I don't know what happened, I meant to post this months ago! I meant to post a lot over the past months but life intervened. Here's hoping I'll be able to get some more posts in soon!
Okay, my third and final post on visiting museums in Chicago with a baby! The previous two are here and here. A quick post here covering the two museums around Lincoln Park we visited:
Chicago History Museum:
This is a great museum! They had a few very interesting shows and a good permanent collections area running through some major events in Chicago history. Overall, a great place. There is also a pretty set of rooms in the back with stained glass windows that are used for events but luckily for us, were open and empty since C. got a bit restless by the end of our trip.
We found a family bathroom on the second floor on our way back to those aforementioned rooms but the downstairs bathroom, straight back through from the ticket desk, was very large and I believe had a changing table as well.
I was even able to find a quiet gallery on the second floor where I could nurse on an interesting view of some photographs.
Some of the areas in the permanent collection area are a bit loud. There is some music, video, and train sounds so not the best for when baby is napping, but one can also duck into another Gallery during that time. Over all a great trip!
DePaul University Museum of Art:
Situated right next to the Fullerton Station, this Museum is pretty new. It still had a new museum smell when we visited. The doors were a bit hard to get through with the stroller and even though there were three employees sitting at the front, oddly no one offered to help until I was through the second set. They had nice, airy, open galleries that were easy to maneuver once you got inside and it was pretty quiet when we visited.
I wasn't a huge fan of the exhibitions, they could have used a text panel or two to explain. But we still amused ourselves there seeing both exhibits on view for almost an hour. The elevator up to the second floor is a bit loud and woke C. up when we rode but I got her back to sleep for a bit. I was surprised by how little you actually could her the el even though you can see the station through the window on the second floor, God bless these new windows!
The bathroom was equipped with a changing table and I even saw a woman come in just to use it and then leave right away. Gotta keep those locations ready for emergencies! Especially free ones.
Nearby we found a very cute cafe, the Bourgeois Pig Cafe, with lovely outdoor seating and a suitable breakfast and lunch selection.
