Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum, located at 1601 N. Clark, currently has a Magic exhibit that is a lot of fun.  The exhibit is smallish with a short movie to watch and two rooms with local magic and magician related memorabilia.  The best part, however, is that there is a magician who performs at the entrance of the exhibit.  Every week there is a different magician.  See the Museums website for a schedule of who will be there when (chicagohistory.org).  We went back a couple times to see the magician perform while we were at the museum and every time he was doing different tricks that were really entertaining and totally engaging of the audience.  We all had a good time and the girls loved when they got to be involved in the tricks.  The magicians are at the exhibit daily from 11 until 3 during the week and until 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.

In addition to the Magic exhibit, the Museum has a lot of other interesting permanent exhibits.  My favorite room has a bunch of very elaborate dioramas showing big events in the history of Chicago, such as the World's Fair and the Great Fire.  The girls really liked an exhibit called Crossroads of America that included an old subway train you can walk through.  In addition, there is the Sensing Chicago exhibit, which is more hands on, allowing kids to add toppings to a giant stuffed hot dog and smell different scents in the City and guess what they are.

The museum is free for kids 12 and under and $14/person for adults.  Street parking can be tricky in this part of the City but there is a parking lot located at LaSalle and Stockton.  It's just a short walk to the museum.  Parking will cost you $9 at this lot but you have to make sure you get your parking ticket validated at the Museum to get this price.  The Museum is also not too far of a walk from the Clark and Division stop on the Red Line.  There is a cafe located inside the Museum that offers breakfast and lunch.

The museum is enjoyable in itself but if you have a child who loves magicians I suggest catching the Magic exhibit, which will be at the Museum through September 3rd.