# Things to do with toddlers and little kids in Chicago: the parent guide > Chicago is easiest with little kids if you pick one area per day. Lincoln Park has the free zoo and the Nature Museum side by side, and Navy Pier has the Children’s Museum. - Last checked: 2026-10-26 - 15 places for ages 0–6, with admission and menu prices from each place’s own site - Canonical page: https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/guide/ - This week (Markdown): https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/index.md - Visiting guide (Markdown): https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/visiting/index.md - City index for agents: https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/llms.txt ## Kid-friendly restaurants ### Eadie Levy’s Landmark Café (Lincoln Park, inside Lincoln Park Zoo) - The zoo’s café, with Chicago-style hot dogs, fries and snacks. It’s open seasonally, so check the hours before you count on it. - Price level: $ - Hours: Mon–Thu 10:30am–4pm; Fri–Sun 10:30am–5pm (seasonal) - Good for: A quick lunch in the middle of a zoo morning. - Skip if: it’s winter and the café is closed for the season. - Website: https://www.lpz.org/visit/shopping-dining/ ### Portillo’s & Barnelli’s (River North, 100 W. Ontario St.) - Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef in a big, busy dining room. - Price level: $ - Hours: Daily 10am–1am - Good for: A cheap lunch before or after Navy Pier. - Skip if: you need a calm room; it’s loud at mealtimes. - Website: https://locations.portillos.com/chicago ### Lou Malnati’s (River North) (River North, 439 N. Wells St.) - Deep-dish pizza in River North. - Price level: $$ - Hours: Sun–Thu 11am–11pm; Fri–Sat 11am–midnight - Good for: Deep dish on your first night in town. - Skip if: your kids can’t wait; deep dish takes a while to bake. - Website: https://www.loumalnatis.com/chicago-river-north ### Park Place Café (Lincoln Park Zoo) (Lincoln Park, inside Lincoln Park Zoo) - The zoo’s year-round café, with burgers and ice cream and seats indoors and out. - Price level: $$ - Hours: Daily 10:30am–4pm - Good for: Lunch inside the zoo in winter. - Skip if: you want dinner; it closes at 4. - Website: https://www.lpz.org/visit/shopping-dining/ ## Indoor play and rainy days ### Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Lincoln Park, 2430 N. Cannon Dr.) - A small nature museum next to Lincoln Park Zoo, with a butterfly haven. - Price level: $$ - Tickets: kids 1–12 $8 Illinois residents; adults $15 Illinois residents - Hours: Daily 10am–4pm - Good for: Pairing with the zoo on a cold day. - Skip if: you want a big museum; it’s small. - Price source: https://naturemuseum.org/ (checked 2026-10-26) - Website: https://naturemuseum.org/ ### Harold Washington Library Center (The Loop) - Chicago Public Library’s central branch. The library runs free baby and toddler story times at branches across the city. - Price level: Free - Good for: A free story time. - Skip if: you need it on a holiday. - Website: https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/v2/events ## Parks and outdoor play ### Lincoln Park Zoo (Lincoln Park, 2400 N. Cannon Dr.) - A free zoo in Lincoln Park, open every day of the year. - Price level: Free - Hours: Open 365 days; gates 8am, buildings 10am - Good for: A free stroller morning any day. - Skip if: you need indoor time; most of it is outdoors. - Website: https://www.lpzoo.org/ ### Brookfield Zoo Chicago (Brookfield, 31st St. and Golfview Ave.) - A big suburban zoo west of the city. Plan on most of a day. - Price level: $$$ - Tickets: kids 3–11 $20.95; adults $29.95; 2 and under - Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat–Sun 10am–6pm - Good for: A full day out with kids 3 and up. - Skip if: you only have a couple of hours. - Price source: https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/ (checked 2026-10-26) - Website: https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/ ### The Morton Arboretum (Lisle) - A huge tree garden in the western suburbs with a Children’s Garden open 10am to 5pm. Ticket prices change by date and are $2 cheaper online. - Price level: $$ - Hours: Grounds 9am–sunset; Children’s Garden 10am–5pm - Good for: A fall walk with a stroller. - Skip if: you show up after sunset; the grounds close then. - Website: https://mortonarb.org/visit-the-arboretum/hours/ ## Museums, zoos and big