Children's Museum of Chicago

This weekend we went to the Children's Museum of Chicago. We were there a little early and were able to see some of the Navy Pier shops while we waited. Once we were able to get in, we were directed to the "other admission" desk because we were using our pass for a reciprocle ACM membership. Normal price is $9 for adults and children 2 and up. Seniors are $8. This is a smaller museum (compared to something like Indy, which I realized I have never reviewed) but offer plenty to keep the kids entertained. We started on the second floor, where the admission desk is and quickly made our way through the children's museum standard "health and safety area" They had exhibits on riding in and driving an ambulance, why you should buckle up in the car and how to call 911. The best part of the second floor was the climbing schooner. There is a "below decks" area, that includes some playground type climbing equiptment and a slide. Adults aren't comfortably able to get below so I would suggest this area for ages 5 and up, unless you have a super independant preschooler (MT had no issue climbing down and playing by herself). They also a net tube that goes all the way to the second floor. It is recommended for ages 5 and up but younger kids can climb with guardian permission. MT couldn't be held back once she found out her brother was going up so we just met them at the top. On the third floor, there is a short net tube that goes up to a rope cage that kids can climb through to get to the "suspension" bridge (sections of it move but it is totally supported) to exit.

From there, we went to the skyline building area. MT had a good time pounding the nails into the foam board they had out but that is a rotating exhibit and is only out occasionally. There is plenty to build, with real wood, bolts nuts and tools. I was impressed that they used real hardware instead of plastic junky stuff. MT screwed a few screws but mostly wasn't interested. TB, on the other hand, was enthralled. He built (surprise, surprise) a Star Wars ship

that he and Nonni worked on for nearly an hour.

Once he was done with his building, we went on to "Snow Much Fun" (Waterworks was closed or we would have stopped there but it is water, things that float, etc, can't say anything bad about it LOL). They had the BEST exhibit ever in the snow area. It is "Pretend to ice skate" and it was great. They have a large piece of linolium on the floor that is waxed and the kids slide around on it in their socks. They placed some fun music and the attendants really got involved with the kids. The guy attendant was getting the kids to skate like airplanes, then having them run and fall down and slide across the floor. The girl was having the kids practice jumping and falling and sliding like penguins. Because they were involved, it kept it from turing into a free for all and having someone get hurt. When they were done skating, they built a snow fort out of interlocking cardboard blocks and had a snowball fight with white puff balls.

Then we went to "Big Backyard" where the kids had their pictures taken and their faces were put on bugs. I wish they would have had a print out option because they were cute but you could see them on the screen. They dressed up like bugs and played in the giant shoe. The best part of that area was the shadow wall. One side has rain falling down it and the other side has butterflies. If you stand still in front of either one, the things will interact with your shadow. They rain will fall around you and the butterflies will land on you. It was a lot of fun.

From there, it was the museum standard "pretend town" They have a grocery store, a bus to drive and a mechanic's shop. Nothing exceptional about it but it is something that all kids seem to enjoy.

After lunch (the museum doesn't have food but the Navy Pier food court is right around the corner and you have in and out priviledge) we started on the first floor. The first floor includes the gift shop and the art area.

The art area had a huge table to do art at. They had the standard markers, glue scissors, etc but they also had cardboard boxes, metallic paper, mailing tubes, etc that the kids could use to decorate or create other things. They also had a stage where the kids could do a show and tell of the things they made or perform for the group. Neither kid used the stage, but we did spend a fair amount of time in the art area.

According to the map, there was an aquarium on the first floor as well. We ended having to ask at the gift shop where it was because it is actually between the two levels on a landing. We assumed, being called an "aquarium" that it was fairly large and TB was quite excited (he wanted to go to Shedd's while we were there but we had other stuff planned and couldn't make it this trip). Unfortunately, it 2 small fish tanks with maybe 10 fish between the 2. We were pretty disappointed.

Overall, the museum was good but I'm glad I had free admission because it is too small to justify the $9 per person admission.

I would rate it 3.5 stars

Houlihan's

We went to the new Houlihan's resturant last week for lunch. Despite it being 12:30 by the time we got there, they were amazingly empty. We were seated right away and had drinks for everyone by the time I got back from taking the kids to the bathroom. After much perusing of the menu, MT settled on mac and cheese (big surprise) and the rest of us got cheeseburgers. The food was kind of different, although for someone that doesn't eat like your average 4 year old, it probably would have been ok.

The food tasted ok but was overpriced for what you got. TB ordered the "Itsy Bitsy Burgers" (picture was taken after he had eaten the first one)

that was $4.99 and came with 2 mini burgers, fries, veggies and dip, a drink and ice cream (we passed on the veggies and I didn't mention the ice cream to them) and a kid sized drink. MT got mac and cheese that came with the same things.

RF and I ordered the "Mini Burger platter"

which was $7.95. It came with 2 mini burgers (same size as the kid mini burgers), an order of fries and either soup or salad. The soup was ok, nice and thick but BLAND! I had to pour on a ton of salt to get it to taste right. The burgers we also ok. The bread was kind of sweet, which gave them kind of an odd taste. Also, if you get these, keep in mind that the "ranch style greens" basically means "coleslaw". The lettuce and tomatoes are chopped up and mixed together with some kind of sauce (possibly mayo) and dumped on your burger. It wasn't good and I scraped most of mine off.

