Plan your family trip to the Art Institute of Chicago! A visit to the Art Institute is an opportunity for your family to experience, explore, and discover a vast new world together.
Categories
Museums:
General (Art, History, etc.)
Other Details
Parking:
Grant Park south garage, (entrance at Michigan Avenue between Van Buren and Adams streets)
Grant Park north garage (enter at Michigan Avenue between Madison and Randolph),
East Monroe Street and Millennium Park garages
(entrance at Columbus Drive and Monroe Street)
Pricing Notes:
New! Beginning June 1, 2011 Free Family Wednesdays.
The Art Institute of Chicago is free to all on the first and second Wednesdays of every month.
Children under 14 are free on the other days of the week.
Very beautiful museum. My brother got married here and it was so neat to be there after hours. If someone is looking for an unusual reception location, look no further. The bigger kids like it, but I am not going to lie, all the kids get a little bored if we are here too long.
This is a great place to visit. Such beauty to see all around. We have a large family and haven't been for a while, but when we did you can get reduced rates if you stop in at the end of the day. This worked well for us, because the smaller kids like it, but get bored before too long. This way you can go and see the main things that you like and not have to pay full price and you can leave before anyone has a meltdown!! :) Check out their website for details. It worked for us!
Art Museum is a great place to visit. There are definately a lot of things to see. But I do agree with previous review that it is for older kids. I don't see little one not being bored there - you can't touch anything, can't run, just look at the pictures :)
I remember going here on school field trips. You really have to appreciate art to enjoy this venue. My daughter who is 4 years old would be bored. I have not even thought about taking her here. She is just too young. I agree, this is not for young children.
Love to see the classic Chicago lion statues at the entrance, BUT most of what the Art Institute holds is for older kids. The basement is OK with the armor and holy relics. We don't care for the contemporary section, but that's just our taste.
This art museum is much better for the kids than the contemporary one. Older kids though. Very young children don't get art and just want to run around so best to be left at home.
In addition to the basement, there is a lot of great art to see, and you'd be surprised by what the kids respond to - everything from Monet to Dali. Be careful of some of the more "adult" exhibits, and be prepared to answer questions about naked sculptures, but there is so much impressive are here, that you can find something for all to enjoy. Under 12 free. I think there are free days too as well, but they get very crowded. Do lunch outside too. A Chicago destination for sure.
We took our kids to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the new Modern Wing. There is a section where architectural drawings are on display. We spent a lot of time in this room. My son really liked the building models. There is also a spiderweb that is projected on the wall with quote inside. Visitors can distort the web. Both of my kids loved playing with the web. In the same area, there is a section of different chairs. You cannot sit in the chairs, but we had a lot of fun looking at the chairs, deciding which would be comfortable. A lot of the art in the Modern Wing is not my cup of tea, though I did like the model of the Picasso in Daley Plaza. There is a piece by Jeff Koonz, called "Woman in Bathtub, which my kids found funny. There is a rather bizarre exhibit called "Clown Torture" that my husband couldn't stand. There were a few pieces that weren't kid appropriate. My kids, 10 and 7, did very well in the galleries, but much preferred the sculpture garden at the top of the new wing. They loved the view and sitting in the stone "chairs". We also loved the Nichols Bridge into Millennium Park. I would recommend older kids visit the Modern Wing. It was fun to take the kids to see American Gothic after we saw Night at the Museum, though they were disappointed they couldn't borrow the pitchfork, too.
The children's area in the basement is a place that you could spend a lot of time - great in the winter and engaging to children of various ages. We spent a whole day there last year. I brought my 3 kids (8,5,3) and we went to certain "regular" exhibits which caught their imagination - the 8 year-old and 5 year-old appreciated it but we went through quickly. We made it a quick visit and ate in the adjacent gardens then crossed the street to Milenium park.
I brought my 3 kids here (9,6,3) and the staff followed us around the entire time to make sure my kids didn't touch anything or brake anything. We were the only family with young kids in the very crowded museum. There were a few couples with infants, and some with older kids. There are delicate sculptures in the middle of some rooms, so I understand the staff's concerns about young children. My children are well-behaved, but I probably won't go back with them for several years. This really isn't a place for a family with young kids. People often crowd around paintings (which are best viewed at a distance), so my little ones who were standing just a few feet under a painting and looking up couldn't see the big picture. They only saw the brush strokes. My oldest (9) really enjoyed it and recognized several works of art. 9 is a good age for this place.
