By far, one of my most favorite things to do in Chicago with kids is spending a whole day at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

This museum has been around since my dad grew up in Chicago. He spent his childhood in the city’s South Side and would go to the Museum of Science and Industry on school field trips or with my grandparents. He recommended I take the girls when I was looking up things to do in Chicago with kids—and I’m so glad he did.

When we traveled to Chicago as a family, this science museum was in all our highlight reel. The girls talked about all the fun hands-on exhibits and the fun they had here.

So if you’re looking for things to do in Chicago with kids, the Museum of Science and Industry should be at the top of your list.

It’s an enormous museum, so you’ll definitely want these tips on making the most of your trip to this Chicago science museum.

Tips to visit the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

1. Plan on a whole day

If I could have spent 24 hours inside this museum, I would have. It’s enormous and full of so many cool exhibits. Although the security guards definitely wouldn’t have let us stay past closing, we did spend pretty darn near a full day here. In fact, it’s the longest my kids have ever spent in one attraction—ever.

And for good reason! The Museum of Science and Industry is sprawled over five stories near the museum campus in Chicago (which houses the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum). The many exhibits—from the model train that travels over realistic terrain to a video installation that uses artificial intelligence to make you laugh—take up 400,000 square feet, which is six times the size of the White House.

So when you visit the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry with kids, I recommend not planning anything else that day. To take advantage of admission, you and your kids will want to explore to your heart’s content.

2. Take breaks

That said, no adult—let alone child—has the stamina to see all the museum’s exhibits in one go. So plan on taking breaks often (about every half-hour or so).

Thankfully, the museum was designed with families in mind, so you can rest on benches throughout the museum. When I went to the Museum of Science and Industry with my kids, we paused frequently. I never try to hurry them along when they want to rest. Their little legs have to work much harder than mine to walk around. I imagine the same goes for their minds, which must be on overdrive with so much to take in at a place like this Chicago science museum!

3. Go to the Idea Factory first

The Museum of Science and Industry’s most interactive, and most toddler-friendly, spot is the Idea Factory. This area, on the museum’s second floor, encourages hands-on play that teach principles of science.

With popularity comes, well, popularity: And to make sure this area isn’t overrun with crowds, you enter the Idea Factory via a timed ticket. So when you arrive at the Museum of Science and Industry, head straight here to get your ticket. Then keep an eye on the time so you and your kids get back to the entrance during the window allotted for you.

What makes this area so great? Well, my girls loved the spot where they could make plastic balls “float” on a stream of air, balance foam blocks with a miniature crane, build with Legos the size of shoe boxes, and send plastic balls sailing along a river that winds around the entire play space.

Best of all, though, is the Idea Factory’s Water Spectacle. At the back of this kid-friendly area, a crazy contraption as tall as a giraffe has been built—and simply begs to be played with. My girls squealed with delight as they shot water cannons at the contraption to make sirens blare, lights flash, wheels spin and water spill out of openings here, there and everywhere.

Honestly, my girls could have spent an hour on the Idea Factory alone. I didn’t want us to monopolize the water cannons, though, and I knew we had other parts of the science museum to see—so we moved along.

4. Research the museum—and hit up the spots that sparked interest

Before we even arrived in Chicago, my dad told the girls about when he went to the Museum of Science and Industry. He told them about the model train city, for example, and that stuck in my kids’ minds. Naturally, they wanted to see that area of the museum. What’s more, they insisted I take plenty of pictures so they could later show them to Grampa Shempy, as they call my dad.

So before you head to the Chicago science museum, look up the exhibits. Tell your kids what the museum will have on display. Pay attention to what they seem excited about, and use that enthusiasm to plan your way around the museum.

5. Know about trigger warnings

When we went to the Museum of Science and Industry, one of my dearest friends from high school met us there with her own kids. My friend and I took every opportunity we could to catch up in between corralling our four girls.

One of the first things we did was head to the U-505 submarine. It sounded so cool! After all, the museum has an actual submarine used in combat inside the museum.

But as we walked through the beginning of the exhibit, it was like running a gauntlet: Videos on every side showed historical clips of Adolf Hitler giving hate-filled speeches. Audio of explosions and planes dropping bombs pumped through the speakers. It was like full immersion into World War II.

I understand the intent behind the U-505 submarine’s design—plunging visitors into history using all their senses can help us better understand the past. But I was deeply uncomfortable in the exhibit, and I didn’t want my kids to linger.

Furthermore, my friend and her children are Jewish. I could feel my friend’s tension as she navigated her children through this area, with audio describing Hitler’s campaign to essentially exterminate people like them. It was awful.

Once we got through the introductory part of the exhibit, into the enormous room where the submarine is held, things got better… a bit. Although we weren’t being bombarded with audio clips from 1940s newscasts, there were interactive parts of the exhibit I wasn’t comfortable with. One spot invites kids to sit at the seat of a submarine and try to hit other boats with torpedoes. In my family, we don’t “play” guns or weapons. It’s our family’s philosophy that war, and shooting other humans, isn’t fun or appropriate for play. Yet my kids saw other children “shooting” boats and they wanted to try, too. This is a hard no for me, and I ended up having to carry my kindergartener—screaming—away from the mock torpedo launcher.

So if you visit the Museum of Science and Industry, know ahead of time what you’re getting into with the U-505 submarine exhibit.

