Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier

The Chicago Children's Museum is included with the purchase of a Go Chicago Card. (Buy Direct)

• Sunday through Wednesday and Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Thursday and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
• First Monday of the month: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Adults: $12; Children: $12; Seniors (65+): $11; Children under 1: free.

FREE DAYS
First Sunday of every month is free for visitors 15 and under (not valid for large groups of 15 people or more); Thursdays are free for all from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

(prices/free days as of 06/2011, subject to change)

Nestled in at one of Chicago's top tourist attractions, Navy Pier, the Chicago Children's Museum offers three floors of entertainment for the kiddies including permanent and traveling exhibits. The museum is definitely geared towards the younger set -- I brought my 10-year-old there and he was ready to go in about 10 minutes to hit the Pier's IMAX theater.

Exhibits include:

• Play It Safe - all about home safety
• Artabounds Gallery - family art exhibit
• BIG Backyard - a fantasy "urban garden"
• Dinosaur Expedition - features a mini expedition pit
• Inventing Lab - provides parts and instructions for creating unique gadgets
• Kids Town - a playroom recreating a Chicago neighborhood where kids can pretend to do things like shop for groceries and drive a CTA bus
• Climbing Schooner - a three floor climbing structure that resembles a ship rigging
• My Museum - kids get to create various art projects that are "all about me"
• Skyline - learn about skyscrapers and design your own
• Treehouse Trails - A play area designed like a forest
• Waterways - water activities demonstrating how pulleys, pumps, dams and rivers work

The Chicago Children's Museum is included with the purchase of a Go Chicago Card. (Buy Direct)