outings ### Chicago Children’s Museum (Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand Ave.) - Three floors of hands-on play for kids up to about 10, right on Navy Pier. - Price level: $$ - Tickets: kids 1 and up $21 Illinois residents, $25 non-residents; Under 1 - Hours: Mon, Wed, Thu 10am–2pm; Fri–Sun 10am–5pm; closed Tuesdays - Good for: A morning with a toddler or preschooler. - Skip if: it’s a Tuesday; the museum is closed. - Price source: https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/hours-tickets-and-faq (checked 2026-10-26) - Website: https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/hours-tickets-and-faq ### Kohl Children’s Museum (Glenview, 2100 Patriot Blvd.) - A children’s museum in the north suburbs built for kids up to about 8, with a new storybook exhibit this fall. - Price level: $$ - Tickets: kids 1–64 $20; Under 12 months - Hours: Tue–Sat 9:30am–4pm; Sun–Mon 9:30am–1pm - Good for: A suburban morning with a baby or preschooler. - Skip if: you want an afternoon visit on a Sunday or Monday; it closes at 1pm. - Price source: https://www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/ (checked 2026-10-26) - Website: https://www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/ ### DuPage Children’s Museum (Naperville, 301 N. Washington St.) - A hands-on museum in Naperville with building and water play. - Price level: $$ - Tickets: kids $22; adults $22; Under 1 - Hours: Mon–Wed and Fri 9am–4pm; Thu 9am–8pm; Sat–Sun 9am–5pm - Good for: A western-suburbs morning with little kids. - Skip if: it’s Halloween afternoon; it closes at 3pm that day. - Price source: https://dupagechildrens.org/ (checked 2026-10-26) - Website: https://dupagechildrens.org/ ### Field Museum (Museum Campus, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.) - The big natural history museum on Museum Campus, home of SUE the T. rex. - Price level: $$$ - Hours: Daily 9am–5pm (last entry 4pm) - Good for: Kids who love dinosaurs. - Skip if: it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas; it’s closed. - Website: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/ ## Staycation spots ### Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee (Gurnee) - A 80,000-square-foot indoor water park kept at 84 degrees, included with your room. - Price level: $$$ - Good for: A winter weekend in the north suburbs. - Skip if: you want city sights; it’s up near the Wisconsin line. - Website: https://www.greatwolf.com/illinois ### Starved Rock Lodge (Oglesby, One Lodge Lane) - A rustic lodge with cabins, built by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in the 1930s. - Price level: $$ - Good for: A cabin night with hiking nearby. - Skip if: you need to be home by bedtime; it’s a long drive from the city. - Website: https://www.starvedrocklodge.com/ ## Free things to do - Harold Washington Library Center - Lincoln Park Zoo ## Best for under 3s - **Chicago Children’s Museum**: Under 1 free. - **Lincoln Park Zoo**: Free, with easy stroller paths. - **Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum**: Small enough for a toddler. - **Brookfield Zoo Chicago**: 2 and under free. - **Harold Washington Library Center**: Baby and toddler story times. - **Kohl Children’s Museum**: Under 12 months free. - **DuPage Children’s Museum**: Under 1 free. ## Things to do with a baby or a 1-year-old ### Baby and lap-sit storytimes - **Baby Time** (Chicago Public Library): Tuesdays at 10:30am · Blackstone Library. Songs, rhymes and books with your baby. https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/6a9052db58433600542b843a - **Baby Story Time/ Hora de cuentos para bebés** (Chicago Public Library): Wednesdays at 11am · Gage Park Library. A bilingual English and Spanish story time for babies. https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/6a6a42e53f18b57d5231b78c - **Baby and Toddler Story Time** (Chicago Public Library): Wednesdays at 11:15am · Jefferson Park Library. A story time for babies and toddlers with a grown-up. https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/6a7c970baafa6100295c1fe4 ### Babies get in free - **Brookfield Zoo Chicago**: 2 and under. https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/ - **Chicago Children’s Museum**: Under 1. https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/hours-tickets-and-faq - **Kohl Children’s Museum**: Under 12 