Sox Shuffle Continues
Friday Afternoon Diversion
Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
Around Town
I Fight Dragon$
We read somewhere that the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (formerly the Chicago Academy of Sciences) is one of the least visited of the Chicago museums, but it’s one of our favorite places in the city to bring our toddler. Unlike the MSI, the Notebaert’s exhibits are accessible to those under three feet tall. The taller displays have low interactive panels and those that don’t have stools nearby. And the bugs! What kid doesn’t like bugs?
Stave off S.A.D. and head for the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven. The greenhouse area captures warmth and light, even on the most overcast and nasty Chicago day. Butterflies and moths of all kinds and, uh, sizes are free to dive bomb fly around here, which can either excite or freak out your kid. Keep an eye on curious tykes, though; we saw a two year old stomp one of these beauties on a recent visit.
The Marsh exhibit and adjoining Riverworks are also truly kid-friendly. Head to their look-in lab to see scientists work with black widow spiders, walking sticks and something called the ferocious water bug; catch snake or mantis feedings, scheduled throughout the week. The non-living exhibits here are also a favorite: there are plenty of buttons, flaps, scents and manipulatives to keep even the youngest of kids interested in protecting marshland. Pull up a stool and let your kids splash in their river display. You can even learn some pretty cool stuff about storm drainage in Chicago while they’re at it.
The Notebaert, like the MSI and the Garfield Park Conservatory, has a designated, closed-off kid area that combines hands-on fun with natural themes. Kids can climb, slide, crawl and swing through tree and prairie displays. Although this is a great place to really let your active kid unwind and discover, avoid it in the afternoons when it gets massively crowded.
Bring a sack lunch to munch on in their cafeteria, or grab snacks from Southport Grocery, sold by the entrance in their gift shop. Thursdays at the Notebaert are free; get there at 9 a.m. before the free parking on Cannon fills up.
Thanks to Maureen O’Shay for the picture of the Istock Butterfly Haven.
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there is an adorable family of button quails that run around in the plants in the butterfly haven too! :->
Sorry for sounding negative but this museum is an example of the clout-heavy of the city stomping all over sensible planning.
The site of this building, in part occupied by a maintenance building, should have been turned into much-needed parkland.
Instead, a large building was plopped into Lincoln Park. Adding to the insult, a corporate big-wig and political donor was permitted to name the museum after himself.
Dick Notabeart tried to say, "Oh, I am really naming it after my wife." In fact, that is even more nauseating than if he had used his own first name. Adding to the nausea is that Notabeart paid a relatively small sum for the naming rights. Others have donated much larger sums in this city for far less recognition.
Park advocates had rightly pointed out that the chance for enhancing the park was being lost. They also pointed out that the nature museum simply would not be well-attended. They also pointed out that the poor attendance at the museum would result in the need for a lot of public money being dumped into the place, which it has been.
Forget all those points, said Mayor Daley. Now we have this white elephant of a building that has virtually no visitors. Here's hoping that, at the very least, they rename the place. And that they find a new function that actually serves the people of this city.
Ok, Ward Up...you don't like the museum. Point noted. But the article revolves more around if this a good place to take toddlers, not on the museum itself or who is was named for. So unless you have a comment to make on that, perhaps you should try a political forum instead.
I personally love to take my daughter here, and we haven't been for a while so thank you for reminding me to go next Thursday!!! (:
Don't have any kids, but the butterfly haven is a good winter date place as well. Especially since you're a short walk from the Lincoln Park Zoo's greenhouse, also a great spot.
I'll definitely have to check out the butterfly garden, as I just heard this place mentioned yet again by someone today.
I just love the Garfield Park Conservatory. The kids room gets crowded on Saturdays but there is a new exhibit called Sugar From The Sun opening March 1 that should be excellent for kids and help add more space as a whole. Check out more information at www.garfield-conservatory.org and Happy Tripping!
I'll definitely have to check out the butterfly garden, as I just heard this place mentioned yet again by someone today.
I just love the Garfield Park Conservatory. The kids room gets crowded on Saturdays but there is a new exhibit called Sugar From The Sun opening March 1 that should be excellent for kids and help add more space as a whole. Check out more information at www.garfield-conservatory.org and Happy Tripping!