Discover the Dinosaurs - Rosemont, IL

This is an exhibit of moving and replica dinosaurs and dinosaur scenes.  You can touch these dinos and take pictures with them.  There’s also kid activities like inflatables, a dino dig, gem and fossil panning and a dinosaur ride.  It was a nice walk through the event but there were so many people it was difficult to get good pictures with the dinosaurs and the kid activity lines were really long.

Santa's Village Azoosment Park - East Dundee, IL

I think we’ve taken Aiden here twice. I’m glad we took him when he was a lot younger because he was almost too big to ride most of the rides by the last visit.  I think they’ve added newer older kid type rides since our last visit, but when we were there it was mostly younger children type carnival rides. It also has a petting zoo that I thought Aiden would enjoy because he really likes animals but he actually ended up getting pretty scared and started crying.  For the most part though, he did have a really good time here.  I think at his size now he’d only be able to ride half, or less than half, of the rides. This place is pretty pricey (around $24 per person at that time) so I’m not in a big rush to get him back there. But maybe one day.

Pirates' Cove - Elk Grove Village, IL

Pirates’ Cove is a children’s theme park with paddle boats in a shallow pool, a carousel, playground, bounce house, giant slide, climbing wall, train, and other fun stuff.  It’s designed for children between the ages of 1 - 9 and it is only open in the summertime, June - August.  I really liked this place.  We took Aiden here when he was younger and it was great.  He enjoyed nearly everything there and it looked so cute, like a little Great America for little kids.  It also has a craft activity area and concession stand, although you can also bring your own food if you’d like.  Aiden has aged out of this place now but I’m so glad we got to take him here!

Fox River Trolley Museum - South Elgin, IL

This is a genuine historic trolley car that runs a 4 mile route alongside the Fox River in South Elgin. 

We thought it was pretty cool for it’s history.  Aiden was little at the time so he just enjoyed the ride itself.  

The conductor even let him honk the horn.  

We went on a typical weekend ride but they also have special events like a Polar Express ride in the winter and a Ghost Story ride in the fall.

Kohl Children's Museum - Glenview, IL

What’s cool about this museum is that it’s interactive, hands on learning. And many of the exhibits reflect real life scenarios like grocery shopping or taking a pet to the vet. All of the exhibits and programs here are designed to make learning fun and interesting for children up to 8 years old.  Aiden was very young when we took him here but he still enjoyed it because there was much to see and touch.  It also has outdoor exhibits as well.  This is really a great educational place for younger children but it does get very crowded.

Yu Kids Island Woodfield Mall - Schaumburg, IL

This place is an indoor kids play area, inside of Woodfield Mall, that is covered in soft padding.   It has several things to play on like a spinning tree, bouncy area filled with balloons, a revolving tube, etc. Aiden used to really enjoy this place. The only reason that we stopped going here was because he got too tall.  This place is only for kids 48 inches or shorter.

Fox River Bike Trail

This bike trail runs from Aurora to Algonquin.  We, of course, only did a tiny portion of that.  We walked from the west side of Carpentersville to downtown East Dundee.  Aiden was younger then and I wasn’t sure if he would be able to walk that far so we took the wagon too.  It was a nice walk through neighborhoods and a park.  We ended near The Depot and ate at a little outdoor restaurant right off the trail.  There are a few restaurants, stores and bars right there so you have choices.