June 15th, 2008 larry
If you like learning about grass, trees, insects, and small animals; if your kid is interested in wading in a small lake and holding a tadpole in their hand; if you like examining the furs of raccoons and skunks; then the Morton Aboretum is exactly where you want to be. The Morton Arboretum is a beautiful place that shows off nature at its best. The Arboretum is in Lisle off Interstate 88 in the west suburbs. If you are traveling there from Chicago, do not get in the express lanes on 88 because there is not an exit until what feels like Iowa. You’ll miss the Arboretum by about 8 miles. On the weekends, it is $9 for parents and $6 for kids. Wednesday seems to be the day of the deals if you are available during the week.
The special exhibit running now through July 20th is David Rogers’ Big Bugs, extremely large bugs carved out of wood — you can actually see them from the highway. At the entrance, your kids will get a Bug Detective book which provides pictures and information on each of the insects. Our kid ran around the place looking for big bugs and trying to match it to a picture in a book. It didn’t hurt that the book comes with a big Bug Detective sticker that he could wear on his shirt.
Once in the Arboretum, there is a 4-acre Children’s Garden. The play area has all sorts of exhibits that will teach you about nature. At the entrance of the children’s area are all sorts of pun-like jokes about nature inscribed on child height signs. You have to pick up the lid to get to the punch line (What is a tree’s favorite television program? Elm-o). There are two mini-lakes for catching tad poles (The Secret Stream and the Wonder Pond), there are several water pumps to learn about irrigation, farming, and water (Windmill Garden), and there is an arts and crafts area where you can make your own bugs out of egg cartons.
Besides hiking around the grounds, there is some physical activity at the Arboretum. There are a couple of different tree houses to climb. The first house (Under The Trees) has a rope walk that the kids have to balance on to get across and then you have to climb up and down ropes to get through the tree house maze. The other tree house (Evergreen Lookout) has lots of wobbly bridges and this is where some of the sample furs of different animals like skunks and raccoons were laid out. They had little telescopes so kids can look for animals that the Arboretum has hid in the nearby trees. There is also a big set of ropes made to look like spider webs that the kids can try to crawl across called Grassy Meadow.
The Arboretum is a beautiful outdoor museum, and with the new emphasis on everything “green” it is not a bad start to helping your kid appreciate the environment. It is definitely an educational venue first and foremost and tries to mix in some fun activities to help your kids learn about nature. In the end, you will get out of it, what you put into it. When our kid goes with his grandparents, they read every sign on insects, they quiz him, and he gets excited about the next bug. He comes back talking about daddy long legs, beetles, and grasshoppers. If you just walk around and expect to be entertained, you’ll probably come away disappointed. The food is good and healthy, but they also encourage picnics and the Arboretum is a stunning place to eat outside.
Review this blog and Morton Arboretum
Larry and Donna
Mom Says: The Big Bugs exhibit is definitely worth seeing, but know in advance that the kids can’t climb on the sculptures (this was a big disappointment to our son). There are also several concerts this summer including Ralph’s World (July 12 & 13), Paula Cole (July 12), and Chris Isaak (August 16). Bring plenty of sunscreen and a big water bottle!
Dad Says: The Italian sausage at the outdoor grill was pretty good and you should try the smokehouse potato chips. This is a beautiful, quiet place for a conference call, and if you put just a little effort in, your kid might just learn something about nature (and so might you).
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April 20th, 2008 larry
It is official. We are in a recession and it is spring. So let’s explore some free, outdoor fun in the form of playgrounds. The Chicago Park District has spent a decent amount of time and money setting up a fairly complex set of playgrounds in all kinds of assortments including large, small, new, classic, cute, exciting, safe, and adventuresome. First, the evaluation criteria we use to evaluate a playground is the following:
- Parking. If your kid is aching to go to a park, the last thing you want to do is circle, looking for a parking space. This criteria sometimes makes Lincoln Park less desirable.