Although I doubt there will be a next time, if for some reason we go back, I will make a point of ordering off the kid menu. The adult menu isn't worth it.

The atmosphere was nice, although I would bet that it morphs to more of a bar at night and wouldn't be very family friendly. It is big and open with lots of light from high windows.

I give it 2 out of 5 stars for atmosphere and prompt service. The food and prices left much to be desired.

Magic house Review

While we were in St Louis last weekend, we went to the Magic House. I had been several times when I was kid but hadn't been in about 20 years. Apparently, according to my mom because I didn't remember, it is COMPLETELY different.

When you walk in the door, there is the admission desk where you pay and get your sticker, letting people know you have paid. To the left are a few benches and the gift shop. Beyond the benches, there is a large expansion area, which is opening next week. To the right is the actual museum area. As you head down the hallway, they have the "Little bit of magic" area for kids under 6 (shh, don't tell but we snuck TB in). In it, they have some slides, a sand table, a water play table, a climbing area. In the back corner, they have a baby area for kids under 2.

Around the corner from the LBOM area, there is the Math Path, which is all numbers. From math puzzles and guess the number of items to giant calculators and build the fastest Lego car, the Math Path is a dream come true for your budding Einstein.

Beyond the Math Path, you will find the Children's Village. It includes magnetic fishing, a mechanic's shop with a car up on a lift, an electric company, a store, a pizza palor and a tree fort. This also were the elevator to the basement is located. MT loved playing in the mechanic's shop, changing the tires and the license plate on the cars (this tells me she will either be a mechanic or a car thief LOL) TB liked the tree house and the pizza palor.

From there, we took the elevator down to the basement because the kids were hungry and there was a vending area marked on the map. We were disappointed to find that their vending area consisted of a couple of drink machines and no food. Both kids ended up getting sugary caffinated drinks so they were really hopped up for the rest of the visit.

After our drink stop, we continued down the hall, past the experiment center. It looked like something TB would have enjoyed but there was really nothing for MT so we bypassed it. The majority of the basement is given over to Lewis and Clark. In one area, they have a Lewis and Clark camp site, with a wooden canoe, a teepee and a fire, as well as some costumes to dress up in. MT proclaimed it "boring" and insisted on going elsewhere. Off of the camp site, they have a Lewis and Clark Trail setup. WARNING, this exhibit is NOT for young children, old people, or anyone with any kind of limited mobility. The age range for it is 5-12 but we took MT in because wouldn't allow us to leave her out. 10 feet into the exhibit, there is a rope you have to use to swing across a gap in the floor (you can walk across if you must, but what is the fun in that), that leads to stumps to step on, ladders to climb and slides to slide down. Over all the whole exhibit was pretty dark, with some pitch black spots. It was also pretty physical and quite fun. The kids wanted to make a repeat trip through but each guest is only allowed through once, for some reason.

Then it was up to the third floor to see the fitness center, the shadow wall and the coolest of all, the electro-static generator. That is the machine that when you touch it, makes your hair stand up all wild. Unfortunately, it didn't work at all for TB. It worked fairly well for MT but because I had to hold her to reach it, I didn't get a picture of it. However, we found that my hair worked GREAT so I went back and TB took a picture of my crazy hair.

By then the kids were hungry and tired and we decided to call it a day. We stopped off in the gift shop which was pretty much to be expected. It had the components of the various exhibits, highly priced for children to beg for. We picked up a couple of things and got some ideas for Christmas as well.

I remember it being mostly a museum for older kids, but MT had a really great time. There were a few things she couldn't do (the Lego racers were for kids 4+ but I think that was because they are considered chocking hazards) but she didn't lack for things to keep her busy.

Over all, I would give it 3.5 stars. I think it will be better when the new expansion opens up and when it is warmer, the outside stuff will be available. As it is right now, the really fun exhibits (LBOM, Math Path, etc) were really crowed and moving around and keeping your kids in sight was fairly difficult. With more space, some of that congestion would be relieved. I was also umimpressed with the lack of snack machines. If we had something to eat and if the crowds had been less, we probably would have stayed longer. As it was, we rushed through some exhibits and bypassed other completely, just to move things

Kick's in Springfield

Yesterday, we went to Kick's in Springfield. I was fully prepared to hate it because it is one of those places where you have to pay, individually, for everything you do and I hate that crap. I was pleasantly suprised once we got there. For startes they offer several package deals, including $10, $20 and $30 dollars, at a discount or you can buy an hour of unlimited play. For us, the by the hour deal was the best deal at $16.99 per kid for an hour of everything they wanted to do. Instead of hauling around handfuls of tokens, they give you a swipe card, that you swipe in the reader at each thing and it deducts your money or activates the game if you have the unlimited. Then, when you win tickets, you feed them into the counter and swipe your card, which records your tickets right there. The major drawback to the swipe card system is that you can only swipe once every 60 seconds. This is designed to prevent sharing of the card but causes problem with quicky games. MT likes the games of chance, where you put money in, the light goes around and you hit the button to stop it. It takes all of 10 seconds for her to play, then she had to sit and wait for the card to reactivate.

