Learning and Fun in Family-Friendly Illinois (continued)

4) Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) tours – Thanks to a confluence of imaginative architects (and the unexpected redecorating opportunities left by the devastating 1871 Great Chicago Fire) the Windy City has a jaw-dropping collection of spectacular buildings.  The CAF works to preserve that heritage; they offer all sorts of docent-guided tours, but the waterborne ones on the Chicago River really appeal to kids. Who doesn’t like seeing cool stuff from a boat? 

5) Shawnee National Forest – Spread across most of southern Illinois in the Illinois Ozarks and Shawnee Hills, the Shawnee National Forest offers plenty of outdoor recreation, cycling on the Tunnel Hill State Trail, hiking and camping opportunities, even panning for gold in some areas. Clamber around huge boulders in the Garden of the Gods Wilderness Area and play river pirate where real pirates used to hide in Cave-in-Rock State Park.

6) Quad Cities – Four cities straddle the Mississippi River in one area; on the Illinois side are Rock Island and Moline/East Moline (with Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side.) Rock Island’s Black Hawk State Historic Site has forested hiking trails and the Hauberg Indian Museum, honoring the region’s Sauk and Mesquakie tribes. At the Mississippi River Visitor Center at the Army’s Rock Island Arsenal, visitors can see river traffic “lock through” at Lock and Dam 15, the largest roller dam in the world. Take a Park Ranger-led lock tour to see how engineering transformed what was formerly a shallow rapid. Quad City Arts provides an umbrella organization for the performing, literary and visual arts in all four cities, and features a paid summer artist apprentice program for teens. Drive the legendary Great River Road National Scenic Byway along the Mississippi and right through Moline (headquarters of the plow that tamed Midwestern soil: John Deere.)

7)  Cahokia Mounds State Historic and World Heritage Site – Sixty-eight earthen mounds and their excavated contents tell the story of an ancient culture that started here in 700 AD and became the region’s center of Mississippian society. Rulers lived in a giant stockade atop 14-acre Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthen structure in the Americas. Kids learn about basic astronomy when they explore the circular wooden posts called “Woodhenge,” which appear to have been designed as calendars.

8) Frank Lloyd Wright  – How can children learn about the famous Midwestern architect? Through other children: the Preservation Trust Junior Interpreters are trained 5^th-10^th grade students who lead tours at Wright’s home in Oak Park and explain his innovative style and influence. There are also family tours tied to the children’s mystery book Wright 3 (follow young sleuths Calder and Petra in solving arts puzzles in the Robie House) and popular Youth Architecture summer camps. For more, visit Oak Park in mid-May when many private Wright-designed homes are open to the public.   

9) Springfield – Much of this central Illinois city is all about Abraham Lincoln, but it is also important as the state’s capital. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a must-see; visitors walk through life-sized dioramas and exhibits that explore Lincoln’s famous log cabin upbringing, law career and Presidency. Children can play with period clothing, toys and tools in Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site shows Lincoln’s daily life and house as it looked in the 1860s. In July, a variety of living history performances and demonstrations entertain visitors at each historic site and in Springfield parks, and there is a special Civil War flag retreat ceremony each Tuesday evening June-August at Lincoln’s Tomb.