July 28th, 2010 larry
My 5 year old is a bit of a dare devil and has been loving the rock climbing walls at Pump It Up and many of the street festivals this summer. I decided to step it up a notch and take him out to Vertical Endeavors in Warrenville (near Naperville). They are the largest indoor rock climbing facility in the state with 18,000 square feet of climbing surface, offering challenges for all levels of climbers. There is a $15 daily entry fee per climber and they have a rental package for $10 that includes climbing shoes, harness, belay tool and chalk bag. Vertical Endeavors is open Monday-Saturday 10am-10pm and Sunday 10am-6pm.
Vertical Endeavors is located inside a beautiful Life Time Fitness facility. When you arrive at the front desk just inform them that you are going to Vertical Endeavors. They will have you show photo ID and sign some waivers. You will then be escorted to the very impressive climbing area. Here you’ll meet the young and enthusiastic staff that will help you get started. Unless you have your own equipment, you’ll need to rent a harness ($4) and belay tools ($4). We spent $10 for the entire rental package, so in addition we got climbing shoes and a chalk bag (for keeping your hands dry). I have to say the shoes made getting your footing much easier then with bigger everyday gym shoes - well worth it. During orientation our guide explained that one half the climbing area is for experienced climbers. Those climbers need to know how to belay, which is holding the safety rope for your climbing partner, and be at least 14 years old. The other side of the climbing area is for climbers of all ages and experience levels. It uses an Auto-Belay system that does not require a climbing partner or much training. That’s where we spent our visit. The guide got us into our gear and gave us an orientation on how to use the Auto-Belay system. Then we were off!
Wow - I had never tried rock climbing before and it is harder then I expected. Even though you are strapped in and completely safe there is a part of you that still has to get used to the height and fear of falling off the wall. My son did not seem to have these fears so I had to suck it up and get climbing. There are all different levels to try. One wall is specifically for families and young climbers. It has big foot holds and many whimsical shapes of animals, letters, and bugs to grab onto. Then there are other areas that are numerically ranked in levels of difficulty. This was helpful as we were getting used to the climb. In all there are 21 auto-belays, so there are a lot of paths to choose from. By the end of our visit to Vertical Endeavors my son had found the climbing paths that had bells at the top. With determination he worked his way up the entire 30 foot wall and rang the bell with pride. It was worth the trip out to Warrenville and we will definitely be returning.
BTW - If you live in the area Vertical Endeavors offers climbing camps throughout the year. There are still spots available in August for children ages 6-16. The August camps are offered the first three weeks of the month and cost $180 per week.
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June 29th, 2010 larry
Since the opening of Brookfield Zoo in 1934, this zoo has had the reputation for taking a cutting edge role in animal care and conservation of the natural world. The creation of its new outdoor exhibit, Great Bear Wilderness, is definitely a commitment to these goals. The state-of-the-art, naturalistic Great Bear Wilderness is the largest exhibit ever
built at Brookfield Zoo.
This is the new home to North American animals, specifically polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, and bison. The exhibit recreates the North American wilderness, featuring hilly terrain, prairie expanses, rockwork, pools, a waterfall, and fallen trees. The bison habitat includes a 1.5 acre grassy landscaped area. There is a huge underwater viewing area of the bears. The bald eagle and raven habitat has a perching tree and a nesting platform that is bounded by a virtually invisible mesh barrier. The Regenstein Wolf Woods is now a part of Great Bear Wilderness.
When you step onto the winding path leading through Great Bear Wilderness, you begin a journey of discovery. As you continue to walk, you’ll not only view the many animals in their natural habitats, you will also learn about their past, their present status, and threats to their survival. There are viewing areas that allow you to go eye-to-eye with bison, grizzly bears, and polar bears. You can look up to a herd of bison from a tunnel underneath their prairie habitat, or you can peer through the glass in underwater viewing to watch the polar bears. You’ll experience multi-media encounters, including listening to an audio recording of a bison stampede and viewing footage of the animals’ natural habitats.
The day we went was a warm day so we didn’t see any grizzly bears roaming outside. However, the polar bears did seem to enjoy their underwater swim in the cool water. There was quite a large crowd at this expansive viewing area, and our grandson patiently waited until it was his turn to be at the window and to be up close and personal to these large bears. We did get a peek at the wolves as they quickly came out of their cave and quickly went back inside. When we ate lunch, our picnic table at the Bison Prairie Grill was next to the fence where the bison roam. As the bison grazed, he came up to the fence, and we were thrilled to see a bison that close to us.
