Northerly Island Park

Park with a splash pad, a playground, a beach, a sled hill, a skate park and a nature sanctuary.

A planetarium with a whole room, Planet Explorers, scaled down for toddlers, and a dome show upstairs that can hold a school-age kid's attention in the dark.

An aquarium built around a touch pool where small hands are actually welcome, plus a dolphin show big enough to hold a kid's attention for a whole hour.

A sprawling natural history hall where a five-year-old can stand nose to nose with a dinosaur skeleton, and a side room built just for toddlers means the day does not end at the first meltdown.

A playground and a community garden inside a sculpture garden that honors women's history.

Enrollment-based hands-on science classes, day camps and birthday parties for ages 2-12 in the South Loop.