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.  

The post Chicago Museum of Science and Industry: 10 Insider tips appeared first on To & Fro Fam.

When I was a kid, I visited the Chicago Field Museum a handful of times, since we’d often stay with my relatives who lived nearby. I will never forget the visit when I met Sue—the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever discovered. I watched in awe through windows as experts in the museum painstakingly uncovered the fossils, removing centuries of sediment so the world could see this remarkable dinosaur. My own children had a chance to meet Sue for themselves when we recently visited the Chicago Field Museum.

Just as I remembered, Chicago’s natural history museum is enormous—I could spend all day in there and still only scratch the surface. Of course when you visit the Field Museum with kids, you don’t have the option of all that time: I wouldn’t want to endanger the fossils and other precious specimens with my kids’ volcano-like meltdowns.

I’m pretty sure you’ll run into the same problem when planning Chicago family travel: There’s just so much to see, so how do you make the most of your trip to the Field Museum?

This post answers exactly that. Below, I’ll answer what to see, how to prioritize your time, where to take breaks and much more when you visit the Field Museum with kids.

Say hi to Sue for us!

1. Don’t rush in.

The Field Museum’s grand foyer is one of the most impressive parts of the entire museum. Here, you’ll meet Maximo the Titanosaur (has a better name ever been given to a dinosaur?!) and a pair of breathtaking African elephants.

Overhead, hanging plants make you feel as if you might actually be in a jungle—albeit one made out of marble and fossilized limestone!

My girls didn’t even know what to do with themselves when we first arrived at the Field Museum. I think their brains were trying to process the fact we were walking in the shadow of the biggest dinosaur skeleton ever discovered. The scale of the Field Museum is way beyond anything they’d ever experienced.

(Are your kids as curious as mine were how the museum managed to get such a big dino inside? Then you’ll definitely want to watch this time lapse video of assembling Maximo the Titanosaur.)

2. Pick 3 things.

Either before you get to the Field Museum or when you first arrive, work with your kids to prioritize what you’ll see. Pick just three things you absolutely don’t want to miss.

I know, it’s hard to pick just three highlights in a 480,000 square feet museum. But share what the exhibits are about and ask your kids to each pick what they most want to see.

Dinosaurs were definitely top of our list (obvi). My girls also wanted to see the Egypt area: They’ve been really into ancient Egypt since we read the book Mummies in the Morning, which began our love affair with the Magic Treehouse series (affiliate link).

Anything you see beyond your three priorities is a bonus.

3. Start at the top.

It’s easier to climb the stairs when your kids are energetic and fresh. Start your visit to the Field Museum with kids at the top, then, and work your way down.

4. Interact with the exhibits.

Pushing every single button and watching every single video is not my favorite way of going through a natural history museum, but my kids are sure into it. And who am I to decide what the best way to see the Field Museum is?

Like just about everything in family travel, going at your kids’ pace will make for a much more enjoyable experience—for everyone. So let your kids interact with the exhibits in the way they want.

My girls loved watching the cartoons alongside fossilized dinosaur skeletons. Their favorite interactive aspect of the museum: A bellows that mimics the sound a dinosaur might have made!

5. Hunt for hidden details.

I marvel at the creativity that went into crafting the natural history scenes within the Field Museum—and I’m sure those artisans had a sense of humor, too. Don’t believe me? Then pay close attention to each exhibit—you’re sure to spot some “Easter eggs,” or well hidden bonuses that will make you smile.

My older daughter noticed a salamander-type creature hiding in the forest within the Evolving Planet exhibit. From that point on, she was a detective, hunting for hidden details. The mission made her pay closer attention to the displays and get the whole family excited whenever she found a hidden detail.

6. Pause for snacks.

I don’t know about your kids, but mine get crankier than a T Rex with a toothache when they need to eat. So bring snacks and make your way to the ground level. There’s a picnic area next to the marine mammals exhibit where you can sit, have a drink of water and replenish your blood sugar.

7. Eat a hearty lunch.

I’ve been to a lot of museums in my life, and hands-down, the Explorer Cafe is the best kid-friendly museum food I’ve ever encountered.

We stopped for lunch at the Explorer Cafe, where the macaroni and cheese was a clear favorite: My younger daughter, who is notoriously picky, polished off an entire bowl.

I ate a custom salad and a cup of coconut curry tofu soup. You’ll find usual museum cafe fare here—chicken tenders, burgers, sandwiches—but also a rotating menu of food you’d actually seek out if you were older than 5. On the day we visited, the museum cafe was serving Indian food—yum!

8. Watch for scary exhibits.

Years ago, I visited the Field Museum with my cousins when they were super young. We went to the Underground Adventure, which “shrinks” you to insect-size, so ants are enormous and you feel what it’s like to be bug-sized.