We also had a great time discovering and laughing as we compared the wing span of an eagle to the arm span of our 5 year old grandson. We were also able to compare our grandson’s height to that of a bear cub and an adult bear. These interactive displays were very interesting, informative, and fun to do. We had a wonderful day at the zoo and particularly at Great Bear Wilderness. Although some areas of the zoo charge an additional entrance fee, this exhibit is free. The Motor Safari lets you off near the exhibit so a minimal of walking is needed to get there. Also you’ll find a picnic area right there. A playground is adjacent to the picnic tables for a nice change of pace for the children.
Go and enjoy a day outdoors with the animals!!
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June 17th, 2010 larry
A few times last summer, I would be visiting one of the pools in Skokie and the rain would ruin the day. Luckily, Skokie’s Exploratorium was right around the corner to save the day and not put too much of a damper on our summer event. Unluckily, the Exploratorium closed for renovations over the winter and we could not enjoy it the last few months. Luckily, the Exploratorium opens this Friday on June 18 with updated equipment, old favorites and brand new stuff.
If you have never been to the Exploratorium, it is in the basement of Skokie’s park district building. The highlight and claim to fame is its 2+ story climbing maze with cylinders to crawl through, grappling hooks to swing on, levels to climb up, punching bags to dodge and push, and twisting slides that take you to the bottom so you can climb up again. The super safe structure often finds Moms and Dad’s contorting themselves through the maze helping their kids get to the top. Your knees will scream in pain as your kids scream, “Again!” The maze is still there and has been renovating and reinforced. New to the Exploratorium will be a climbing wall to further test your kid’s monkey skills.
The Exploratorium is launching a brand new water area this summer. In the past the water area came with rain coats, a thunderstorm exhibit, and a place to play with plastic toys in water. The water area is new and will have brand new exhibits for the summer.
Another favorite that has been updated is the costume area. Different than any other place we have ever been, the Exploratorium has a stage with tons of costumes in a changing area. Everything from swashbuckling pirates, superheroes, princesses, dancers, circus stars, police, and fireman had costumes for kids to try on. It was very typical to see ad-hoc plays and musicals put on by various kids or sets of kids, sometime all going on at the same time. The stage and costume area still exists and have been updated with new costumes and a new look.
The Exploratorium always had educational material including places to draw and color, read, arts and crafts, and computers. The computers have several applications including reading games, math exercises and various science learning material. Added to all of this is now a music wall exhibit where kids can see if they will be the next American Idol.
The Exploratorium was a great place that has just been updated and we’ll undoubtedly be going during its re-opening this weekend. The Exploratorium is $3 a person for residents of Skokie and $5 for non-residents.
Larry and Donna
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May 4th, 2010 larry
After seeing Planet 51 on Saturday morning, my kid had so many questions about outer space we went to check out the new exhibit at the Adler Planetarium, Planet Explorers. Sponsored by Boeing, Planet Explorers is a fun way to educate kids on the space program. Planet Explorers is free with admission which is $10 for adults ($8 for Chicago residents) and $6 for kids ($5 for Chicago residents). Also, currently playing at the Planetarium is three movies: Night Sky Live, Cosmic Collisions (narrated by Robert Redford), and One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure.
But we were there to see the new Planet Explorers exhibit. The exhibit is a combination of interactive games and learning as well as physical activity. When you walk in, it starts with telescopes where you can look at a fake sky and practice looking at the stars. But we quickly found costumes which is the key to a successful museum visit. At the Shedd, you can wear SCUBA equipment and my kid played with the submarine for over an hour. At Adler, your kid can wear a really cool astronaut jacket and a moonwalk backpack. He didn’t take it off for the 2 hours we were there.
Once in uniform, we checked out the various exhibits. On the interactive game side, you can take off and land a rocket (you watch the planet get close while landing and far away on take off), you can also go through a countdown where the computer gives you information on space ships and asks you to hit different color buttons (fake smoke and fire show up at launch), you can search for your house by zooming in on the earth (you can actually get close enough to see your own house, our picture was about 2 years old because we still had the sandbox in the back), and you can steer a robotic arm in space to turn on different light, and you can use a joystick to dock your space ship at the space station. Through many of these games, you are exploring and learning about a fictitious planet called Planet X (which I told my kid was right next to Planet 51).
