MommyPoppins.com
MAKE YOUR DAY
Get Listed Log In Sign Up My Profile Sign out Contact
Chicago
  • Anywhere
  • New York City
  • Dallas Fort Worth
  • Atlanta
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Houston
  • Miami South Florida
  • Philadelphia
  • Washington DC
  • Orlando
  • Los Angeles
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Connecticut
  • Long Island
  • New Jersey
  • Westchester
Get Listed Log In Sign Up My Profile Sign out Contact

HOME - Chicago

Activity Calendar

Providers

Calendar  
  • Events

  • This Week's Picks

  • Activity Providers

  • Submit an Activity

Chicago Guide  
  • Parks & Playgrounds

  • Free Activities

  • Restaurants

Things To Do  
  • Crafts for Kids

  • Recipes

  • Science for Kids

  • Games & Activities

  • Outdoors

  • Online & Virtual

Camps & Classes  
  • Camps Guide

  • Classes Guide

  • Directory

Parties & Holidays  
  • Gift Guide

  • Birthday Parties

  • Party Providers

  • Holidays

  • Spring Guide

  • Summer Guide

  • Fall Guide

  • Winter Guide

Family Travel  
  • Day Trips

  • Family Vacations

  • Theme & Water Parks

  • Resorts & Hotels

  • Midwest Guide

  • NYC Guide

  • New England Guide

  • California Guide

Contact

Sign up for our free newsletters.
It's the closing weekend of Chicago International Puppet Theatre. Photo by Richard Termine.
Groundhog Day, Winter Fests, and More Things To Do in Chicago This Weekend With Kids
The Dupage Children's Museum is a great space for hands-on learning and play. Photo courtesy of the museum
Best Indoor Activities for Kids in Naperville, Illinois (Rainy Day & Winter Fun)
Take your little one for a splash in the Crown Fountain. Photo by Sandor Weisz
30 Things To Do with Your Baby in Chicago
Free activities for kids in Chicago include the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is always free. Photo courtesy of the museum via Facebook
GUIDE
Guide to Free Things To Do in Chicago with Kids
Kids Empire offers indoor birthday parties at budget prices. Photo courtesy of Kids Empire
Cheap Party Rental Spots in Chicago Great For Kid Birthday Parties
Explore artistic classics at the Chicago Art Institute. Photo by Maureen Wilkey
100 FREE Things to Do In Chicago with Kids
Fat Shallot has kid-friendly food near Lincoln Park Zoo. Photo courtesy of the Fat Shallot
Best Cheap Places to Eat in Chicago for Kids & Families (Under $10!) — Recs From Locals
Visit the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photo by Maureen Wilkey
Free Museum Days (and Always Free Museums!) in Chicago
Tiny Picassos can enjoy different activities every day at the Art Institute’s Family Room. Photo by Maureen Wilkey, for Mommy Poppins
25 Free Things To Do Indoors in Chicago: Free Places To Play Indoors on Cold and Rainy Days
An offbeat Chicago museum makes a fun outing for teenagers. Photo courtesy of the WNDR Museum
Chicago's Best Indoor Places for Tweens and Teens To Hang Out
Frosty Fest  is free this January in Chicago. Photo courtesy of the Gurnee Park District
Top Free Things To Do with Kids in Chicago in January 2026, According to MP Editors
Snow tubing is a favorite winter activity in Chicago. Photo courtesy of Canva
Chicago's Winter Bucketlist: 33 Things to Do this Winter in Chicago with Kids
Enjoy a kid-friendly tube fest at Sunburst Ski Hill. Photo courtesy of Sunburst Ski Hill
Best Snow Tubing Near Chicago for Families in 2025
Rack up those Scout Badges at these Chicago institutions. Photo courtesy of Canva.
Best Places in Chicago Where Kids Can Earn Scout Badges
Try a hands-on museum for the whole family. Photo by Kyle Flubacker courtesy of the WNDR Museum
Things to Do in Chicago That Everyone Will Love—From Toddlers to Teens (and Parents Too!)
You can easily spend all day at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Photo by the author
Brookfield Zoo Chicago: Tips and Tricks for Visiting with Kids
See what swims by at the Shedd Aquarium. Beluga photo courtesy of the Illinois Tourism Board.
The Best Zoos and Aquariums for Chicago Kids 2025
Photo courtesy of Enchanted Castle.
Best Kid-Friendly Arcades in Chicago
If your teens enjoy pottery, then MADE Chicago in Bucktown is the spot.
Best Crafting Parties for Teens in Chicago
Teen Saturdays at Chicago Architecture Center. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Architecture Center.
Teen Museum Programs in Chicago: Internships, Workshops, and More
FIND AND BOOK ACTIVITIES
calendar icon
This Week In
Chicago
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Sensory-Friendly Time at Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build a Bear Workshops Chicago area locations - 10:00 AM
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Donation Days for Illinois Residents at the Notebaert Nature Museum
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - various times
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
Vivid Creatures at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum - various times
SEE ALL ACTIVITIES
SUBMIT AN ACTIVITY +
Sign up for our free newsletters.
FOLLOW US FOR ACTIVITY PICKS, DEALS, AND GIVEAWAYS
FaceBook Instagram Twitter Pinterest YouTube
Activity Guides
  • Beaches & Lakes
  • Best Of Lists
  • Birthday Parties
  • Boats
  • Boredom Busters
  • Camps
  • Childcare
  • Christmas/Hanukkah
  • City Guides
  • City Hacks
  • Classes & Enrichment
  • Community
  • Crafts & Recipes
  • Earth Kids
  • Easter
  • Fairs & Festivals
  • Fall Activities
  • Family Travel
  • Farms & U-Pick
  • Free Activities
  • GoList
  • Halloween
  • Holidays
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Indoor Activities
  • Museums
  • News & Openings
  • Outdoors
  • Parent Talk
  • Parks & Playgrounds
  • Play Gyms & Sports Centers
  • Pools & Spray Parks
  • Preschools & Schools
  • Restaurants
  • Shows
  • Skiing & Winter Sports
  • Special Needs
  • Special Occasions
  • Sports
  • Spring Activities
  • STEM
  • Stores & Services
  • Summer Activities
  • Theme & Water Parks
  • Trains, Dinos & Heroes
  • TV, Film & Movies
  • Virtual
  • Visitors Guide
  • Weekend Events
  • Weekend Trips
  • Winter Activities
  • Zoos & Gardens
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Pin It WhatsApp

