Things to do / Travel Guide
Chicago and southern Wisconsin is a playground for kids of all ages! With numerous parks, oodles of attractions, and great places to eat- it's no wonder families flock to this region for fun family time!
Indiana Sand Dunes
Just north of Gary, Indiana, hugging the curves of Lake Michigan, the Indiana Sand Dunes are the perfect place for young'ins to expend their energies. With activities like hiking, horseback riding, biking, and swimming, and picnic tables for eating, it's easy to understand why the dunes are a perfect place for families.
Chicago
Museum Campus, just south of Grant Park, and its vicinity is one of the best city destinations the nation over! There are lots of museums and unique activities like the Adler Planetarium, where young astronomers can gaze up at the stars, the Shedd Aquarium, a place to see local fish and exotic species of shark, and the Field Museum of Natural History, where you can see the largest complete T-Rex fossil skeleton in the world. Not part of the complex, at the Museum of Science and Industry you can explore real and historic submarines, planes, and trains.
At Northerly Island you can catch your own salmon! While visiting the vicinity of Museum Campus it is highly recommended that dessert lovers of all ages try a churro - a fried Latin pastry with fillings like caramel and raspberry.
Right in the heart of the Loop is the Sears Tower, where kids can peer down on Chicago from a birds-eye view. On the Skydeck, atop the Sears Tower, the tallest building in North America, kids get their noses stuck to the windows peering out at four different states and feeling on top of the world. For another great opportunity to peer down at Chicagoans, the John Hancock Center's Observation Deck is the place to be!
World renowned artist Pablo Picasso envisioned the perfect statue for the city of Chicago. However, he may not have imagined children sliding down the ramp built into the structure. In the Loop across from Daley Plaza on Washington sits this beautiful creation, locally called the Chicago Picasso, that has parents puzzled by its meaning and kids curious to see how high they can climb up it! Along the lines of interesting art, Crown Fountain in Millennium Park is a sight to be seen. Patrons often find themselves a little wet after their visit because the two pictures projected on the screen shoot water out at the crowd - making a perfect sight for a hot summer day!
North of the Loop is the mother of all Ferris Wheels! Navy Pier is almost an amusement park that juts out into Lake Michigan and is full of activities like hands-on fountains, educational exhibits that seem more fun than education, and hi-tech rides. Navy Pier also has an abundance of kid friendly restaurants, which are great to experience after the stomach-churning rides.
Year round, Lincoln Park is fun for all ages. North of the Loop and west of Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park is home to the Lincoln Park Zoo, with cool exhibits like the anatomy of cockroaches. Walking around the Lincoln Park Zoo always makes a fun time, with paddle boats speckling the lagoons and crazy monkeys to look at! For music lovers and their parents, Blue Chicago on Clark offers smoke-free, kid-friendly jazz sessions on Saturday afternoons.
For some reason, folks of all ages love being told “what to do” if they order a hotdog WITH KETCHUP at the Weiner Circle in the Lincoln Park area. Kids love to try the Chicago dog while their parents get yelled at by the staff because they take too long to order or pay. This all happens at Ed Debevic's restaurant, where the old 1950s diner attitude still reigns.
Southern Wisconsin
For a family visiting southern Wisconsin, pride of place goes to Wisconsin Dells, the world's largest concentration of water parks. There are over 20 water parks in the vicinity, with such catchy names as Noah's Ark Waterpark and Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. You can also find mini-golf and go-carts. Going to Wisconsin for Christmas? Don't forget to pack the swimsuits, as these water parks are open year round. With the connected resorts they offer a one-stop vacation destination.
If your kid is a science buff, Milwaukee is a great place to explore! The Mitchell Park Conservatory in southern Milwaukee consists of three domes with different ecological systems. While this may not mean much to the kiddies, it gives them a chance to run around and explore plants exclusive to specific areas, like the Sahara desert or the Amazon rainforest.
Slightly northward, near Lake Michigan, kids can explore Discovery World with hands-on science labs, a T.V. studio, and aquariums galore! Also in northern Milwaukee is the Urban Ecology Center where the young and young at heart can play with animals and nature! After all that playing, nothing wraps up a good day like frozen custard, and Kopps Frozen Custard in northern Milwaukee is the place to go. Flavors at these parlors change on a daily basis.
Old World Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee, is much more than dusty old artifacts: With exhibits like a demonstration on cream separation, and an African-American settlement, kids will learn about what Wisconsin was like in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries without it feeling like a school lesson!
Madison is not as heavy on science or history, but kids can enjoy the Henry Villas Zoo near Lake Wingra in southern Madison. This zoo is home to over 800 animals and represents nearly 200 species! At the Madison Children's Museum, kids can learn all about the human body, dinosaurs, dreams, and more - all hands on and funned-up. For a more relaxing feel, take the kids swimming on Lake Monona at any of the five beaches.
Family Vacation Ideas in Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dells, Madison
Family-Vacation-Ideas
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