On the physical side there was just as much fun. There are remote control planet rovers that you can steer around the surface of Planet X, you can crawl under Planet X and pop up above the surface in these little bubbles to say hit to your parents, there were spongy moon rocks that you can use to build things or throw at your friends and parents, there was a space station erector set, and maybe most interestingly was an area that gave you the feeling of walking in space. This last exhibit was really interesting. The room was pitch dark with little points of light and you walked on a little bridge that was completely see through and dark underneath. It was pretty disorienting and my kid must have walked through it 50 times, pretending he was space walking.
All in all, our kid loved the exhibit and learned a little bit about space travel and the planets. The exhibits were still a little new and some of the technology was a little clunky, and in the case of the remote control rovers, really buggy. But if you want to walk into space in a fantastic astronaut jacket, this is a great place to kill a couple of hours.
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Larry and Donna
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April 7th, 2010 larry
Rink Side is located in Gurnee, directly in Gurnee Mills and is a combination of indoor sports and arcades for ages 5 and up. Rink Side is open 7 days a week including Christmas and Thanksgiving but we found it very conveniently open on Easter when even the bar we wanted to go to or lunch was closed.
We started with Mini Golf which cost $5 a person. The Mini Golf is black light lit with an underwater theme. Holes include hitting into a shark’s mouth, golfing underneath a turtle, with coral obstacles. The golf course wasn’t too dark or too difficult and the 5 year old got a hole in one when he took a break from looking at his bright white socks under the black light.
The arcade has a great deal where you get $5 of free tokens if you buy $20. There isn’t really anything unusual in the arcade but they have a big kids section (guns and battle), lots car and motorcycle racing, skeeball, mini-bowling, and air hockey. We didn’t think the games were that new or original, but it didn’t stop us from spending $20.
The laser tag is pretty straight forward. It was one level with cyclinders standing all over the arena where you can hide behind and ambush opponents. The laser tag arena takes up to 24 people which is great for parties. When it is not too crowded, they will begin a game whenever you want and you get about 15 minutes worth of playing time. Laser Tag is $6 per person or two games for $5 a person or three games for $4.
If that is not enough for you there is also an ice skating rink (for open hours, hockey, and lessons) and a tornado carnival ride. There seemed to be a million things to do at Rink Side and everytime we stopped playing, we saw something new to do. The people were especially nice and helpful which doesn’t alway happen at the bigger entertainment complexes. The food was nothing special but who has time to eat anyway when you have laser tag and ice skating. We don’t think this is the right place for kids under 5, maybe 4 at the youngest, but we did over 3 hours at Rink Side and could have done 3 more.
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Donna and Larry
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March 17th, 2010 larry
After playing with our new Monster 4 LEGO board game all weekend, we decided to take a trip back to LEGOLAND to see what was new and interesting. LEGOLAND is in Schaumburg in the Streets of Woodfield Mall and showcases master LEGO creations, general LEGO toys and pieces, movies, and rides. Tickets are anywhere from $12-$22 a person depending on when you want to go, but unlimited access is only $32/year if you have a LEGO junkie.
The last time we visited LEGOLAND was right after they opened in Summer 2008. At the time we were very excited about the newaddition to the Chicago children’s scene. But I have to say many things have changed about LEGOLAND in the last year and a half, including my opinion of it.
The entire first floor that showcases amazing LEGO creations by Master LEGO Builders is very similar, if not identical to the way it was 2 years ago. It is educational, beautiful, and a highlight of the visit. You enter into Miniland Chicago. The LEGO people surveyed locals to find out which buildings were most iconic to Chicagoans and scaled them down perfectly. These replicas are stunning and it’s fun to go through and pick out your favorite architectural landmarks — brownstones, Sears Tower, John Hancock, and Museum of Contemporary Art are just a few. The space then flows into the Jungle Expedition, again a mind-boggling display of LEGO art. You can choose to pick up an age-appropriate scratch card so you can look around the Jungle and answer questions with your kids.
Next is the Hall of Fame with pop culture characters made of LEGOs, which brings you to the Dragon Ride, a tame amusement-parkish ride through a medievil world. It’s not scary, but does include a Dragon and a dark space with bats on the ceiling. Nothing looks too realistic since, of course, everything is made of LEGOs.
Upstairs is the LEGO Factory, which briefly and comically shows how LEGOs are made. All children get to take a souvenir LEGO as they exit. The 4-D movie is Bob the Builder and is an enjoyable 14 minutes. You wear 3-D glasses and the 4-D effects are added with blowing air, spraying water, and falling snow. The movie is very simple, but if your kids scare easily they may not like being surprised by the 4-D effects.
