Family things to do in Chicago

This guide is for parents, grandparents and anyone with a kid in tow for a day in Chicago, whether you live in Logan Square or are driving in from Naperville. It covers the two zoos, the children’s museums in the city and suburbs, the free-day calendar at the big museums, and the indoor places that get families through January. Every place here was open in September 2026, with prices and hours from each place’s own site. One rule up front: plan around Illinois resident days, bring a state ID, and take transit to the lakefront, because parking is where the money goes.

Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo

The city zoo is Lincoln Park Zoo at 2400 N. Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park. Admission is free every day of the year, with gates open at 8 a.m. and animal buildings from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. That is the reason to put it first: a two-hour visit with a toddler costs nothing, and you can leave when the meltdown starts. The Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo is closed on some days, so check the day’s schedule before promising it. The drawback is the lot on Cannon Drive, where the zoo lists daily rates of $35 to $45. Take the 151 or 156 bus to Stockton Drive, or ride the Red or Brown Line to Fullerton and walk 20 minutes east.

The big one is Brookfield Zoo Chicago, at 31st Street and Golfview Avenue in Brookfield, about 14 miles west of the Loop. Through September 30 the hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, with shorter hours after that. Regular admission is $32.95 for adults and $23.95 for kids ages 3 to 11, children 2 and under free, plus $17 to park at the north gate or $20 at the south. The reason to go is scale: the grounds take a full day, and Boo! at the Zoo runs October 3 to 25 with trick-or-treating. Without a car, the Metra BNSF line stops at Hollywood (Zoo Stop), a short walk from the south gate. In 2026 the zoo was free for everyone from January 5 to February 28, except January 19 and February 16, with parking still charged. Watch the site for 2027 dates.

Children’s museums

Start with Chicago Children’s Museum at 700 E. Grand Avenue on Navy Pier in Streeterville. Exhibits are split by age, from babies and toddlers up to 9 and older, and Illinois residents pay $21 per person, $25 for everyone else, with kids under 1 free. Weekday hours are short, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, with 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday and Tuesdays closed. Navy Pier’s garages are the expensive way in; the 65 Grand and 29 State buses stop at the pier, and the 124 runs from Union Station and Ogilvie.

Up north, Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago at 2100 Patriot Boulevard in The Glen in Glenview is built for kids from birth to age 8 and is the one many North Shore families join. Admission is $20 for everyone ages 1 to 64, $18 for seniors, and $5 per person for SNAP and WIC cardholders. Hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and close at 1 p.m. Sunday and Monday. The museum’s own advice is that weekday afternoons and rainy days are quietest. The Glen of North Glenview Metra station is a walk away.

West on the BNSF line, DuPage Children’s Museum sits at 301 N. Washington Street in Naperville, right by the Metra station, so it is the easiest suburban museum to reach by train from Union Station. Tickets are $22 for kids and adults, with children under 1 free, and buying online saves $1 per ticket. Thursdays stay open until 8 p.m. with $5 Thursday Nights, the best deal here for a family of four, and parking is free.

Smaller and cheaper is Wonder Works Children’s Museum at 6445 W. North Avenue in Oak Park, $15 per person and $13 for seniors, teachers and first responders, running since 1991. The museum is closed for its annual refresh until Monday, October 5, 2026, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays are field-trip days closed to the public. The 72 North Avenue bus runs past the door.

Despite the name, Bronzeville Children’s Museum is at 9301 S. Stony Island Avenue in Calumet Heights on the Southeast Side. The museum describes itself as the country’s first children’s museum focused on African American cultural history, and visits are guided tours that start on the hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, for kids ages 4 to 9. Admission is $10 per person. This one is a drive; there is no L nearby.

Free days for families

The Museum Campus in the South Loop is where free days matter most, because regular tickets for a family add up fast. Field Museum at 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive gives Illinois residents free general admission on Wednesdays, and the first Wednesday of each month from September 2026 through August 2027 is sponsored by WTTW. Doors are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4 p.m. Bring a state ID.

