Yes, it's expensive, because it takes a lot of money to keep up these amazing animals. I paid $80 for an individual membership, and went twice in the week I was in Chicago. My preschooler was my free guest, and my 1.5 year old was free. Avoid free/discount days, which I think only apply to Illinois residents anyway. To get membership you skip the hour+ line that forms by the afternoon, and all the best stuff you have to pay for anyway. To go once for me was $61, so to go twice the membership was clearly worth it. A bus takes you to the aquarium, and the food court downstairs was very reasonably priced and food ok. And everything is indoors and warm. We got around fine with a stroller, but I asked the staff frequently how to get places. Not every elevator takes you to every floor.

The Polar Play Zone is a great playground for little kids. So good that my kids weren't interested in the penguins, beautiful beluga whales, and playful sea otters. The Wild Reef to see the sharks and stand on top of the sting ray tank is also a must. My preschooler liked the dolphin show, but there is very little dolphin jumping, and a lot of explaining how they train the dolphins. My 1.5 year old was NOT interested. They do show a live video feed displayed in the background so you can see what's going on close up no matter where you're sitting. The 4-D movies don't spray water, which I takes away from the 4-D effect, and the Happy Feet movie has a fairly scary moment when killer whales almost kill the penguins. I thought it was going to be a happier movie. Good thing there are three movies to choose from. The website doesn't say, but members pay $3 per movie. Luckily when we went it was buy one get one ticket free. I would skip the Jellies exhibit if I had to pay separately for it. It's better than the Camden Aquarium (but can't equal their shark tunnel), and far far better than the New York Aquarium.

The museums are great, but I'm not including them in this review. If there is no festival going on and the fountain is dry (as it was when we visited), it's just grass. There is not a single playground we saw as we walked from the aquarium to the fountain to Millenium Park. I guess I'm used to Central Park, but how is there not a single playground in this huge park? There is a lot of grass and young trees. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But that's it.

My 1.5 year old and 3.75 year old both loved it. What was unique about it was that it was for more than just toddlers and preschoolers, which I think is great. There was still plenty for my little kids to do, and there were good hands on opportunities for my preschooler to learn. Little kids don't need a lot to be amused, so though they can't do everything, they are entertained just fine with the many things that are available. There is an art lab downstairs where you have to get one of the few tickets available one hour prior to the activity. Get there early to get the ticket! The water area is sooo wet, that despite the great raincoats, I needed an entire new outfit for the 1.5 year old. The two toddler rooms were a great space where I could sit back and both kids were free and safe to wander around.

I can't compare it to the many children's museums in the suburbs, but there is a bus that takes you right to the Navy Pier building where this museum is. There is a food court downstairs within the building, and if it's not too cold, a ferris wheel and other attractions outside. I went twice in the one week I was in Chicago. It's still not as good as Philly's Please Touch Museum or Brooklyn's Children Museum, but it was far better than the Children's Museum of Manhattan.

Though all free museums can be expected to be crowded on the weekends, we were still able to get around the exhibits with our stroller adequately. I was surprised how much my almost two year old enjoyed it. At the zoo animals are so far away or many times sleeping, but here my child could get very close up and get a good look at every animal. Because of this, she enjoyed her time. Naturally, her attention span didn't allow us to read all the gem descriptions we wanted, but hey, it's free!

Maybe it's because I had low expectations of my toddler's interest in plants, but there were many pleasant surprises that made the trip worthwhile. Not membership worthwhile for us, but one visit worthwhile (we are 30 minutes away). The highlights were the fountain shows, waterfall, children's indoor garden, and the amazing real bee-hive inside the Lookout Loft. My almost 2 year-old could not get enough of the busy bees making honey and flying in and out of the hive (through a safe clear tunnel that leads the bees outside of the treehouse). The harder points were keeping her from picking the flowers, and keeping her from wandering off at times. There is a good variety of plants and fountains, which kept her interest both in and out of the stroller.

There's a restaurant and cafeteria on site in the same building. The cafeteria was surprisingly tasty, but at about the premium cost we thought it would be.