The LEGO Playzone, where all of the action is, has gone through major changes. All of which are negative. Where there used to be six different LEGO areas, organized by age, there are now only three. Gone are the areas for older builders, the “earthquake” zone, and the dedicated toddler area. The space is now being used for a weak revolving amusement park ride. Pretty disappointing considering this is LEGOLAND.
The car building area is different. Parents now have to hand over their ID to be given tires for your kid to build a car, so you’ll be watching like a hawk any time the car crashes and comes apart. There are a lot less options of LEGOS to build with as well. In the past you could make monster trucks and pull back cars, but all those pieces are no longer offered. There used to be car chassis, but now the kids just have LEGO to use. This isn’t inherently bad, but the cars do not stay together as well.
Kids still have a ton of fun in this area though. You can climb stairs to two different ramps to zoom your cars down. For little kids, you may want to help your kid out by standing at the bottom of the ramp to retrieve their car because it is quite competitive and kids swarm the cars at the bottom. Even better than the ramps is the race track. The race track is also a ramp with a silver gate that you place the cars behind. There are 5 or 6 slots for cars to race at a time. Pushing a button on the track causes a timer to count down from three. The light goes from red to green after the screen says 1, the silver gate lowers and the cars race down the track. Kids cheer on their cars, there are crashes, and the pandemonium to retrieve the car and place it back on the track for the next race is on. Sometimes, kids line up cars two or three deep for the race.
LEGO Girls has morphed into a girls area called Princess Palace. It is surprisingly isolated in it’s own little area. All of the LEGOs are some shade of pink, and cars are replaced with dolls, houses, and animals. I would not say that all of the girls were playing in Princess Palace, but definitely the majority. Right in this area is also a Model Workshop. Model builders will teach kids how to build complicated LEGO structures every 60 minutes or so. The climbing maze is still there as well.
The area with oversized LEGO’s is great, but I miss the dedicated toddler area. The day we were there, big kids were building forts and skyscrapers only to knock them over. There is no way it would have been safe for a little child to be in there with them.
Overall, my impression of LEGOLAND was not as good as it was two years ago. The rides and the 4-D movie are pretty lame. Kids might try them once, but they are no reason to visit LEGOLAND. Honestly, there is no way you come back to LEGOLAND for anything other then the LEGO Playzone, and they have made this area less family friendly then it was in the past. We had an enjoyable 1.5 hour visit, but I do not believe it is worth the entrance fees they charge. That being said, there are a lot of coupons for LEGOLAND out there. If you can get a 2 for 1 coupon or the $5 admission deal, you should go and see for yourself.
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Donna
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March 2nd, 2010 larry
With the recent demise of CoCo Key it is not easy to find water slides in the winter where you don’t have to leave the state. But we were anxious and needed a water slide fix so we checked out Water Works in Schaumburg on the weekend and went to the Glenn for Splash Landings on Wednesday to check out their indoor water slides. Water Works is $7 for adults and $5 for kids for residents and $2 more for non-residents. Glenview’s facility is $5.75 per person.
We arrived at Water Works around 1:00 and it was deep in the heart of Schaumburg. The locker rooms are in good condition and have room for lots of lockers. When you leave an ID at the front desk, you get a key to one of the lockers which is nice so you don’t have to drag everything out to the pools. But the water facilities are what really makes this place impressive.
Water Works has two decent size water slides, conveniently painted red and blue. There is one enclosed slide that is pretty fast and an open slide that is equally fun. We were a little surprised that the slides dumped into about 4 feet of water but the 4 and 5 year olds we were with had no trouble navigating it. Then there was a kids water park that was in about 2-3 feet of water. It had small slides, fountains shooting out of the floor, hoses to spray each other with, and buckets of water that always seem to dump on the adults. There is also a little whirlpool action toward the end of the kids’ play area. You walk into a kind of walled off section and the current just whips you through.
There is a full Olympic size pool for adult and kids swimming with lanes and then there are two diving boards. But the highlight of the water park is the slide in the deep area pool (12 feet deep) by the diving boards. It is basically a small half slide about 10 feet over the water. The slide doesn’t reach the water (that is the half slide concept) and the slide is completely vertical. So it is just one small step from being a high dive, but instead you can sit down, slide down - extremely fast, and hit the water with a very loud smack. My kid ran straight for it and must have gone down it almost 10 times while we were there.
Water Works has a snack shop with the essentials of hot dogs, chips, pizza, and pretzels. I don’t think you are supposed to bring your own food, so the snack shop was a nice rest area.