Best Museum Exhibits for NYC Kids Spring 2013: 7 Great New Installations

4/7/13 - By Stephanie Ogozalek

While spring brings outdoor festivals and fairs, and long days at NYC's playgrounds, it's also a great season for new museum exhibits. Alfresco sculpture installations at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the New York Botanical Garden, hands-on math and science fun at the New York Hall of Science, children's artwork at the Guggenheim, the Cloister's 75th anniversary and old-school music videos at the Museum of the Moving Image are just some of what's on tap this spring. Here are the top seven museum exhibits for families making their debuts this spring in New York City.

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Spectacle: The Music Video – Astoria
Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue between 36th and 37 Streets
Through Sunday, June 16
Free with admission: $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 3-12
Having grown up with MTV, I'm really excited about Spectacle, the first-ever exhibit devoted to music videos, which chronicles their evolution and cultural impact over the past 35 years. More than 300 videos by both genre pioneers (Devo, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Madonna) and contemporary stars (Lady Gaga, the White Stripes) will be screened, and artifacts and props will be on view. Visitors will even be able to step into a few recreated video environments. Parents, be warned: Music videos have come a long way since Video Killed the Radio Star and some contain violent, sexual or other controversial imagery or situations. If you steer clear of the peepholes in the Agent Provocateur section of the exhibit, where these types of videos will be shown, you should be good to go.