My little cousins hated it.

They were terrified of the horse-sized ants and cried until we whisked them to a different exhibit. So this go-’round to the Field Museum with kids, we skipped this exhibit. Know what your kids typically like (and don’t like) to avoid the parts that could be scary.

9. Pay for what you’ll use.

Like many museums, you can pay for extra features, like 3D movies and ticketed exhibitions. Before you pay extra for these features, realistically consider if they are a good fit for your kids.

We didn’t pay extra for any of the ticketed features of the Field Museum. There was plenty to see—more than we could reasonably explore—within the general admission exhibits.

10. Make connections to your home life.

My kids do this funny thing their teachers taught them in school: Whenever they make a connection to something we’re reading or talking about, they make a Y with their fingers and wiggle their hand back and forth. They were doing the “connection” sign all throughout the Field Museum!

Making connections between natural history and what they know from home or school is a terrific way to make science relevant. For example, in the Evolving Planet exhibit, my older daughter spotted trilobytes—and made the connection to the pill bugs we find in our yard at home. And when we saw a mastodon, my younger daughter said it reminded her of the movie Ice Age!

Finding similarities helps kids create novel neural pathways in their brains. Not coincidentally, the ability to connect two dissimilar things is the basis of creativity, which will serve your children throughout their lives.

11. Explore how science changes.

One video my kids watched dived into how scientists used to think that large dinosaurs (like Maximo the Titanosaurus) were mostly aquatic. But further investigation revealed that these huge animals wouldn’t have been able to breathe with just their heads sticking out of water. What’s more, by examining fossils of teeth, researchers realized that the patterns of wear and tear suggested they ate land plants, not soft water plants.

Visiting a natural history museum like Chicago’s Field Museum is a wonderful way to explore the scientific method. Looking at how scientists come up with a hypothesis, test it, weigh the evidence and reevaluate as needed also shows children that scientists rarely get it right the first time.

Seeing this principle in action demonstrates that persistence, open-mindedness and a willingness to make mistakes is how science advances. It shows kids that it’s ok to goof up.

12. See real scientists.

Science at this level can seem abstract to kids, but the Field Museum offers opportunities to make science more relatable.

Peek through glass windows to see experts working on fossils (like I did with Sue so many years ago!). Clearly, there’s potential for this to make a huge impression on a child, as it did on me.

If you visit the Field Museum on a Friday, make sure to check out the Meet a Scientist Program. Every Friday from 11-1, you can meet a conservationist, paleontologist or other scientist. Ask questions and get hands-on with real specimens from the museum.

Research shows that kids are more likely to consider careers in science and other STEM fields if they understand the wide diversity of jobs in these areas. Meeting a real scientist is a wonderful way to broaden your child’s idea of what is possible.

13. Visit the Play Lab

Unfortunately, the Field Museum’s Play Lab was closed when we visited; it’s open Thursday-Monday. Hands-on activities allow little ones to explore history, science and culture. They can climb into a dinosaur’s nest or play music with instruments from around the world.

If your kids have special needs, you can register for a private time to explore the Play Lab on Tuesdays. That way kids of all abilities and needs can explore through hands-on experiences.

How to save money on Field Museum tickets

Tickets to the Field Museum aren’t cheap; after all, the price of admission contributes to original research, preserving specimens, education outreach and much more beyond what you see in your day at the museum.

I get it, though, that if you’re going to the Field Museum with kids, all those tickets add up! So there are a couple of ways to save money at the Field Museum.

• Bundle museum passes with the Go Chicago Card. If you’re going to see many of the main Chicago attractions—such as the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum—it might be more cost effective to buy the Go Chicago Card. With this bundled pass, you pay one flat rate and you get entry into a whole list of family friendly attractions.
• Show your WIC card. If you receive help with buying food, for example from WIC or EBT, you can get tickets for $3 a person. Simply show your card when you buy entry.
• Show your Chicago address. If you live in Chicago, you can save $5 per ticket at the Field Museum.
• Go on a free admission day. Once or a few times a month, admission to the museum is free. You’ll save a lot of money at the Field Museum—but know it will be much busier than usual.

Enjoy the Field Museum with kids

I’m no psychic—pretty sure the experts at the science museum haven’t proved the existence of reading minds or seeing the future—but I’d bet you’re jazzed about going to the Field Museum in Chicago with kids.

What’s more, you’re ready to make the most of your trip to the Field Museum, now that you know how to prioritize the exhibits, where to get food, how to keep kids engaged and even how to save money on tickets.

Do you have any suggestions on how to go to the Field Museum with kids? Or tips you’ve picked up visiting other natural history museums? Please share them in the comments below!

PS – If you love dinosaurs as much as we do (and how could you not?!), you’ll want to read my posts on the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle.

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