Field Museum of Natural History Review from Toddler Mom | Things to Do With Kids in Chicago

With the City Pass and Go City passes we were able to visit several attractions in Chicago like the Field Museum of Natural History.

Upon entry, it was a little overwhelming trying to figure out what to do first. The museum is massive with so many things to see! Our family spent a few hours here and we did not get through most of it! We immediately realized after walking through the Inside Ancient Egypt exhibit that this may not be the best museum for toddlers. Some of our favorite exhibits were the DNA Lab, Nature Walk and Messages from the Wilderness - I think the boys liked this best being able to see so many animals, and the Africa exhibit.

While the exhibits were very well presented, the spaces were clean and easy to navigate through, it was not a very hands on museum for younger children. If it was just J and I, or our boys were a bit older, this would have been a place we could have spent hours in.

That said, they did have an amazing area specifically for children 2-6, the Crown Family PlayLab. I’m so glad I saw this randomly walking to the bathroom. The boys LOVED being able to play in here! We enjoyed being able to see all of the dinosaurs in the main museum, but getting to pretend to be a paleontologist in the children’s area was so cool! He loved being able to “dig” in the dirt, then uncover a bone, and figure out what part of the dinosaur it was. They had a little nature area where you could dress up as some Midwestern animals. Several little tables were arranged with puzzles and other hands on activities. If you know our boys, you know they love music and the music room with instruments from around the world was such a big hit!

Overall, the Field Museum of Natural History was really cool, but I would recommend taking your children if they are a little bit older than toddler age to get the most for your money!