Mother Nature vs. Old Man Winter

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Address: 2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago

Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Saturday - Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: $9.00 Adults; $6.00 Children 3 - 12; Children under 3 are free

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? Yes
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? Yes
• Allows children room to play without long waits? Yes
• Is clean? Yes

And the winner: Mother Nature!

I was expecting a tired, old, smelly nature museum, and it was anything but. Peggy Notebaert has brought the natural history museum into the twenty-first century. While this museum has the terrariums you’d expect, it also has re-created habitats you can stroller through, waterplay areas where kids splash around, two indoor playgrounds, & a serene butterfly haven.

Stepping into the butterfly haven, you absolutely forget it’s the middle of winter. The warm, sunny greenhouse is home to 75 species of butterflies, flowers, and trees. Walking through the doors, you feel transported into springtime, and an indoor waterfall completes the experience. Here kids can learn about butterflies by seeing, hearing, and touching them. It’s really too cool!

I was not expecting to find two indoor playareas. And still further blown away by how well executed they were. One is permanent, Hands-on Habitat, and it has large animal homes, a treehouse, slide, tunnel, and a big wooden boat. The tunnel was a popular part of the playarea, but it is built under a table so the kids kept smacking their heads when they crawled out.

The other playground, Exploring Trees Inside & Out, is only open until February 6, 2011. This area had another treehouse with slides as well as a stage with costumes, interactive games, and a playhouse shaped like a large acorn. My son couldn’t get enough of the sounds of nature. He loved pressing the buttons and listening to the sounds of bugs, birds, and leaves.

The museum will keep kids learning and playing for hours. In fact, it is a challenge to get through the museum in one visit. But it is fun trying!

There were a couple downsides. Parking is a challenge since it is in the heart of Lincoln Park. You can probably find parking in the harbor or in the Lincoln Park Zoo lot, but street parking will drive you mad. And while I liked the openness of the museum, I found it difficult to manage two little ones.

So, if Old Man Winter get you down, go see Mother Nature.