Chicago on a Shoestring: The Navy Pier & Chicago Childrens Museum

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On our first day of vacation we slept in and the boys got to play with their cousins. We hung out at the house and enjoyed our down time.

The next day was Sunday and we decided to head down to the Navy Pier (www.navypier.com). We had a lot of people going so we had to take two cars. That limited us when it came to parking. It is possible to find a spot on the street on a Sunday in metered spaces, but unlikely to find two metered spaces together.

We ended up parking in the Navy Pier garage for $23. That was more than I was hoping to spend, but on the positive side, it was very convenient.

We took a cooler lunch (I've been crowned the cold cut sandwich queen by my husband's family) and we found tables to eat at inside near the shops. After lunch we headed over to the Chicago Children's Museum (www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org). Admission to this place is $8 per person for everyone over 1. It was free for us with our reciprocal admission from the Buffalo Museum of Science.

There are some ways to save on admission at this attraction. The first Mondays of each month are free for ages 15 and under and every Thursday from 5-8pm is free as well.

You will want to know that the museum only honors up to four reciprocal admissions per family, but I was able to also get in free because I'm a teacher so with that my whole family was admitted. The ticket lady rattled off several other occupations that get free admission as well, you might want to give them a call (Firefighters? Military?) because don't remember the other ones she said. I make a habit of carrying around my teachers union card and a pay stub just in case I might be able to get a discount somewhere.

The museum was fantastic. There were plenty of fun activities for hyper rambunctious boys like mine. It's a three story building that has an awesome rope climbing tunnel, and lots of play areas for even the smallest of children. My youngest son really loved the Water Works exhibit where he got to don a raincoat and play in the wet stuff. The raincoat unfortunately didn't stop him from getting soaked right down to his shoes.

Luckily, it was a warm day and after the museum we headed outside to look around. The attractions at the Pier can be a little pricey, so know that before you go. They have a few rides, a giant ferris wheel, a carousel and some swings. The rides (except the ferris wheel) are $5 each or 3 rides for $10. The ferris wheel is $6 per ticket. I found a coupon for 2 for 1 tickets to ferris wheel in the Chicago Book of Great Values. That's a coupon book that you can find in the tourist centers of the Waterworks building and the Chicago Cultural Center. We picked up a couple of books, so we had two coupons to use. My husband took the boys up and that was really the only ride we did that day.

If you go to a tourist information center pick up those travel magazines because I also found coupons for the boat rides at the Pier and the bike rental place, although we didn't use them.

That evening we ate dinner at McDonald's on the Pier and headed home. We had a great time!

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Photos

Ready to Ride Away!
My son and his cousin pose on a family sized bike at the Navy Pier