Kids

Invent your own flying machine at the Inventing Lab exhibit or navigate a boat down a river at the Waterways exhibit in the Chicago Children's Museum. Located on the Navy Pier, the museum offers three floors of interactive family fun. Families are admitted free on Thursday evenings 5-8 p.m., and children ages 15 and under enter free on the first Monday of each month.

Drop by Barnes and Noble on Webster Ave. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and Saturdays at 11a.m. for a free story hour for infants and toddlers. If you go on a special event day, you might catch a character from a children's story visiting the shop.

Kids can learn about the immigrants' stories at the interactive Children's Museum of Immigration, free with general admission to the Swedish American Museum, where the exhibits are located. Admission to both museums is free the second Tuesday of each month.