Kohl Children's Museum
Kohl Children's Museum
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
A bright and friendly place for children of all ages, featuring a life-sized train car and a water room.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
211 reviews
Excellent
122
Very good
62
Average
17
Poor
7
Terrible
3
yupyup
new york478 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
What a disaster of a so called "Museum". It's basically one semi large room divided into different areas. The place is filthy. There is no one walking around cleaning the place. Most of the exhibits are old and antiquated. The dolls in the "Animal Exhibit" are beyond filthy. The water exhibit has antiquated equipment, and probably should've been updated some 25 years ago. Half of them did not even work. The few that worked leak and the floors are wet and disgusting. The place has very few staff (not even sure how it's legal based on the ratio of kids to staff) who are as helpful as the walls they stand leaning on....doing absolutely nothing. The place was very full and they should not sell tickets more than the amount they can safely accommodate, but then again this place is just a money grab. Ticket's are very expensive for the garbage they offer, and better yet they continuously fundraise..... with signs all over asking for donations (even on the checkout page when purchasing tickets...) What are they fundraising for? Old antiquated toys that were probably (should've) paid for years ago? What a Scam!
Written September 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CarefulCat
1 contribution
Nov 2022 • Family
Good range of imaginative activities, although some are getting a little tired and could benefit from some maintenance. Staff seemed a little hands-off. There is no customer wi-fi, despite the fact that one is invited to download a museum map from a QR code and to upload images to Instagram!
Written December 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mng1310
Arlington Heights, Illinois30 contributions
I took my 6 year-old and 8 year-old boys during Christmas break (January 4th to be exact). It was super-busy during Christmas break (duh!). The museum opens at 9:30, but we were lazy getting out of bed and didn't get there until around 10:30. The main parking lot was full and we were instructed to park in the parking garage across the street. Not a problem for us, but I could see how this could be a hassle for those with little ones and strollers to cross a busy intersection and walk a couple blocks to the muesum. There seemed to be vacant land next to the museum; perhaps a parking lot expansion would be a nice addition.
In general the Kohl Children's Museum is a very nicely laid out place. Despite the heavy crowds, my kids never had to wait in line for more than a couple of minutes to get their turn at something. The parents were also really good about not letting their child spend tons of time playing with one thing when other kids were waiting. The only exception is the pretend Dominicks's which is the only exhibit that limited the number of kids that could go in at once. They let only a set number (maybe 10-15?) of kids in at a time, keep track of the number of minutes and escort the kids out when their time is up.
The big hits with everyone were definitely the pretend play areas. They have an enclosed Dominicks where your child can play the shopper, baker, cashier or whatever role they want. Another extremely popular exhibit was the pretend PotBelly's, which had really cool fake food. They layout of the store, down to the serving baskets, sandwhich heater, and even fake bread, was exactly like PotBelly's. The kids loved being behind the counter making sandwhiches, filling pretend drinks, and putting fake money in the register.
There was also a Vet Center, where you can put stuffed dogs and cats in cages, look at real X-Rays and even look through a microscope. Car Care was fairly popular (although not as much as the others); the library didn't seem to attract too many people at all. There was also a Doll Daycare, but I have boys so we didn't go there.
The Water Works area was also very popular. It showed how water pressure can be used to power everything from water falls to musical instruments. This is a fairly crowded area, but still enjoyable. Music Makers was fun as long as there were mallots available. Don't miss the dark room in back where you can make music and watch your shadow on a screen.
There are also little art classes and craft and science experiement programs which they announce ahead of time. There are rooms off to the side where this takes place. We didn't do any of these, so I can't comment.
Kohl's also has outdoor exhibits when the weather is nice. We went in the winter, so this was closed.
The website says that kids through age 8 would enjoy it. While my 8 year old didn't hate it, it didn't really hold his interest for more than a few minutes either. I would say that up through age 6 is more accurate, with the "ideal" ages being 3 to 5. We went through most of the main exhibits in 2.5 hours. I would imagine that if you did the outside exhibits and some of the art classes you could stretch this into a 1/2 or 3/4 day affair.