- Age appropriate equipment. Every park is defined by the size of its slides. Slides basically come in three sizes, small (toddlers), medium (ages about 2-3), and large (ages 3 and over). Each size comes in a straight and twisty variety. If you have multiple kids or you are going with a group, a park with a variety of slide choices will work nicely.
- Equipment Variety. Every park has a climbing apparatus, slides, and swings, but more unique parks have sprinklers, sandboxes, teeter totters, fire trucks, and pirate ships.
- Safety. I think the new soft/rubber playgrounds do add a degree of safety as well as well as an enclosed fence to make sure they don’t get too far away. But the real safety concerns are more subtle. For instance, many playgrounds have a shaky bridge to walk across. If the sides of the bridge don’t go all the way to the base, it is easy for small kids to fall and roll off the side.
- Space. A great playground is not overrun with equipment but either has space within the playground itself or has some room outside of the playground like baseball diamonds and fields to run around.
- Stuff in the area. After playing at the park, it is nice if there are restaurants, treat shops, or bakeries in the area to stop by afterwards.
Based on this criteria above, we can recommend the following parks. Though in no particular order, these parks will give you a little variety, plenty of fun, and hopefully sound sleepers.
- Margate Park. On Marine Drive between Lawrence and Foster, this Lakeshore park has a great variety of equipment. With a soft ground, there is a toddler climbing structure, a large twisty slide, and bridges and climbing apparatus to tie it all together. There is one of the steepest slides in Chicago at Margate. Your kid can get airborne on this one. More importantly, there is a great see saw (one that has three different arms and seats) and a fire truck to climb on. And just to make it even better, there is a parking lot.
- Fellger Park. Even though it’s on the corner of Belmont and Damen, there is more parking than you would think. This park has a toddler structure with two different slides, a shaky bridge, and little tree stump steps to climb up to the bridge. It boasts one of the largest twisty slides I have seen as well as a double see saw. There is an enormous amount of space to play sports with small kids and a flat area where they can play with toys and cars. Unique to this park are a train to play in and a house where the little kids love to sit and have snacks. After Memorial Day, their water features are turned on which spray water down on the kids and fill up pot holes in the rubber park. These pot holes are good for splashing in.
- Adams Playlot. On Seminary, just south of Armitage, Adams Playlot is the water emporium of playgrounds. With sprayers, water guns, and playground types of water slides, this playground is what you are looking for in the summer. In addition to the outstanding waterplay area, it boasts one of the best climbing structures, a sandbox and a basketball court. The parking near this park is nearly impossible, but it’s worth it.
- Wrightwood Playground. This park has been around for a while, but it feels brand new. It has a pool, baseball diamonds, and a covered sandbox. There is an isolated toddler area and a medium sized climber and sliding structure. All of the equipment is in great shape and it has some unique climbing structures and monkey bars. Though the bridge is not as safe as it should be, get to this playground before 12:00 to beat the crowds.
- Millennium Park. Our taxes paid for Millennium Park, it’s beautiful, so you should use it. The big, black water sculptures on Michigan Avenue display pictures and dump, squirt, and spray water down on kids all day long. The favorite is always when a persons’s face appears and water squirts out where his mouth is. Treat yourself to a $17 Kobe hamburger at the Park Grill after racing after your kid all day.
- Blaine School Park. Blaine School is on Grace and Southport. There is nothing special about this park except that the school has a great Astroturf soccer field. So why go? Across the street are Dairy Queen and Sensational Bites. Who wants cupcakes and ice cream for dinner?!
http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.home.cfm
Larry and Donna
Mom Says: These parks are our “go to” spots all summer. Be sure to check with Adams Playlot ahead of time to find out when open play is at the waterpark. There is NOTHING more disappointing for a child then to stand in front of that amazing water structure on a hot day only to find out they can’t go in because a summer camp has exlusive access.
Dad Says: Fellger park has a little bit of everything for everyone and every age. Splashing in water will add an hour to your park outing. But the fire truck at Margate is one of the simplest, best park features in the city.
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