6. Go to ice cream—if it’s open

When we talked about going to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, my aunt—whom we stay with whenever we visit—told us all about an old-fashioned ice cream parlor inside the museum. It sounded amazing!

Once we arrived at the museum, I used the ice cream parlor (which is on the TK floor) as incentive for my kids to keep going. I dangled it like a tempting carrot whenever their spirits started to sag.

We were all beyond excited when we got to Finnigan’s Ice Cream parlor within the Museum of Science and Industry—only to discover it was closed.

So before talking up museum ice cream with your kids, ask if it’s open when you buy admission or check the museum web site.

7. Pause for food

You can imagine my girls disappointment when I’d been promising them ice cream all day—and then the darn shop is closed. Thank goodness moms are known for quick thinking on their feet!

We skeedaddled straight to Starbucks, which is inside the museum on the TK floor, for a consolation prize. My kids ended up being plenty satisfied when I bought them each a chocolate-Oreo pudding. It was a win-win, since I ended up getting a giant cup of black tea. The caffeine helped fortify me for the rest of our stay!

We also ate lunch in the Brain Food Court. I appreciated that this museum food court had several choices for the types of food it offered. I got a veggie burger for myself at the grill; Maxine got a kids’ meal of pasta and salad from the Italian shop; and Edie got a mish-mash of foods like yogurt and fruit from the grab-and-go area.

I appreciated that healthy foods were easily available. Kids’ meals came with salad or fruit, and the food court made it easy to choose healthy options. I spent $36 for the three of us to eat lunch—definitely not cheap, but also not much more than you’d pay at a restaurant outside the museum.

8. Move your body

Museums are typically thought of places to exercise your mind. At the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, though, visitors are encouraged to exercise their bodies, too.

I absolutely loved the YOU! The Experience exhibit, on the TK floor. This interactive area explored the human body, from muscles and veins to psychology and perception.

I so appreciate when children can learn by doing. If your kids are anything like mine, they don’t care as much about the lessons—the principles behind whatever it is you’re trying to teach them—as they do about trying out a real-live murderball wheelchair or learning to break dance from an expert.

Also, they just want to play in a gigantic hamster wheel.

Thank goodness the people designing the Museum of Science and Industry included this! Kids spend so much time in museums keeping their bodies still—looking but not touching or doing—that they need to let loose all that pent-up energy.

My girls loved all these activities that got them to dance, jump, run, push and play. I’d bet your kids will love this exhibit just the same.

I have to note that Edie didn’t love one area. I was surprised, because Edie is such a curious kid and is constantly asking questions about how things work. So when we saw see-through human forms with the veins and nervous system mapped out, I expected her to soak it in. Instead she started crying and collapsed into a heap on the floor. I had to carry her away from the human models.

Similarly, the YOU! The Experience exhibit has an area that displays fetuses to show the stages of human development. We skipped that section because I thought it would freak out Edie.

9. Wonder out loud

I love science museums in part because they inspire my kids to think big. Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry was no different.

My kids came up with lots of questions on their own while we explored the science museum, and I voiced my own, too. Kids model their behavior after the example you set. That’s less than ideal when they repeat certain four-letter words they’ve heard you utter, but awesome when it comes to wondering how things work and coming up with hypotheses.

So as you wander the Museum of Science and Industry, ask these questions out loud. Use phrasing like

“I wonder how…”

“I noticed that… and I wonder why?”

“Maybe this happens by…”

Your kids may jump in with answers—or questions of their own. Take the time to explore those questions. Their creative, out-of-the-box thinking might come up with totally wacky ideas. (Those are my favorites!) Or they may surprise you with an answer that’s spot-on.

Together, we wondered how in the world they got these trains and planes inside the museum!

10. Pack snacks for the way home

Whether you took the El to the Museum of Science and Industry or you did as we did and parked in the super-convenient parking garage below, make sure you have food for the trip home.

You and your kids have just spent several hours walking and thinking hard. Add to that the fact that your kids, like mine, may not eat that well when they’re surrounded by distractions (let alone awesome distractions like indoor tornadoes) and you’ve got some hungry kids on your hands.

In fact, research has shown that thinking hard—by learning something new at a museum, for example—causes glucose (aka blood sugar) levels to drop. That, in turn, tells your body to eat more food. (In the study, participants who did memory and analysis tasks ate 250 calories more than people who spent time relaxing. Isn’t science cool?!)

So pack good brain food—fruit leather, peanut butter crackers, string cheese, tofu dogs—for your ride home. Your kids will need to feed their minds!

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry: Insider tips

Are you already planning your trip to this amazing science museum in Chicago? Something tells me you are, especially if you’re looking for things to do in Chicago with kids.

When I talk to friends who are planning a family vacation to Chicago, or the Midwest in general, I always tell them about the Museum of Science and Industry. Most of them have never heard of it, which I swear is a crime. So I’m doing my best to make sure you’re in the know.

I mean, where else can you create a sand storm, hop aboard an antique trolley, ride a real combine harvester and watch chicks hatch in front of your very eyes?

I’d hate for you to miss out on one of my favorite family-friendly destinations in Chicago. So save this link, pin it to your family travel Pinterest board and send it to a friend.

Now that you’ve read what to do and what to skip at this Chicago science museum, you’re prepared to plan the best possible trip. So go ahead: Get curious and go!

While you’re in Chicago, you’ll also want to go to the Field Museum. Read all about the Chicago natural history museum in my post, which contains 13 tips to make the most of your visit.