Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Tinley Park

Children's Museum in Oak Lawn

Children's Museum in Oak Lawn

Interactive indoor education & play. Hands-on play & learning for kids through various interactive rooms, exhibits & performances.

Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve

Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve

Preservation area with trails & fishing. Wildlife & plant preservation area with glacial potholes, multi-use trails, fishing & picnicking.

Hamill Family Play Zoo

Hamill Family Play Zoo

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Patriots Park

Patriots Park

Laid-back locale with a pond & trails. Unassuming spot with nature trails, a pond for non-motorized boats & kids' play areas.

Graue Mill & Museum

Graue Mill & Museum

Historic Underground Railroad gristmill. Historic Salt Creek waterwheel gristmill & Underground Railroad stop with tours & a shop.

Oak Park Conservatory

Oak Park Conservatory

Exotic plants & wildlife in showrooms. Exotic plants & flowers of various climates co-exist with birds, fish & turtles in small showrooms.

Knoch Knolls Nature Center

Knoch Knolls Nature Center

Kid-friendly nature & educational center. Nature center with kid-oriented exhibits, including an aquarium, live animals & a playground.

Lyman Woods & William F. Sherman, Jr. Interpretive Center

Lyman Woods & William F. Sherman, Jr. Interpretive Center

Forested wetlands with walking trails. Tranquil mid-city nature retreat featuring oak forest, marshlands & walking paths on 150 acres.

Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum

Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Northerly Island Park

Northerly Island Park

Lakefront nature park & music venue. 91-acre peninsula with skyline views, hiking, fishing & playing plus a fieldhouse & live music acts.

Field Museum

Field Museum

State-of-the-art science museum. State-of-the-art museum of science & invention, with the world's largest Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The Museum Campus

The Museum Campus

Lakefront park with famed institutions. 57-acre grounds with the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium & Field Museum, plus dining & lake beach.

Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium

Aquatic creatures from around the world. State-of-the-art indoor aquarium, famous for its variety of habitats & views of Lake Michigan.

Children's Garden

Children's Garden

Hedge maze, gardens & suspension bridge. Peaceful, arboretum area featuring a hedge maze, pond, themed gardens & a suspension bridge area.

The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum

Sprawling garden & nature preserve. Diverse 1,700-acre nature preserve with a maze garden & tram plus picnicking, hiking & biking.

Hidden Lake Forest Preserve

Hidden Lake Forest Preserve

Scenic area with fishing & hiking spots. This tranquil destination features trees & ponds, plus kayaking, fishing, hiking & picnicking.

The Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago

Renowned art museum with global works. Renowned art museum holding nearly 300,000 works from all over the world, spanning many centuries.

Millennium Park

Millennium Park

Green space with art, theater & ice rink. 24.5-acre green space with a video display, the reflective "Bean" sculpture & an outdoor theater.

Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago Cultural Center

Free cultural exhibits, concerts & more. Free art & shows in an 1897 Beaux-Arts building with vaulted lobby, mosaics & 2 stained-glass domes.

Wonder Works Children's Museum

Wonder Works Children's Museum

Play space & concerts for young kids. 6,400 sq. ft. of play areas & interactive exhibits plus concerts tailored to kids 1 through 6.

Little Adventures

Little Adventures

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Riverwalk

Riverwalk

Scenic walkway along the Chicago River. Riverside pedestrian path featuring city views & dining, plus bridges, fishing piers & boat docks.

The Naperville Riverwalk

The Naperville Riverwalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Riverwalk Park

Riverwalk Park

Recreation spot with many activities. Classic urban park offering a playground, ice rink, trails, horseshoe pit & a paddle boat pier.

DuPage Children's Museum

DuPage Children's Museum

Hands-on play & learning exhibits. Play & education center for young children, with many fun & experimental activities, plus a cafe.

Sensory Garden Playground

Sensory Garden Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Chicago Children's Museum

Chicago Children's Museum

Hands-on experiences for children. Family museum on Navy Pier with lots of interactive exhibits, including many for young kids.

Springbrook Prairie

Springbrook Prairie

Bird habitat, biking & running trails. Expansive natural area including meadow & prairie habitat for birds plus running & biking trails.

Elmhurst History Museum

Elmhurst History Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze

Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze

Interactive family-friendly play space. 4,000 sq. ft. of tunnels, mirrors, light effects & interactive family play on Navy Pier.

360 CHICAGO

360 CHICAGO

Observatory with tilting glass platform. Observatory on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building with a tilting glass lookout 1000ft up.

Sunset Knoll Recreation Center

Sunset Knoll Recreation Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

World’s Largest Radio Flyer Wagon

World’s Largest Radio Flyer Wagon

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Lincoln Park - Chess Pavilion

Lincoln Park - Chess Pavilion

Chess-themed sculptures & chess boards. Unique structure with a chess motif, drawing players to its chess boards built into the benches.

Farm in the Zoo

Farm in the Zoo

Barns & pens for visiting farm animals. Cows, chickens & pigs on display, plus an edible garden with hands-on activities like planting.

Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo

Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo

Pathways through a prairie-style garden. Prairie-style garden with trails, filled with native plants & home to birds, frogs & other wildlife.

Funtopia

Funtopia

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Pritzker Family Children's Zoo

Pritzker Family Children's Zoo

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo

Free zoo with an interactive farm. Small, free zoo with lions, primates, reptiles, a children's area & an interactive farm exhibit.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Environment-focused kid-friendly museum. Environmental museum with outdoor walkways for observing local wildlife & kid-friendly exhibits.

St. James Farm Forest Preserve

St. James Farm Forest Preserve

612-acre preserve for fauna & flora. Hikers, bikers & horseback riders can explore a protected area of woodlands, prairies & wetlands.

Phillips Park Zoo

Phillips Park Zoo

Historic park housing native animals. Year-round animal park since 1915 with 40+ native species of mammals, reptiles & birds.

City of Aurora- Phillips Park Zoo

City of Aurora- Phillips Park Zoo

Golf course, zoo & recreation area. Vast city park comprising a golf course & pro shop, zoo, sporting fields & family recreation areas.

Basement of the Dead Haunted House Chicago

Basement of the Dead Haunted House Chicago

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Lederman Science Center

Lederman Science Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Explore More Activities

Discover more events and activities happening in the city.