Exploritorium 

Oakton Community Center

4701 Oakton Street

Skokie, IL 60076

847-674-1500 x2700

Please note: The Exploritorium will CLOSE for reconstruction

in January 2010.

Cost:	- Skokie residents: $4 per child, $2 per adult,
	free for children under 2
	- Non-residents: $6 per child, $4 per adult,
	free for children under 2

Ages welcome:

All ages (crowd is mostly toddlers and children under 10)

Hours:	9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday & Friday
	12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday
	9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday
	Closed Thursday & Sunday

Parent Comments & Ratings

PROS

If it’s raining outside and your kids are climbing the walls, the Exploritorium might be just what you need! Located in the basement of the Oakton Community Center in Skokie, it’s full of activities for the little ones.

• It features an arts and crafts area with tables, little chairs, markers, crayons, construction paper and coloring pages. When I visited the facility, my two-year-old surprised me and actually spent some downtime with the “older” kids in this area.
• Another feature is a little plastic playground with stairs and slides for toddlers. There are also rocking toys, riding toys, and other small toys for the younger crowd. I saw a couple crawlers under 12 months playing with some musical toys, along with a handful of one to three-year-olds enjoying this area.
• A very small water play area is where my son spent most of his time. Water pours over metal troughs into a little pool filled with rubber ducks, sharks, dinosaurs and other creatures. There are smocks the kids can wear while playing here.
• A playground with a maze of tubes and tunnels keeps the older children entertained. I also saw kids having fun with two large punching bags. No shoes are allowed in this area, and children are required to wear socks in the large playground.
• There is also a cute dress-up area and stage. While my son wasn’t interested in this yet, I saw plenty of four and five-year-olds having a great time.
• Computer stations with children’s games, a train table, shelves of books, and tables and chairs complete the Exploritorium. 

Many times, children’s facilities within our local park districts don’t have great hours. They are open only in the mornings or on a weekly basis. One of the best things about the Exploritorium is it’s open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. three days out of the week! This makes it easy to schedule around naps, meals and all your other family activities.

CONS

If you’re a Skokie resident, the Exploritorium is definitely worth at least a few visits. However, as a non-resident, you may feel it’s a bit pricey for what they offer. I paid $10 to get in with my son. I also invited a friend and her child, which brought my total to $20. We were ready to leave after two hours. For all the activities listed on their Web site, I expected the place to be bigger. For me, it’s always worth it to try something new, but I probably won’t make it one of our regular field trips.

The water area is also a concern for me. The set-up isn’t as safe as it could be. Because there are only a few floor mats around the water troughs, I saw more than one child slip and fall on the concrete. There is also a “fountain” that shoots water in an arc. When my son put his hands in it, water would pour onto the floor. A worker asked me to keep him away from it, and of course, from that point on he wanted to touch the water arc! As long as I stayed right by my son’s side while he played in the water, we both were able to enjoy it.

LOGISTICS

When you enter the Oakton Community Center, you’ll pay at the front desk and take your receipt downstairs to the Exploritorium. There are signs posted near the front desk, so it’s easy to find. Please note children must take off their shoes and wear socks while playing in the tubes and tunnels. They can wear shoes in all other areas of the Exploritorium. Socks can be purchased for $2.

Credit cards are accepted and you can feel free to bring snacks. However, no food can be eaten within the play areas. Outside the Exploritorium, there are a couple vending machines and a counter with a few chairs. I brought a sack lunch, and it turned out to be a little difficult to eat in such a confined space.

Information about renting the facility for a birthday party can be found at http://www.skokieparkdistrict.org/images/Content/ExplorBDayInfo.pdf.

A redesign is planned for 2010. You can read more about the project at http://www.skokieparkdistrict.org/ExploritoriumFeedback.pdf.

Website: http://www.skokieparkdistrict.org/spdcm/Exploritorium.aspx