Family Days Out in Chicago With Kids

Chicago’s biggest draws for kids sit on the free lakefront, so a family can plan a full day around free stops before adding a single paid ticket.

Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo at 2001 N Clark St has been free 365 days a year since 1868. Grounds open at 8am, animal buildings run until 4:30pm on weekdays and later on weekends and in summer. The Walter Family Arctic Tundra exhibit holds three polar bears, Talini, Ash and Lexi, a genuine highlight for kids who want to see something big up close. Sea otters live at Shedd Aquarium instead, not here. Full hours are at lpzoo.org .

Navy Pier itself is free to walk, and the Chicago Children’s Museum inside runs hands-on exhibits for kids roughly 0 to 10, at $19 to $20 general admission; the Centennial Wheel adds a gondola ride for $16 to $21 depending on age. Book Children’s Museum or wheel tickets on GetYourGuide to skip the ticket line on busy weekends.

Maggie Daley Park’s free Play Garden

East of Millennium Park across the BP Bridge, Maggie Daley Park has a free climbing and adventure playground built into rolling terrain, separate from the paid climbing towers nearby. It costs nothing and is one of the better spots for kids under 10 to burn energy between museum stops.

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

In Hyde Park, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, renamed from the Museum of Science and Industry in 2024, runs interactive science exhibits, the U-505 submarine, and an Idea Factory zone built for younger children. General admission is $25.95 for adults and $14.95 for kids 3 to 11; the U-505 tour needs a separate timed ticket. Metra Electric reaches it from Millennium Station in about 15 minutes. See msichicago.org for hours.

Shedd Aquarium and Millennium Park

Shedd Aquarium’s Abbott Oceanarium and touch tanks are a standard family stop on Museum Campus, but 2026 admission requires an advance timed reservation rather than a walk-up ticket; book ahead at sheddaquarium.org . Millennium Park is free, and Crown Fountain’s spouting video faces run May through October, a reliable hit on a hot afternoon.

What to leave off the itinerary

LEGOLAND Discovery Center is not downtown or on the Magnificent Mile; it sits in suburban Schaumburg, about 30 miles northwest, so save it for a day with a car rather than a downtown walking itinerary. Shedd, the Skydeck, and 360 CHICAGO all now need timed tickets booked in advance instead of casual walk-ups.

The verdict: pair the free zoo with the free Maggie Daley playground for a no-cost morning, then use one paid ticket, Shedd or Griffin MSI, for the afternoon rather than trying to fit both in a single day. For family rooms near Museum Campus, compare hotels on Booking.com , and see the activities guide for more of downtown’s free stops.