In addition to the video games, they also have bumper cars for older kids (TB did great at them but MT was a little too small to be able to drive them), go carts that kids as small as 42 inches can be passengers in (they have to be 54 inches to drive but as long as there is an adult driving, they can ride along), laser tag and mini-bowling. While we were there, the mini bowling was down so that was disappointing.

The games were your standard ticket games for the most part. They had some "drop the token" games which MT loves and took me a while to figure out how to use with the swipe card. There are a couple of token machines that you swipe the card and they dispense tokens for those games. Very handy! I was really impessed with the amount of tickets the games paid out, as well. Skee ball at somewhere like Chuck E Cheese will pay out 3 tickets for 150,000 points where these paid out 20 for 20,000. MT won 150 tickets on one drop on the ball game! The other part of the games were heavy on shooting games and racing games. MT couldn't manage those (although she tried) but TB loved them.

In addition to all the games and attractions, they have an all you eat buffet. The food is "fine". Nothing spectacular and kind of expensive. It is 10.99 for adults and 9.99 for kids. The thing about the kid's meals is that with the purchase of their meal, you get a free $5 of game play. The food was fairly kid friendly, with fried chicken, pizza, chicken fingers, and ice cream. However, it wasn't that good. We all got full but I wouldn't get the buffet again.

All in all, I would give 3.5 out of 5 stars and we will be going back again.

Update to the orignal post: The second and third times we went, the food was much better. The fried chicken was tender and juicy and quite tasty and with the food being better, I would bump this up to 4 full stars

Knight's Action Park

We went to Knight's Action Park in Springfield over the weekend. I hadn't been in a while (not since I was pregnant with TB) and I was wholly unimpressed. Pricing is pretty expensive. For an adult to get into the waterpark, it is $23.99. If you add in a ride pass, it is an additional $14.95. If you do the math on that it is a total of $38.94. That price doesn't include the go-karts, mini golf, driving range, or batting cages they also offer. Currently, that is more expensive than going to Six Flags since they are running the "everyone pays kid's price" promotion. Even regular priced, Six Flags is only $1.05 more expensive. Knight's Action Park is also pretty small. For the rides, they are all carnival type rides and if you have little kids forget it. There are only 3 rides they can ride :( For the bigger kids there are only a few rides as well. Very disappointing selection.

The waterpark isn't a lot better, but there is enough stuff to do to keep busy for part of a day. They have a couple of kiddie areas, 4 big water slides, a wave pool, an "action" river, bumper boats and peddle boats on the lake. The wave pool is decent, although they require a tube past the 3 foot line. My kids just weren't sure what to do about that because they like being in the deeper water but not with tubes. The action river was nice and a great way to get around the back side of the park. It was one of the fastest "lazy" river's that I have been on, with a serious current, as well as sprayers, white water sections and a wave area. TB enjoyed it as much as anything else.

Seal Bay is a nice play area for middle sized kids. There are several small slides a couple of things to climb on and best of all, there were 3 bigger kid slides that were perfect for my 2. It was perfect because you could sit at the bottom of the slides and still see the ramp up to the top so you weren't walking back and forth to get them up and down. MT spent a lot of time running up the ramp and sliding down one of the 3 slides.

Besides that, they have 4 big kid/adult water slides. 2 of them are new and 2 of them are original. The new ones are the "Royal Flush" which is a bowl type slide. The other one is called the "Devil Ray" and it looks like a half pipe. You sit on a raft and slide down and up the other side, then back down and so forth. The 2 original slides are built into the side of a hill and are flat abusive. TB and I both got hurt on one and although it wasn't an active hurt, I came off the other one feeling like I had been beaten. They are old and poorly maintained, as well as too narrow to be comfortable. The twists are sharp, the bumps are hard and I was left with a headache that took the rest of the day to get rid of.

The bumper boats and the peddle boats were both nice. The bumper boats are big enough for adults to ride and younger kids are able to ride with an adult. The peddle boats are peddle boats. You do get to take them through the "feed the fish" part of the lake so the kids were able to se the gigantic fish pretty up close.

The food is marginal. We ate at Barnical Bill's and were disappointed to find out that they only offer nacho cheese sauce for their burgers. The chicken was decent and the amount of food was better than expected. I was also impressed with the price of the food. The meal (entree, fries and a drink) was around $6 and contained plenty of food.

The bathroom/changing rooms where gross. They were small and inadaquate. There were 5 stalls, one small bench and 4 open stalls to be used for changing. There was no where dry to put our stuff and no where closed to change, unless you took up a bathroom stall. The lack of privacy doesn't concern me but other might well be bothered by it.

Overall, the place was over priced, small, old and poorly maintained. Everything had paint peeling off of it and looked a general mess. I would give it 2 stars, simply for proximity. It is closer to drive to Springfield than to St Louis or Chicago for something bigger and better. If given the choice, I would absolutely drive further to one of the other options.