Chicago Children’s Museum

Three floors of fun for kids and their families!

There are so many ways to play at Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier! Dig for bones on a dinosaur expedition. Scale a three-story schooner, from cargo hold to crow’s nest. Make a big splash in a squirting, pumping water playground (raincoats provided!). Tinker with real tools and materials in the ultimate DIY maker-space. Dress up as a firefighter, drive the truck and put out a “fire.” Paint, print, sew, sketch and sculpt in an authentic art studio. Construct a skyscraper, fish in a river, shop in a grocery store and much more. Chicago Children’s Museum is three floors of fun for kids and their families!

Chicago Children’s Museum offers a rotating calendar of programs in the Art Studio, Great Hall, Pritzker Playspace, and Tinkering Lab. Please visit program locations for session times and free passes. Space is limited. Free passes are available 1 hour before the workshop starts at each workshop location.

Special hours

February 1: 11 am – 5 pm (*late open due to Play for All event)
February 6: 10 am – 5 pm (*extended hours and special programming for Free Family Day)
February 25 | 10 am – 5 pm (Special Open)

Special Programming

February 1 | 10 am – 12 pm | Play For All : Adaptive Sports Day with Dare2tri
Calling ALL champions to Chicago Children’s Museum! Participate in event activities, including roller sled hockey, handcycling, wheelchair racing, bocce, soccer, group exercises, and a See & Touch Prosthetics display. All of our inclusive, multisensory museum exhibits and programs will also be available. Children and families with disabilities, and CCM members. The first 500 children and families with disabilities who register will receive FREE admission! Pre-registration is required for free admission. REGISTER HERE

February 6 | 10 am – 5 pm | Free Family Day
Join us to experience Chicago Children’s Museum’s returning fan-favorite exhibit, Zoom Room, on the very first day it’s open to the public! The museum will also have special programming from Chicago Children’s Theatre and a pop-up installation. Museum entry is free for all on Free Family Days! LEARN MORE

Opening February 6 | Zoom Room
Start your engines and get ready to race! Zoom Room returns on Feb. 6. This thrilling, motion-filled installation allows both children and caregivers to experience the excitement of sending toy cars through colossal, multilevel racecourses with race jumps, long runs, loops, dips, and super spirals for endless ways to play. Using die cast cars and custom-made tracks, children will get a crash course in racing, and a souped-up understanding of the physics behind things that go vrrrroooooooom.  LEARN MORE

Art Studio

Workshop Times
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm

Drawing Studio | Now-February 17 | All Ages
Explore drawing with your whole body using oil pastels, markers, boxes and our wall!