Next door, Shedd Aquarium does free evenings rather than free days. Illinois residents get in from 5 to 9 p.m. on October 6, 13, 20 and 27, November 3, 10, 17 and 24, and December 1, 8 and 15, 2026. Reserve ahead: online reservations carry a $5 fee per order, phone reservations at (312) 939-2438 are free, and walk-ups depend on what is left. Evening slots suit school-age kids better than toddlers.

In Hyde Park, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry has Illinois free days on September 29 and 30 and on October 5, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 18, 2026, with more posted through the year. City of Chicago residents also get $9 off adult and $5 off child admission any day. The garage is not included in any ticket; the Metra Electric line stops at 55th-56th-57th Street, a ten-minute walk.

Across from the zoo, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum at 2430 N. Cannon Drive is the cheap one on a normal day: $15 for adults and $8 for kids ages 1 to 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Illinois residents get free basic admission on scattered dates listed on the museum’s site, including days in October, November and December 2026. The Judy Istock Butterfly Haven is a $5 add-on for non-members with timed entry.

Two more ways in. Museums for All gets EBT and WIC cardholders into most places in this guide for $5 or less per person, and a Chicago Public Library card checks out a Kids’ Museum Passport that admits a family of four to participating museums, including Brookfield Zoo Chicago.

Indoor options for January

When it is 10 degrees, two indoor playgrounds earn their admission. Fit City Kids at 2540 W. Lawrence Avenue in Lincoln Square has a soft-play structure of just over 5,000 square feet on several levels, a padded area for crawlers, and a basketball court and turf field that open when classes are not running. A daily visit is $20, $16 for a sibling; weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with shorter weekend hours. The Brown Line’s Rockwell stop is a block away.

A few miles southwest, WonderPlay & Coffee at 3501 W. Belmont Avenue in Avondale is a play cafe with a pretend market, a jungle gym, a camp room and an art studio, plus a real coffee bar for the adults. A daily pass is $22 for ages 12 months to 15, $17 for a sibling, and infants under a year are free with a coffee purchase; the first two adults are free. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and to 6:30 p.m. weekends. The 77 Belmont bus stops out front and the Blue Line’s Belmont stop is about a half mile west.

For a sit-down hour, Chicago Children’s Theatre performs at The Station, 100 S. Racine Avenue in the West Loop. The 2026-27 season has The Beatrix Potter Holiday Party from December 5 for kids up to 8 and Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster from February 13, 2027, for ages 3 and up. The box office is (312) 374-8835, and the Blue Line’s Racine stop is a half mile south.

Two Chicago Park District options round this out. Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Avenue at the Green Line’s Conservatory stop, is free for Chicago residents with an ID and $10 for out-of-state adults, open Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a free lot; the children’s garden inside needs its own 30-minute reservation. The Maggie Daley Park skating ribbon at 337 E. Randolph Street opens November 13, 2026: your own skates are free at select morning sessions and $5 otherwise, a session with rental runs $17 to $23, and every skater needs a ticket for a two-hour session.

Suburban family attractions

Beyond the zoo and the children’s museums above, The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, at 4100 Illinois Route 53 off I-88, is the suburban day out that works in every season. The four-acre Children’s Garden has climbing structures shaped like acorns, streams for wading in warm months and slides down giant tree roots, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with general admission. Pricing is date-based, so the site shows the rate for your day, and online tickets are $2 cheaper than the gate. DuPage County residents get 33 percent off on Wednesdays, and Museums for All tickets are $1. This is a drive.

Honest advice: Kohl and DuPage suit kids under 6, the arboretum works from about age 3 up, and only Brookfield fills a whole day. All are quietest on school-year weekday afternoons.

Good to know

• Wonder Works in Oak Park is closed until October 5, 2026, and Bronzeville Children’s Museum is closed October 17 to 21.
• Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s summer hours end September 30; Boo! at the Zoo runs October 3 to 25, and Holiday Magic’s tree trim is November 7 and 8.
• Shedd’s free Illinois evenings run through December 15, 2026; MSI’s posted free days run through October 18; Field Museum Wednesdays continue through August 2027.
• The Maggie Daley skating ribbon opens November 13, 2026; ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo is ticketed separately and 2026 dates were not yet posted.
• Kohl’s Roots of Kindness exhibit opens October 27, 2026. Naper Settlement in Naperville closes most building interiors November through April.
• Checked September 28, 2026.

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