The Art Institute of Chicago is consistently recognized as one of the top museums in the United States. The stunning location compliments the extensive art collection found inside. We are so fortunate to have this world class art museum in Chicago. It is an incredible destination for visitors and locals. Still, the Art Institute of Chicago can be slightly intimidating to visit with young children. Fortunately, the museum offers some great resources to help kids and families have a great time when visiting. Keep reading for tips for visiting the Art Institute of Chicago with kids.
Kids Get In For Free at the Art Institute of Chicago!
Let us start our tips with some really great news. All children under the age of fourteen get to visit the Art Institute of Chicago for free! Additionally, teenagers under eighteen who live in Chicago get free admission.
Certain groups of adults are also eligible for free admission including educators, active duty service members and LINK and WIC cardholders. There are also free admissions opportunities for Chicago Public Library cardholders. Plus, certain days and hours are free for all Illinois residents. We recommend that you take a look at this page to figure out which free or discount admission options are available to you.
Prepare Kids for Your Visit to the Art Institute
On our first visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, our kids were initially a bit intimidated by the massive scale of the place. We find that talking to our kids before a visit can help them feel more comfortable.
Museum Maps and Comfortable Shoes
We showed our kids some photos of the Art Institute of Chicago from their website. There is a museum map and even a sensory friendly map on the website as well. We encourage you to take a look at these maps in advance: the museum is huge! In addition to giving you a chance to plan which galleries you would like to visit, those maps are helpful for locating restrooms (including a family and gender neutral restroom on the first level) and the infant care space on the second level.
As you look over those maps, you may want to pay attention to the places where galleries on the same level do NOT connect. The Art Institute of Chicago is made up of a collection of buildings from different eras. The spaces have been creatively linked together. This means your visit will likely entail a lot of walking and some backtracking. We recommend comfortable shoes and an adventurous attitude. You may be surprised by needing to use stairs or an elevator to access one part of the second floor from another, so it helps to see this all as part of the experience of visiting this amazing space.
Museum Location
The Art Institute of Chicago has an incredible location next to Millennium Park just east of the Loop. The museum’s two entrances are at 111 South Michigan Avenue and 159 East Monroe Street. The Michigan Avenue entrance is for the original 1893 building: enter here if you want to climb the steps next to those famous bronze lions. The Monroe Street entrance will take you straight into the Modern Wing built in 2009. Enter at Monroe if you want to start in the Ryan Learning Center (keep reading for more on that). Both entrances have ramp access.
The Art Institute is a great location for out-of-town visitors hoping to get a look at that famous Chicago architecture, the Crown Fountain and “The Bean.” Plus, all families with young children are certain to appreciate the nearby Maggie Daley Park. We love that the Art Institute is so close to other notable Chicago landmarks. We think visitors could spend a whole day within a couple block radius of the museum.
Getting There
You have many options for taking public transportation to the Art Institute. Of course what route works for you depends on your starting point. We recommend checking-out the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) website or using your favorite mapping application to plan your trip. Use one of the entrance addresses above to map your route.
If you prefer to drive yourself, there is valet parking available at the Monroe entrance. For a more. budget-friendly option, park in one of the nearby underground parking garages operated by Millennium Garages. There is also metered street parking nearby. We have found that—with advance planning—the parking garage rates are typically lower than street parking rates. What we mean by advance planning is that the garages charge one rate for “drive-up” customers and another rate for customers who make advance reservations online. Those reservations can be made just one minute before you enter the garage; they still get you a lower rate. You can find the information for the Millennium Garages here.
Check the Rules for the Art Institute
The contents of the Art Institute of Chicago are irreplaceable. For this reason, this museum seems to have stricter rules for visitors than other Chicago-area museums.
If you have read other entries on this blog, you know that we love to save money by bringing our own food to attractions, when it is permitted. In this case, food and beverages are not allowed in the museum. The only exception is water in closed bottles which you must keep inside a bag while you are in the galleries. If you do not have a bag, the museum will give you a clear plastic one to use. Food and beverages are for sale in certain areas of the museum.
The museum is also rather strict about bags. They must be under 13 x 17 x 4 inches. Even then, the staff may ask you to check the bag if they think it could prove hazardous to the art.
Other prohibited items include backpack-style child carriers, large umbrellas and toys. Check the full list here. The good news is that there are free check rooms at the museum entrances where you can leave most of these items (again, see the list) along with coats and bags. These check rooms are especially nice when you arrive in all of your winter-in-Chicago cold weather gear. But, be warned that the lines to check and collect items can be long!
Where to Start Your Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago
If you are visiting the Art Institute of Chicago with children, we heartily encourage you to begin your visit with the Ryan Learning Center. This bright and inviting space has lots of tactile experiences from rotating art projects to a multi-sensory gallery to a room dedicated to hands-on art conservation. Our kids immediately felt welcome here during their first visit. The staff members are wonderful. Plus, the services and resources at the Ryan Learning Center help make the Art Institute feel accessible and engaging to even the youngest guests.
Visiting the Ryan Learning Center
This terrific space is actually open to visitors of any age, and it does not even require a ticket. The Ryan Learning Center is outside the museum paid admission area and open to the public. However, the hours are generally shorter than those of the Art Institute, so be sure to check those before your visit.