Splash Landings has not made quite the same investment as the Water Works. There is an olympic size pool and then a kids pool. There is a big twisty slide that is pretty fast and then some standard water falls, fountains and sprays. It is a nice place and when there are a lot of kids around it is pretty fun.
For the money, Water Works is an exceptional value. It is no commercial water slide, but it has plenty to do and there were kids there as old as 10 or 11 having a fantastic time. We did at least 3 hours there and brought home 2 kids that did not even make it to the toll both before they crashed out asleep. We highly recommend the Water Works.
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Larry and Donna
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February 24th, 2010 larry
Is there really family friendly skiing right here in the Chicago suburbs?
One seemingly uneventful Sunday morning turned into a surprisingly wonderful outing when we discovered Villa Olivia in the western suburb of Bartlett, Illinois. For those of you unfamiliar with Villa Olivia (as we were), it is a banquet hall and country club in the summer that doubles as a downhill ski area in the winter. Villa Olivia’s ski area is complete with several 1/4 mile runs, a chair lift, several bunny hills and a few tow ropes. While this is no Vail or Killington, Villa Olivia offers a pretty decent midwestern ski experience for families or skiers of all ages who are either learning to ski or who just want a taste of the slopes close to home. In addition to downhill skiing, Villa Olivia also offers snowboarding as well as a section of the mountain dedicated to snowtubing.
Whether you plan to ski, snowboard, or snowtube, equipment is available for rent, and is offered in adult and child sizes. As far a skiing goes, adult lift tickets on weekends are about $37 ($27 for juniors and $12 for kids under 7) with ski rentals running about $26 for skis, boots and poles ($22 for juniors and $19 for children under 7). Snowboards with boots can be rented for $25 for an hour or $39 for up to 8 hours. Snowtubing runs about $20 for 2 hours, but participants must be age 6 or 42″ tall to ride alone. Helmets can be rented for the day for $5, but availability is limited.
In addition to open skiiing, boarding and tubing, Villa Olivia also offers lessons, privately or in groups. An hour of private ski or snowboarding lessons runs about $40, plus lift ticket and rental fees. They also offer many group lesson options for kids ages 4-9. Generally, these sessions runs for three days and cost about $125 (including lift tickets and rentals). The times of the lessons and exact costs can be obtained on the villa Olivia website at www.villaolivia.com.
On the weekend, the hills open at 9:30am and close at 11:00pm on Saturday and 10:00pm on Sunday. During the week, hours of operation begin at 4:30pm and end at 10:00pm (11:00pm on Friday night).
Overall, Villa Olivia is not enough of a mountain (or hill) to appease intermediate or advanced skiers, but it is a great place to bring the kids or to learn for yourself. If your kids are watching the Olympics and getting the itch for some winter sports, this is a great place to take them. It offers all the necessary ski experiences and is a great way to get yourself or your little ones comfortable on the slopes. Villa Olivia does have snow-making, so it is a reliable outing if you are looking to hit the slopes close to home.
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February 17th, 2010 larry
We visited and reviewed eSkape over a year ago and so we thought it was time to check it out again and see what was new. eSkape is right off of Lake Cook Road includes bowling, laser tag, arcade, a bar, and a restaurant. Since our last visit, they got rid of the batting cages.
For bowling, eSkape allows you to pay by the hour or the game. We knew we were not going to last long so we did by the game ($3.95 per person). Setting up the names on the computerized scoring was easy, and it was fairly simple to find where we could set up the gutter bumpers for the kid. They still keep the kids balls behind the counter, so you just need to ask to get one in the 6 pound range. Our kid did not throw a ball in the wrong lane this time and actually got over 100. He is still absolutely mesmerized by the ball return though. When we got there, they had kind of the rock and bowl thing going. It was dark, misty, with flashing lights. They turned on the lights a little later on in the afternoon.
The video arcade has not expanded in the last year. They have the essentials like skee ball, basketball hoops, car racing, spider stomp, Mario kart, and the core military, secret agent games. But this is really off to the side and not the core part of the facility.
They have moved the laser tag to where the batting cages used to be and have closed up the entrance to where the laser tag was. The technology is still the same. Your kid needs to be coordinated enough to hold the laser in a certain way and the vest and equipment weighs about 2 pounds or so. There were 10 people in the laser tag area when we got there and we played free for all. Everyone got shot and had some good shooting. My kid kept trying to use the advanced functions (shields and grenades) which I think distracted him. The downside to the move is that there is only one floor to the laser tag arena so the ramps and upper deck are gone.
