Kohl Children’s Museum
2100 Patriot Boulevard
Glenview, IL 60026
847-832-6600
| Cost: |
$7.50 per person (ages 1 to 54), $6.50 per senior (ages 55+), free for children under 1 year; coupon info. below under "Logistics"; memberships available |
| Hours: |
9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Monday (open until 5 p.m. June-Aug.) |
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9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. |
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12 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday |
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9 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Members Only (Mon.-Sat.) |
Parent Comments & Ratings
PROS
A day of hands-on play and learning for a great price! Kohl Children’s Museum offers several themed exhibits for young children to learn about the world around them. There’s a vet office where kids can pretend to care for animals, a mini grocery store where they can shop like mom and dad, and a child-sized daycare center where they can learn how to care for new additions to the family.
This museum is a great place for older toddlers and children who want to do everything grown-ups do. At the age of two, my son now wants to do everything by himself. He wants to cook, he wants to sweep, he wants to use his daddy’s tools to fix things around the house, he wants to pick out his own clothes, and he wants to make phone calls by himself. Kohl Children’s Museum is a place where I can let him do all the grown-up stuff he wants.
There are also play areas designated for children 0-18 months located near four of the exhibits. This gives the youngest visitors some fun time too, while their older siblings are playing in the adjacent exhibits.
Permanent exhibits include Adventures in Art, All About Me, Car Care, City on the Move, Cooperation Station, Discovery Maze, Doll Day Care, Dominick’s (mini grocery store), Habitat Park, Hands On House, Music Makers, Nature Explorers, Pet Vet, Play Library, Potbelly Sandwich Works, and Water Works. Other temporary exhibits visit the museum and stay for a few months at a time.
CONS
I first visited the museum when my son was a year old. While he had a good time, he was sort of in between stages. The designated baby areas couldn’t hold his attention, and he wasn’t yet able to do many of the other activities in the museum. I felt like I did a lot of the playing for him while he watched and learned. (The Water Works exhibit was a big hit at that age, however.) Of course, now that he’s two, he has no problem pretending to work in a sandwich shop or wash a car!
If the museum is really crowded, it’s hard to enjoy the visit. One time we waited in a long line to get into the mini grocery store. When we finally started “shopping,” I felt like I was rushing my son through the experience because I knew others were waiting to get in. During another museum trip, however, there was no wait for the grocery store and no huge crowds at any of the exhibits. It was relaxing and fun for everyone. I guess it just depends on the day. And like most places, going really early or arriving toward the end of the day is your best bet for fewer crowds.
LOGISTICS
Check out www.chicagoparent.com/coupons, www.familytimemagazine.com, and www.oakleesguide.com/coupons.html for coupons.
The museum houses a Così Café near its entrance. It has an expanded children’s menu, with items such as mini hot dogs, chicken strips, flatbread pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. You can also bring a sack lunch from home and eat inside the café. There is a patio with tables outside the museum where you can eat as well. (Food is not permitted in the museum’s new outdoor exhibit, Habitat Park.)
There are lockers available at the front of the museum, and nursing stations located near three different exhibits. Strollers are allowed in the museum, but there isn’t a lot of room inside some of the exhibits. For example, you won’t be able to bring a stroller into the mini grocery store or the car care area. There is a stroller parking area at the front of the museum, where you can leave it if you decide you don’t want to haul it around anymore.
Several membership packages are available. If you frequent many of the children’s museums in the area, you may want to consider the reciprocal program set up by the Association of Children’s Museums. With one annual membership, you receive free admission to 165 museums nationwide and 12 Illinois museums, including the Chicago Children’s Museum, Kohl Children’s Museum, DuPage Children’s Museum and several others in the Chicago area. You can sign up at any of the participating museums.
For information about field trips, birthday parties and facility rentals, visit the museum’s Website.
Website: http://www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/
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