The Rainbow Connection

Rainbow Play Systems

Address: 300 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills

Showroom Hours: Monday & Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: N/A

Unrated

• Offers hands-on learning? No
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? No
• Allows children room to play without long waits? Yes
• Is clean? No

While this isn't really a children's play place (hence the non-rating), it got us all out of the house and energy out of my two monkeys!

Rainbow Play Systems manufactures the big wooden play sets you see in backyards. You may even have one in your backyard. And if so, we are super jealous.

The indoor showroom is huge. There are roughly ten play sets that kids can try out, featuring most models from tree houses and tunnel slides to swings and sand boxes. It's amazing what you can get if you have the space and the money (like bunk beds in your tree house...no joke!)

Obviously it is free, but you do get a sales pitch. And I'm assuming a follow up call...

My little piggies went whee! whee! whee!

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Address: 929 E. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Sunday: 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: $7.50 for anyone over age one; children under age one 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? No
• Is clean? Yes

Fantastic! Just the children's museum we've been looking for. It is great for toddlers. It's great for babies, especially new crawlers! And it's easy on moms/caregivers.

While it is a bit of a hike, we felt it was well worth it. The museum has many great play areas, including a bank, a television news station, a child-sized city bus, a child-sized train & farm, a grocery store (with brats, of course!), a harley, a garage repair shop, a pizza place, a house under construction, a music area (with the piano from "Big"), and loads & loads of other fun activities. We spent about two and a half hours and made it through approximately half the museum. We ended in the fenced-off crawler/toddler area, which I have to tell you is huge. It was nice to see this area a little bigger than a 3'x3' box. Again, both boys had a great time. The older one played on the slides and tunnels as well as in the sandbox. While our new crawler crawled over padded mats and blocks.

We all had a great time. The other families were so friendly and really engaged in playing with their kids or grandkids. And while this shouldn't count for much, the museum does have covered parking at a very reasonable price (ok, reasonable by Chicago standards).

The only downside is that the museum does not have a cafe. They do have a picnic area so I recommend bringing lunch & snacks with you. Or you can stop by the A&W drive-in on your way back to Chicago!

Get Your Kids on Route 66

Volo Auto Museum

Address: 27582 Volo Village Road, Volo

Hours: Monday - Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for children over age five

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? Not really
• 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

I've absolutely jumped on the Volo band wagon - this place is fantastic! It was such fun for all of us.

The Volo Auto Museum houses cars from almost every movie & television show you can remember: Back to the Future, The Cat in the Hat, Dukes of Hazzard, Ghostbusters, Scooby Doo, Herbie Goes Bananas, Blues Brothers, James Bond, The Munsters, and on & on. But the biggest hit with my kids was the full size Lightning McQueen and Hudson Hornet. Really too cool...

The showroom also displays fully restored cars from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I loved looking all the old cars that I'd heard about but never seen outside of a Kojak re-run. And they are all for sale. So if you have $70K lying around, a convertible Chevy Belair can be yours!

The museum also has a military exhibit, featuring a helicopter used in combat in Vietnam and a tank captured in Iraq.

There are coin-operated cars the kids can ride for fifty cents and a number of jungle gyms to climb.

It's not often my husband is jealous of our outings, but he was this time!

A W.H.O.P.P.E.R. of an Activity

Obstacle Course

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? How to directions & a series of steps, concentration, the fun of physical activity
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• A variety of your child(ren)'s toys

Adult Prep Work:

1. Plan activity line up

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Help you set up the obstacle course
2. Run through the obstacle course (repeat)

We pulled out puzzles, race cars, and a ball popper and incorporated them into an obstacle course. First, my son crawled through a tunnel. Then, solved a puzzle. Followed by driving his car from point A to point B. And then, he finished with the ball popper. He absolutely loved it! We ran through it three times and then he tried to make his own.

We also took it outside and used his tricycle and outdoor toys to make a bigger course. Obviously, he was able to run around more outside. But it was still a lot of fun indoors.

My husband joked that I was preparing him for War Games in case you were wondering about the activity title. And for those of you who got the reference, my husband would be thrilled!

On the Grow!

Growth Spurts

Address: 404 Linden Avenue, Wilmette

Open Playtime Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (with additional play hours on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons); Saturday: 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Admission: $5.95 for each adult & child; pre-crawler children are free

YAY! YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? No
• 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

If you live in Evanston or Wilmette or near the Purple Line, this is a great indoor play option for you! It appears to meet the needs of the local community, but it is not a destination spot.

First of all, it is small and parking is limited. Because most of the area is permit parking, we had to hoof it about four blocks in the sweltering heat. No bueno!

Second, the areas are not divided or sectioned off for crawlers. I can understand that they did not want to further reduce the size of the play space, but it does make it a little treacherous for the crawler set. The toddlers run roughshod over the open area, and you have to be hyper-vigilant to prevent your child from getting trampled. Plus, they have art supplies and a sensory table full of items unsafe for babies. Because it is totally wide open, you really have to watch your child(ren) like a hawk. Of course, you should always watch your kids. But now you're talking about protecting them from a barrage of toddlers hurling objects right and left. It just seemed less than ideal.

Third, their pricing model is per body. So adults have to pay, too. It is only $6 per person so it won't break the bank; just something to keep in mind.

