How to Explore Chicago with Teenagers

eATLAS has Adventures in many of the places listed below designed to enhance your experiences. Try The Many Lives of Navy Pier, Discover Millennium Park, the Museum of Illusions Loop Adventure, Walk Around Wrigley Field, or Discover the Chicago River, the Magnificent Mile & the Historic Water Tower District.

By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

There is no shortage of options in Chicago to keep teenagers entertained. In the heart of the city, Millennium Park has Cloud Gate (“The Bean”), Crown Fountain and, in the winter, ice skating. From there, cross Columbus Dr. to Maggie Daley Park, which has a climbing wall, skating ribbon and a Chicago-themed 18-hole miniature golf course.

Try Navy Pier, where the Flyover takes guests on a simulated ride to (and, in some cases, through) downtown’s major landmarks and beyond. And young adults will love the assortment of souvenir stores, kiosks and food options found throughout the pier. Outside, at Pier Park, check out the Centennial Wheel for beautiful views of the city and, for excitement, the Drop Tower and Wave Swinger rides. And don’t forget about the fireworks displays that take place there on Wednesday and Saturday nights throughout the summer.

To go even higher than the Centennial Wheel, try the observation decks at two of the city’s major skyscrapers. On the 103rd floor of the Willis (Sears) Tower, Skydeck delivers views from 1,353 feet, and the Ledge is a glass enclosure that sticks out more than four feet from the west side of the building. At the former John Hancock Center, 360 Chicago puts you at 1,030 feet above the city with the vast expanse of Lake Michigan in front of you to the east. If the Ledge wasn’t scary enough, get a ticket for Tilt, where the windows tilt in a way that cause you to hover over the city for two minutes.

To get a closer look at Chicago’s architecture, consider an architecture cruise. Shoreline Sightseeing, Wendella, and the Chicago Architecture Center offer boat tours from the DuSable Bridge where, for 90 minutes, you’ll ride through the heart of the city on the Chicago River as a guide gives you the details on how the city has been a global leader in architecture for more than 100 years.

Depending on your teenagers’ interests, one or more of Chicago’s museums are worth seeing. Head to the Museum Campus for the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, and Field Museum of Natural History. The Art Institute of Chicago is the second largest of its kind in the U.S., with approximately 300,000 works. The Griffin Museum of Science & Industry takes visitors inside a captured German submarine, coal mine, and a spacecraft.

They’re also sure to love a pair of immersive and interactive museums. In the West Loop, WNDR Museum features more than 15 installations that blend art and science. The exhibits react to movement and touch so that you’re helping create works of art as you look at them. In the Loop, the Museum of Illusions has 60+ optical tricks that challenge your definitions of perception and reality.  

Sports fans should visit the Chicago Sports Museum on the Magnificent Mile, which celebrates the city’s sports history. Compare your hand size against Michael Jordan’s, see a collection of memorabilia from the Cubs’ 2016 World Series victory, and compete virtually against some of Chicago’s greatest athletes. And with eight men’s and women’s professional teams in five major sports, plus plenty of college athletics, there’s rarely a day when there’s not a game taking place somewhere in the area.

Only a couple of miles north of downtown, the free Lincoln Park Zoo has nearly 200 species of animals across 49 acres. Check out the Penguin Cove, Primate House and Center for African Apes. Just outside the south gate is the Nature Boardwalk, a half-mile path through a prairie ecosystem with beautiful city views.

In addition, Chicago has plenty of high-tech attractions that appeal to teenagers’ love of excitement. In the Loop’s Block 37 shopping center, Verse is an augmented reality center with seven adventures and games that allow you to train and fight dinosaurs, travel through outer space, and explore mythical worlds. Lincoln Park’s Sandbox VR has four virtual reality rooms where you can fight zombies, dragons, or futuristic gladiators, and partake in adventures inspired by Netflix’s Squid Game and Rebel Moon franchises.

There are also escape rooms with a variety of scenarios in neighborhoods throughout the city. Head to The Escape Game (River North), The Great Escape Room (Streeterville), Fox in a Box (South Loop) or Paniq Room (Fulton Market and Logan Square).

You can find more ideas, including restaurant options, at our Guide to Family-Friendly Chicago.