoods,”
where kids can learn about ev erything from construction to ar t. It's a gr eat layout that
eliminates walls, so you can keep an eye on your kids even if they are in different exhib-
its. Creativity Connections brings art, math, and science together; w ee ones can enjo y
black, white, and red patterns to stimulate their brains, look at themselves in mirrors, and
change the color of a light's filter to see themselves in a new perspective, while older kids
can play with shado ws and light. Build It puts kid-siz e saws, hammers, and other r eal
tools in kids' hands and lets them build a chair for a B eanie Baby, or saw wood. (N ever
fear, staff members are on hand to make sure everyone stays safe.) The littlest ones get to
participate by hammering golf tees into Styrofoam and building with soft blocks. Make
It Move turns kids into scientists experimenting with gravity . AirWorks lets kids walk
through a wind tunnel and, with the wav e of a special wand, fill up an air sock. Water-
Ways shows kids how the power of water can be harnessed, and ho w to use sandbags to
stop the rush of a waterfall. (Waterproof aprons are on hand to keep clothes dr y.) Fami-
lies with v ery y oung childr en should plan to spend about an hour her e (or longer , if
attention spans allow). Older children will be happy here for 2 to 3 hours.
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