My only criticism is a problem that all children's museums might have -- that is that anything with separate "accessories" (mallots, balls, etc.) seem to go completely missing by noon and you can't really use the exhibit without these pieces.
Tips for those visiting:
- If you have kids who are not in school yet, be sure to visit when school is in session. It will be a lot less crowded!
- Get there early.
- Bring hand sanitizer / wipes! Winter + kids + hands-on exhibits= flu virus heaven.
- The pretzel place attached to the building is not the only place you have to eat. If it's full, or you feel like eating something more than pretzels, go across the street to The Glen Town Center where there are a variety of fast-food and sit down restaurants. PotBelly's is probably a great choice for kids.
In general the Kohl Children's Museum is a very nicely laid out place. Despite the heavy crowds, my kids never had to wait in line for more than a couple of minutes to get their turn at something. The parents were also really good about not letting their child spend tons of time playing with one thing when other kids were waiting. The only exception is the pretend Dominicks's which is the only exhibit that limited the number of kids that could go in at once. They let only a set number (maybe 10-15?) of kids in at a time, keep track of the number of minutes and escort the kids out when their time is up.
The big hits with everyone were definitely the pretend play areas. They have an enclosed Dominicks where your child can play the shopper, baker, cashier or whatever role they want. Another extremely popular exhibit was the pretend PotBelly's, which had really cool fake food. They layout of the store, down to the serving baskets, sandwhich heater, and even fake bread, was exactly like PotBelly's. The kids loved being behind the counter making sandwhiches, filling pretend drinks, and putting fake money in the register.
There was also a Vet Center, where you can put stuffed dogs and cats in cages, look at real X-Rays and even look through a microscope. Car Care was fairly popular (although not as much as the others); the library didn't seem to attract too many people at all. There was also a Doll Daycare, but I have boys so we didn't go there.
The Water Works area was also very popular. It showed how water pressure can be used to power everything from water falls to musical instruments. This is a fairly crowded area, but still enjoyable. Music Makers was fun as long as there were mallots available. Don't miss the dark room in back where you can make music and watch your shadow on a screen.
There are also little art classes and craft and science experiement programs which they announce ahead of time. There are rooms off to the side where this takes place. We didn't do any of these, so I can't comment.
Kohl's also has outdoor exhibits when the weather is nice. We went in the winter, so this was closed.
The website says that kids through age 8 would enjoy it. While my 8 year old didn't hate it, it didn't really hold his interest for more than a few minutes either. I would say that up through age 6 is more accurate, with the "ideal" ages being 3 to 5. We went through most of the main exhibits in 2.5 hours. I would imagine that if you did the outside exhibits and some of the art classes you could stretch this into a 1/2 or 3/4 day affair.
My only criticism is a problem that all children's museums might have -- that is that anything with separate "accessories" (mallots, balls, etc.) seem to go completely missing by noon and you can't really use the exhibit without these pieces.
Tips for those visiting:
- If you have kids who are not in school yet, be sure to visit when school is in session. It will be a lot less crowded!
- Get there early.
- Bring hand sanitizer / wipes! Winter + kids + hands-on exhibits= flu virus heaven.
- The pretzel place attached to the building is not the only place you have to eat. If it's full, or you feel like eating something more than pretzels, go across the street to The Glen Town Center where there are a variety of fast-food and sit down restaurants. PotBelly's is probably a great choice for kids.
Written January 4, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
993alexy
Maryland108 contributions
Oct 2018 • Business
I went with a ticket through the groupon.
I was disappointed because it was too small and lacked content.
I thought that it was not a place to pay for.
I was disappointed because it was too small and lacked content.
I thought that it was not a place to pay for.