The Ryan Learning Center is located just inside the Modern Wing entrance for the Art Institute. If you enter at the Monroe Street entrance, turn left before the entrance podium where staff members scan tickets. We recommend using this Monroe Street entrance when visiting with kids. It is the quickest way to get to the Ryan Learning Center, and we think it is slightly less imposing and usually less busy than the other entrance. This is helpful if your kids are feeling a little shy. Unfortunately, you will miss those great lions and grand entrance on Michigan Avenue, so take that into consideration.
In our experience, the staff members are attentive and very informative as to what is happening in the Ryan Learning Center during your visit. We also like that they will give families some space if kids just need to sit and calm down after a stimulating walk through the Art Institute galleries. Our kids like the art and building materials at the Ryan Learning Center. They especially appreciate the opportunity to map their own journey through the Art Institute of Chicago.
Art Institute of Chicago Journey Maker at the Ryan Learning Center
Our kids love the “Journey Maker” at the Ryan Learning Center. With the Journey Maker, you create a customized guide to the Art Institute of Chicago. The guide features five pieces of art with quick insights into the pieces and interactive activities asking you to examine, imagine and create. We love the Journey Maker because it helps make the Art Institute feel more “kid sized.”
What does that mean? Well, the Art Institute of Chicago is massive, and even for adults, the amount to see there can feel overwhelming. Additionally, there are not many spaces to sit (yes there are benches, but they are relatively sparse). So, little ones are surrounded by a lot of grown-up legs in what feels like a big space where it would be very easy to get lost. Oh, and they cannot touch anything (except in the Ryan Learning Center)! The Journey Makers give kids a mission and therefore some kind of ownership of the Art Institute of Chicago. They have a project and a small map, and they get a prize for completing their mission. Journey Makers make the Art Institute of Chicago kid sized.
Journeying with the Journey Maker
There are several touchscreen stations throughout Ryan Learning Center. At these stations, visitors get to create their own guide to the Art Institute of Chicago. We find this to be a really user-friendly process for any age. It is fun and easy to navigate through a series of screens which invite you to pick a theme for your journey and then select five pieces of art which interest you. Once you have created your individual guide, you collect a paper copy from the center’s printers where a staff member provides you with folding instructions and a little pencil.
To embark on your journey, you will need to enter the paid admission area of the museum. Fortunately, the Art Institute of Chicago is always free for kids, but keep in mind that adults will need to find a free admission option or buy a ticket. Once you scan in, you can use your personalized guide to find your five chosen pieces of art.
While the Journey Maker has you select just five pieces of art, we find that our journey to locate those five takes us around and past hundreds if not thousands of other pieces. The Journey Maker is a great way to see the Art Institute of Chicago with kids! Once you locate the art, you are invited to engage with it in surprising ways including writing dialogue, posing, acting and drawing. Our kids love it. In the end, you can return to the Ryan Learning Center with your guide, where you are awarded with a museum postcard of your choice (though that is subject to change).
Alternatives to the Journey Maker
We are obviously big fans of the Journey Maker and the Ryan Learnign Center. But, if that is not an option for you (perhaps you are visiting outside the Ryan Learning Center hours), there are some good alternatives.
The Art Institute of Chicago website provides a guide for visiting families. You can find it here. In addition to offering family-friendly tips and resources, that page also gives you the opportunity to use the Journey Maker at home. You can download a nice PDF version of your guide at home. This also gives you an opportunity to preview the Journey Maker process.
If you want to skip the Journey Maker but still have a guide to the museum, you can check-out some of the self-guided tours on the Art Institute of Chicago website. These include a one-hour tour featuring the museum’s “greatest hits,” a Ferris Bueller themed tour and one custom built to your preferences. Choosing or building a tour with kids is a good way to give them agency over their visit. Additionally the Art Institute offers free daily tours with a guide.
Final Tips for Visiting the Art Institute of Chicago with Kids
We hope you have a chance to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. While the grandeur and scope can be a bit overwhelming, we hope this guide will help turn intimidation into awe. We have a few final tips to help with that.
First, think realistically about how much time your kids can spend at the museum. It is okay to divide your visit. Reentry is allowed with the same ticket: you are free to come and go from the museum for your entire admission day. So, you can plan to make your visit in chunks and take breaks to go play in the neighboring Millennium Park and the fantastic Maggie Daley Park. The museum even has its own (seasonally open) gardens.
Second, bring a sketch pad and pencil. Our kids (and even us adults) like engaging with the artwork at the Art Institute of Chicago by creating some of our own. Small sketch pads and pencils (no paint or pens) are allowed in the museum galleries. So, feel free to find a bench and sketch during your visit. Once you get home or visit the Ryan Learning Center, your kids might want to continue their work.
And a final piece of advice from our own experience: visiting an art museum with kids is just different than going with adults. We have had to let go of our expectations of lingering for long moments in front of a beloved painting or getting lost in the galleries with no regard for time. Kids get wiggly, and kids get hungry and silly. We try to embrace that difference and experience the museum through their eyes. It is totally worth it!
Thank you for reading this guide to visiting the Art Institute of Chicago with kids.
We hope you have found these tips helpful. We encourage you to check out some of our other articles on Chicago area attractions. See Top 5 Tips for Visiting Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, Illinois Railway Museum: All-Aboard For Our Top Train Time Tips!, Wildly Fun Tips for the Play Zoo at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, Why The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is Great for Kidsand more. Finally, please consider subscribing to our free newsletter below. Thanks again for visiting.