months. https://www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/ - **DuPage Children’s Museum**: Under 1. https://dupagechildrens.org/ ## Library storytimes - **Chicago Public Library**: Weekday mornings. Free baby and toddler story times at branches from Rogers Park to the South Side. https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/v2/events ## Happening this week - **Fall Fest at Lincoln Park Zoo** (10am–5pm) at Lincoln Park Zoo. Free; rides are ticketed. https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/#e-lpz_fall_fest - **Kids Free Day at Chicago Children’s Museum** (Sun 10am–5pm) at Chicago Children’s Museum. Free for kids 17 and under. https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/#e-ccm_kids_free_day - **Upside Down Halloween Parade at Washington Park** (Sat 12–2pm) at Washington (George) Park. Free. https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/#e-upside_down_halloween_parade_at_washingt - **Boo-tiful Adventure at Galewood Park** (Fri 4–6pm) at Galewood Park. Free. https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/#e-boo_tiful_adventure_at_galewood_park - **Haunted Fieldhouse at Seward Park** (Thu 4:30–7:30pm) at Seward (William) Park. Free. https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/#e-haunted_fieldhouse_at_seward_park Full list with every outing: https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/index.md ## Holiday pages - [Santa in Chicago: breakfast with Santa, photos and Santa trains (2026)](https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/santa/index.md) - [Christmas lights in Chicago for little kids (2026)](https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/christmas-lights/index.md) ## About this list - Published by Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/). Free weekly lists for kids ages 0–6, city by city. - How we choose and check listings, and how to send a correction: https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/ (corrections: hello@littlesweekly.com). - Sponsored spots are labeled on the HTML pages and are not part of this editorial list. - How to cite: “According to Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/…), …” and link the page you quote. ## FAQ ### Is Chicago Children’s Museum good for toddlers? Yes. It’s built for young kids, and babies under 1 get in free. It’s closed on Tuesdays. ### Is Lincoln Park Zoo free? Yes. It’s free and open every day. Gates open at 8am and the buildings at 10am. ### Which suburban children’s museum is best for babies? Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview lets babies under 12 months in free, and DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville lets babies under 1 in free. ### What can we do in Chicago on a rainy or cold day with a toddler? Go indoors: Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Harold Washington Library Center. They’re all under one roof, and most work for a short visit around nap time. ### Where are the free storytimes in Chicago? Chicago Public Library: Weekday mornings. Library storytimes don’t need a ticket, but times change by branch, so check the calendar first. See [library storytimes](https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/guide/#storytimes), and this week’s dated sessions are on the [Chicago weekly list](https://littlesweekly.com/chicago/). ### How do you choose the places in the Chicago guide? Every one of the 15 places is somewhere we’d take a baby, toddler or preschooler, with a note on who it suits and when to skip it. Prices, hours and menus come from each place’s own site, and 5 of them have checked admission or menu prices. The guide was last checked Oct 26, 2026. [How we choose and check](https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/). ### How much is the Brookfield Zoo Chicago for a toddler, and who gets in free? 2 and under; kids 3–11: $20.95; adults: $29.95. We checked this on [its official site](https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/) on Oct 26, 2026. Prices change, so confirm before you go. ### How much is the Chicago Children’s Museum for a toddler, and who gets in free? Under 1; kids 1 and up: $21 Illinois residents, $25 non-residents. We checked this on [its official site](https://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/hours-tickets-and-faq) on Oct 26, 2026. Prices change, so confirm before you go.