Written June 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sonar77
Inverness, IL7 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
I took my 3 year old granddaughter to the museum. She, of course, loved the place; however, I was very disappointed. I found it to be dirty and many of the hands on items broken. The stuffed animals which were throughout the museum were filthy. I understand that many children handle them daily, but they can be washed and should be washed regularly. Many broken parts I noticed were an easy fix (tires broken off toy cars). Also I found only 1 hand sanitizer outside of the washrooms and it was empty. At a hands on environment there should be sanitizer stations all over the facility. The entrance fee was not cheap and the cashier failed to give me the $1.00 discount I had coming with my coupon. No big deal money wise just another example of not being professional.
Written February 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dkrejser
Chicago, IL113 contributions
Mar 2011
This is a very cute children's museum. I was somehow disappointed as the rave was made up to be this special unique children museum. It is just like any other children's touch museum we have been to. I think the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia sets ones expectations a little higher than this place.
We spent a few hours there and generally it was like a nice indoor playground.
One nice touch was the chicklets they were hatching and our kids had fun looking at them, but their care for those birds were not overwhelming, and the handling not very professionel. For instance our son noticed that the water in one compartment had tilted over and had become a big mess with the bedding. The birds couldn't get any water. We notified them twice and they didn't do anything about it for over an hour, then we left. Young birds should ALWAYS have clean water.
I think it was ok for an hour or so but my children are probably too old for this place now.
We spent a few hours there and generally it was like a nice indoor playground.
One nice touch was the chicklets they were hatching and our kids had fun looking at them, but their care for those birds were not overwhelming, and the handling not very professionel. For instance our son noticed that the water in one compartment had tilted over and had become a big mess with the bedding. The birds couldn't get any water. We notified them twice and they didn't do anything about it for over an hour, then we left. Young birds should ALWAYS have clean water.
I think it was ok for an hour or so but my children are probably too old for this place now.
Written January 26, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CG2727
Northbrook, IL15 contributions
May 2019
Wonderful experience for young children. I have been there a number of times with my oldest grandson. So much to explore it cannot be done in one visit. Now I have two more grandchildren that I will also be taking there.
Written November 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jan406
Minnetonka, MN38 contributions
Mar 2019 • Family
My husband and I brought our 16 month grandson here. It was extremely crowded! Many of the toys and activities seemed tired and worn and I questioned the cleanliness. The highlight for our grandson were the 2 live turtles in a large tank. It seemed more like a big play area with 17 different areas than a museum. He had fun but I think there are better places to spend time in Chicago with a toddler.
Written March 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GcREvT
Washington DC, DC146 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
A good place for children to explore like an adult. The kids can get to work as a cashier, doctor, server, etc. The place is perfect for 3 years old and up. Clean environment too.
Written February 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jeannieburke37
Northbrook, IL6 contributions
Aug 2017
Most of this was way over the head of our 14 month old grandson. But our 4 yo granddaughter - most, not all ,exhibits she could participate in.
Written July 31, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No, you have to buy a ticket.
but if it`s free, I think not worth to visit.
Written August 2, 2019
Toddler to 6 years probably would have better time. My older child is 8 and she lost interest after a while
Written April 5, 2018
How does this children’s museum compare to the one in Naperville or at Navy Pier in Chicago?
Written March 19, 2018
Kohl Children's Museum focuses on age group 0-8 which is more in-line with Dupage Children's Museum. Chicago Children's Museum caters to a larger age group range. What is nice about the 0-8 age group focus is that the exhibits are made for those ages and the little children are not overcrowded by older children.
Kohl also has free parking throughout. The other museum's are not 100% free parking.
Written March 21, 2018
expensive admission price - any discount coupons etc?
Written April 13, 2017
Adults & Children: $12
Grandparents & Seniors (55+): $11
Infants (under 12 months): FREE
EBT Cardholders: $3 per person (up to 4 guests. Electronic Benefit Transfer card cannot be accepted for payment)
Military Discount: Buy one, get one free admission for entire party
There are often discounts found online at Groupon, etc. Just Google it.
Written April 14, 2017
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