Chicago
Hyde park
Jackson Park was the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a splashy big world's fair with a city of white buildings, canals and lagoons, carnival rides, fun food (hamburgers, chewing gum) and the gigantic Ferris Wheel, 264 ft high, powered by a steam engine, and the biggest thing around. The ferris wheel is gone, but Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is housed in one of the buildings from the exposition.
Jackson Park -
Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- The museum is stacked full of big equipment, a real German submarine, airplanes, locomotives, farm equipment. Tour a coal mine, step up into a combine and tractor, learn about genetics with a chick hatchery.
Chicago has long been a train capital. Kids can imagine what it was like to ride the Pioneer Zephyr, a beautiful 1930's train, where you can wander through cab, baggage, first class and passenger compartments. In the Transportation Gallery watch model trains zipping through a huge layout of Chicago to Seattle.
Upstairs galleries have hands-on exhibits where kids can learn about electricity, light, magnetism, science storms with tornadoes, waves and avalanches.
Tip: Use
Chicago CityPass
and no waiting in long ticket lines.
The Garden of the Phoenix
- The gardens were originally a part of the 1893 world's fair, contributed by Japan. Today, explore a tranquil landscape with a lagoon, waterfalls, curving paths and stone lanterns and a moon bridge.
Robie House
- Frank Lloyd Wright, the "Father of American architecture," was a father in real life, he had six children, and when Wright designed houses for families, he had kids in mind. The Robie House, completed in 1910, was a great family space, with a huge big open playroom, protected play yard, and small garage for a toy motorcar.
Today, kids can go on a tour to explore the rooms of the Robie House featured in the book, The Wright 3.
