The museum is home to two full-size planetarium theaters, including the world's first all-digital projection StarRider Theater and one of the world's most important antique instrument collections. There is a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch in addition to vending machines.
The Adler Planetarium is a great place to visit with your youth group! Plan your own troop trip during the day or camp "in" to earn merit badges at an Astrovernight.
Categories
Scouts and Schools:
Scouting
Museums:
General (Art, History, etc.)
Other Details
Parking:
There is some metered parking near the museum but you need to get there early to get a spot.
All Parking on the Museum Campus is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by Standard Parking. Parking is available in the lot to the south of the Adler. The cost is $15 per car on non-event days, higher on days when Park District sponsored special events occur around the Museum Campus. The lot is CASH ONLY!
On Chicago Bears' home-game-days all Museum Campus parking has been pre–sold by the Chicago Park District to game ticket holders. During other major events at Soldier Field, Museum Campus–area parking lots may be unavailable to museum visitors. Parking in the lot south of Adler is $40 when parking is available.
More information about parking on special event days can be found on soldierfieldparking.com
We had a blast the last time we where at Adler, the kids were all over 7 yrs old, material will be a little hard for younger kids to understand. The children's section was awesome very hands on.
We were at the lakefront for a cub scout camp out and the weather was cold and rainy so we decided to go to the planetarium. We ended up becoming annual members because for a family of four, it wasn't much more than the entrance fees for one day. You get free entrance and free shows, and invites to special events. We've been back twice now, and we still haven't seen it all! Our kids had a choice and chose to go here over a water park! Wow! AND they're learning something!
I took my almost 3 year old and my 3 month old on a free day and paid to see the show Big Bird's Adventure One World One Sky. My daughter is a huge fan of Big Bird and was in awe watching Sesame Street 360 degrees around her. She has been talking about "the Big Bird show" for days now and wants to go back. Seeing her reaction was priceless. There was also a great play area on the top floor that had a slide, a place to try on NASA backpacks, and fly a rocket. Most of the other exhibits are geared towards older kids and adults. One note on parking; there is a lot but is cash only and there are meters but only accept quarters and its 25 cents for 15 minutes. I only had $3 cash on me and was unprepared. The planetarium will give you up to $2 quarters and I had no less than 5 other moms ask me if I had change for a dollar. Bring cash and your quarters!
Went on free day. My kids are a bit too young to enjoy the main areas ,and we didn't pay for any of the extras. The kids area was great! When we entered, there was an employee who worked with my kids- she showed them different animal footprints and they talked about sizes of animals, etc. They got to try on astronaut jackets, there were backpacks for them as well. They had little simulator screens for the kids as well- just a great area for the younger crowd! Of course being free day, we had to battle it out with other school groups- we were there in April. In all we had a good time.
Very nice interactive play area for little kids in the Planet Explorers area. Kids wore backpacks and had space jumpsuits. The only bad thing was that some the the interactive displays were not working. Kids still had a great time using their imagination.
Great for visiting on free days, but I have two three-year olds, and the planetarium is not really geared toward young children. However, I did see what appeared to be an interactive children's are under construction.
My ten year old enjoys this place. Much to explore. Exhibits to interact with. We used the headphone system last time and enjoyed it much better. If anything, look out at the lake and relax.
I would agree with some of the other reviewers that the Planetarium is better for somewhat older kids, but I really liked the fact that they gave me a nice teacher discount!
Our toddler boys did not seem to be interested in many of the exhibits. I'm sure older kids would enjoy it more because they understand that there's something beyond our earth.
Along with the Shedd, these are great places to take out of town guests. They have special events with lectures by astronauts. My girls loved learning about the moon and the rockets.
I think this museum is great for kids ages 5 and up. The shows are great and where else can you find out how much you weigh on the moon, or mars or venus?? A lot of the exhibits are interactive and my kids (boys) seem to be fascinated with space so they do find much that peaks their interest. A bit pricey, but something you can do once a year. Parking can be difficult on weekends and free admission days.
We tried this museum with our 4 year old but she did not want to sit and got bored really fast. I however think that the 3d shows are so much fun and if you have older kids they would really enjoy learning about the planets and stars.