And finally, you need to call ahead to reserve a spot. Sometimes you can walk in, but you never know if they have reached capacity and will turn you away. I don't know about you, but I find it a little hard to plan outings. I like a place where I can just drop in if the kids need to get out of the house or we feel like doing something different. It's more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants model, but it works for us!

And if you've tried an indoor play area we haven't reviewed let us know. We are looking to try something new!

Give Mom a Hand

Mother's Day Art Project

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Colors, Mother's Day
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large thick white paper
• Red construction paper
• Washable paint
• Markers (you can stencil the letters as well)

Adult Prep Work:

1. Write the words "These will always have my" on the paper (again, you can use stencils), leaving a space for the hands and the heart
2. Cut a large heart out of red construction paper
3. Glue heart on the appropriate place on the paper

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Dip both hands in paint
2. Place hands on the appropriate place on the paper

You can customize this any way you wish. And it makes a wonderful keepsake for any mom or grandmother!

These Boots are Made for Painting

Rain Boot Painting

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Colors, patterns, weather
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large thick white paper (3 or 4 pieces)
• Scotch tape
• Washable paint
• Rain Boots

Adult Prep Work:

1. Tape pieces of paper together to make a long track
2. Tape the paper to the floor so it doesn't move out from under your child
3. Drop different colors of paint on either sides of the paper track - enough to pick up the entire boot tread

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Splash his boots in the paint
2. Walk up and down the track in his boots (with your help, of course!)

This was a fun rainy day activity with very little clean up or bundling required!

You Spin My Plate Right Round, Right Round

Painting with Paper Plates

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Colors, shapes
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large thick white paper
• Paper plates
• Washable paint
• Washable markers

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Color the paper plates with different color markers
2. Then the adult can pour washable paint on to separate paper plates
3. Turn plates upside down, and twist and turn them around the paper (repeat)

My son loved this because it was basically painting with his hands but on a much bigger (and messier!) scale. We found the color from the markers came through on the paper making really cool designs.

Overcrowded and Much More

Explore & Much More

Address: 3827 N. Southport, Chicago

Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 2:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: $12 per child; $9 for each additional sibling

YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? Sort of
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? Yes (too much)
• Allows children room to play without long waits? No
• Is clean? Sort of

I begrudgingly give this one "YAY!" They don't make it easy on parents and it's hard enough to get the kids ready and wrangled, it shouldn't be misery once you get there.

After driving around for 30 minutes trying to find parking, we walked four blocks in the cold to the smallest, most unwelcoming play place. I do realize rents are very high in the city, but they just did not think through the space requirements for parents with multiple children and multiple layers. They require shoes to be removed (to be expected), but then don't offer enough room to do so or enough room to store them. So kids were throwing other people's shoes around, and parents are trying to corral their children and remove their shoes before they sprinted through the front gate, which other children kept opening.

The admission process would make a great case study for an operations research class. None of us knew when or where to pay and each person had to fill out a waiver (to be expected), but then she couldn't make out anyone's name so she re-wrote it and re-wrote each person's phone number. You just don't have time for inefficiencies when your child is about to take off headlong down a flight of stairs.

It is a two-story play place, but they have crammed too many structures and toys into the narrow space. It is just far too small so you're tripping over toys, kids, and other adults. And the poor toddlers kept getting smacked in the head by diaper bags.

Finally, the crawler area was a total joke. It was too small for them to move or roll or really do much of anything. I had to pick him up at one point for his own safety.

There are so many great play places in Chicagoland, you can skip this one.

A Happy Shade of Winter

Color Wheel

Address: 2016 W. Concord Place

Open Play Hours: Monday 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.; Wednesday 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Friday: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Admission: $25 per child

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

As you know, my son loves art projects so I was really excited to check out this children's art studio. It did not disappoint. We went during open studio time and painted with watercolors, drew with charcoal, and colored with crayons. He was a giant mess, but a happy one!

It hadn't dawned on me that he has really only done art projects with mom & baby brother. So at Color Wheel Studio, he had a big time watching the other kids paint, helping them paint, admiring their art, and playing chase.

It is a true artist studio as the owner is local artist Donald Jackson. He has transformed it into a great space for kids - low tables, small easels, and sinks with temperature controls.

And he doesn't just throw the supplies at the kids and walk away, he worked with each child teaching them about art and listening to them. He was really engaged and I imagine his classes must be excellent. You can learn more about them on the Color Wheel Studio website.

One side benefit of my grand experiment is getting a chance to talk with the owners. They are usually parents who were looking for something that just didn't exist. They always have such interesting and varied backgrounds and experiences. In this case, Donald is an artist with a background in psychology, which he says he draws on for his classes.

It seems to me he's teaching kids about a lot more than art. He's teaching them about self-expression and finding one's voice, self-confidence, and the importance of giving back to one's community. It's quite a special place. Check it out...

Sponge Mom Yoga Pants

Sponge Painting

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Colors, shapes, nature
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large sponges
• Scissors
• Large thick white paper
• Paper plates
• Washable paint

Adult Prep Work:

1. Cut sponges into shapes (I cut circles, squares, and triangles, but you can certainly go wild!)
2. Pour a few colors of washable paint on to separate paper plates

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Dip the sponge in the paint and dab on the paper

On one sheet of paper, we used all the shapes. And on another, we used the circle-shaped sponges to make spring flowers. I think my son is probably so sick of painting spring flowers, but mom's impatiently waiting for spring....