We had a great afternoon at eSkape. They do one of the best jobs we have seen to catering to many different age groups, including adults. They have drink specials at night and on the weekend for the adults, a fairly decent restaurant where we ate lunch, and bowling and laser tag that supports all ages. They differentiate by not focusing on video games and mre on the physical entertainment aspects. They don’t have bouncies or cater to the really little children. So we would say for 4 and up, this is a great place that has enough variety to fill an afternoon or a birthday party.
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February 4th, 2010 larry
Get excited parents, there’s a great new place to take your children, Make-A-Messterpiece. WOW, WOW, WOW! I was completely impressed by the originality of this business. The Messterpiece folks have created a fabulous play place where kids can learn new things, have physical activity, play with unique tools, and create art. Make-A-Messterpiece is located in the Glen Tower Center, Glenview. They are open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-5pm. There are a number of pricing options for guests.
The standard Studio Fee is $10 ($2 for children under 2). This includes unlimited use of the Open Art area, which is filled with paints, markers, easels, tables and a variety of art materials, and two play areas. One play area is for children 0-2 years and the other for 2+. The 0-2 area is filled with over-sized soft blocks, ride-on toys, books, bouncers, and age appropriate toys. The 2+ area has a climbing structure, slide and playhouse. Aside from just open play, this area has been utilized by parents for doing some messier school projects that they didn’t want to do at home.
The really unique experiences come from 5 specialty areas. For an additional $5 per activity, your child can choose from:
Kids Creative Kitchen teaches science and math through healthy cooking projects. On the day we visited the project was Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Of course the kids do everything, as the leader teaches them about the ingredients, “Baking soda makes cookies fluffy!” Not only were the cookies yummy, they were VEGAN! Love it.
Bubbleology is something you will only see at Make-A-Messterpiece. They have designed a machine that produce bubbles infused with color, so that when your child holds a paper underneath the bubble tube, falling bubbles leave marks. As your child moves from color to color the art project develops. Stencils can be used to create fun designs. This was a huge favorite with out kids.
Lil’ Sprouts is used for gardening and environmentally conscious projects. Recently kids were taught about Carbon Footprints, and on our visit we did a project where spaghetti was repurposed as a painting tool in “Pollock Pasta.”
Experimentation Station will please any curious little scientist. We saw many happy kids making slime to take home to play with. They also taught the kids about chemical reactions with a Volcano Project.
Drum Roll is super-fun play a la Blue Man Group. After the kids suit up from head to toe in protective gear (shower caps, boots, goggles, jackets) they enter a booth filled with drums and paint. The kids then go to town drumming and making a HUGE mess. Too much fun.
Currently Make-A-Messterpiece is offering some great packages: A punch card with 20 activites for the price of 15 and 10 all access passes for the price of 5.
Messterpiece’s staff is exceptional. Many have degrees in creative arts, elementary education, art therapy, or childhood development. The staffers we met were young, friendly and energetic. You can just tell that they genuinely like children and enjoy their jobs. They are actively involved with the kids the entire time: playing, teaching, assisting.
This kind of attentive staff leaves parents the option to relax in Club M. Comfy sofas and chairs are plentiful, as are magazines and inexpensive snacks and beverages. Free WiFi is available and parents can watch their kids playing in various areas of the play place via video feeds on flat screen TVs. Club M is attached to the 0-2 play area for direct access to the smallest children.
Weekends are the busiest time to visit Messterpiece. As you can imagine, it has already become a popular birthday party venue. On Saturday, Sunday and school holidays allow plenty of time. Arrive as early in the day as possible, since kids are scheduled for activities on a first-come, first-served. If you can, visit during the week. We went on a Wednesday afternoon and were able to do everything we wanted without waiting.
We are the lucky folks who get to enjoy the first Make-A-Messterpiece in the country. It is the brainchild of a successful marketing expert and father. You will notice the product placement around the store from their sponsor, Bounty. It’s a match made in heaven that helped bring the concept to life.
I’m telling you, Make-A-Messterpiece is a real gem. This is one of those rare places that can entertain your 12, 8, 4, and 2 year olds. It is a fresh take on the best play places, combining art, science, cooking, physical activity, music and fun. The space is open and contemporary, with high ceilings and lots of natural light. Parents will be so comfortable that they can enjoy themselves as much as the kids.
***Many thanks to Crazy Kids Member Jamie for telling us about Make-A-Messterpiece! This type of contribution by our members helps makes Crazy Kids Chicago a great resource for Chicagoland parents. Please feel free to contact us, we love hearing from you.
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