The Exploded Mind of Mulholland Hwang – Cobble Hill
Invisible Dog, 51 Bergen Street between Boerum Place and Smith Street
Through Saturday, May 18
FREE
Fans of acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers should enjoy this offbeat art exhibition in Brooklyn. Jeffers and his friend, local jewelry designer Aaron Ruff, chronicle a fictitious boy's obsession with the natural competition among animals in drawings, paintings, dioramas and other works that explore the theme. While not specifically aimed at children, the display is kid-friendly, imaginative and thought-provoking for both young and old.

Sandy Remix – Prospect Heights
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 900 Washington Avenue at Crown Street
On permanent display
Free with admission: $10 for adults, free for children under 12
Roderick Romero—known for his fantastical nature structures—has created a site-specific tree house for the BBG that, with the exception of the nails, is made entirely from natural materials. Wood from more than a dozen varieties of trees that fell during Hurricane Sandy were used to create the climbable installation. The 200-square-foot 'nest' is located five feet in the air and offers a nice view of the grounds, though don't expect a traditional kids' clubhouse.

A Year with Children – Upper East Side
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street
Friday, May 3-Wednesday June 19
Free with admission: $22 for adults, free for children under age 12
See the results of the Guggenheim's arts education program Learning through Art as the museum showcases prints, paintings, sculptures and collages created by NYC public elementary school students.

Search for the Unicorn – Inwood
The Cloisters, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive in Fort Tryon Park
Wednesday, May 15-Sunday, August 18
Free with admission: $25 for adults, free for children under 12
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the medieval museum, which is famous for its stunning 15th century Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries, the Cloisters will display 40 unicorn-themed works alongside its signature attraction.

Four Seasons – the Bronx
The New York Botanic Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard
Saturday, May 18-Sunday, October 27
Free with all-garden pass: $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 2-12
Renowned contemporary artist Philip Haas' new outdoor installation consists of four huge sculptures inspired by the 16th-century paintings Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Winter is made of dead trees and tangled roots; Spring is a bouquet of colorful flowers; Summer is a harvest of corn, zucchini and peaches; and Fall features grapes, colorful leaves and wine barrels. I have prints of the original paintings hanging over my dining table and can't wait to check the statues out.

Design Zone – Corona
New York Hall of Science, 47 111th Street between 47th and 48th Avenues
Saturday, May 25-Sunday, September 1
Free with admission: $11 for adults, $8 for children ages 2-17
Hit NYC's premiere science spot to learn how video game designers, music producers, roller coaster makers and other engineers use math and science in their creations. As always, the exhibit includes lots of hands-on fun like laying down tracks on a drum machine, spinning tunes in a deejay booth, learning about scale and pattern through image manipulation, designing a skatepark and testing out virtual roller coasters.

Of course most of the shows we profiled in our roundup of the best winter exhibits for kids are still open, including the American Museum of Natural History's Whales and Our Global Kitchen, the Morgan Library & Museum's Drawing Surrealism, the Children's Museum of Manhattan's 10-Foot Cops, the Children's Museum of the Arts' Face to Face, the Guggenheim's Gutai: Splendid Playground and the Brooklyn Children's Museum's super-interactive Big Adventure.


Find out about other cool things to do this season in our Spring Fun Guide.

Museums Preschoolers Kids Tweens & teens Uptown Astoria Brooklyn Queens Bronx Inwood Cobble Hill Upper East Side Prospect Heights New York City

Featured Local Savings

Sign up for our free
newsletters.
New York City
Dallas Fort Worth
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Houston
Miami South Florida
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Orlando
Los Angeles
San Francisco Bay Area
Connecticut
Long Island
New Jersey
Westchester
MommyPoppins.com
Mommy Poppins is a family activity website that helps people find things to do with kids.
QUICK LINKS
Activities
Providers
Family Travel
CONTACT
Newsletter Subscribe
Contact
About
SITEMAP
Submit an Activity
List Your Business
Advertise with Us
© 2026 MommyPoppins. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms of Use.
5.342
X
Click Here to Sign Up!
Register/Login if you don't want to see this popup.