sipes23

I went here with Todd Schoonover after the 43 meet up in Chicago. Once we got there, I realized I had been within blocks of this place dozens of times.

Where: Chicagoland, Elmhurst
150 Cottage Hill Ave., directions on website
Cost: $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for students with ID, free for children under 12 and everyone on Tuesday
Website: http://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/
Hours: Closed Monday; opens at 10AM Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and 1PM Wednesday, Friday, Sunday; closes at 4PM Tuesday-Sunday, except Wednesday when it is open until 8PM
How to get there: Car, commuter rail possible, bus if no other option
When visited: Winter 2009

If you’re in the Chicago area and have done all the major tourist stops, or the kids are architecture buffs, or the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art didn’t take as much time as you had thought, stop on in. Otherwise it probably isn’t worth it.

The museum’s big claim to fame is the McCormick House, which is an integral part of the museum and one of three Mies van der Rohe designed residences in the United States. So, as I said, if the kids are big architecture buffs, this is a great place to go. The pitfall here is that the house isn’t really well interpreted. In fact, half of it is offices. It was almost the antithesis of Frank Lloyd Wright house tours, which come with knowledgeable guides. So read up on van der Rohe to get what you can out of this exhibit.

The remainder of the museum is pleasant and focuses on primarily Chicago-area artist from the mid-20th Century onward. Many special exhibits come through, which allows for the local community to have a variety of art on display throughout the year. The Elmhurst Artists Guild has a gallery where they display art, some of which is for sale. The bathrooms were suitable for all, including large benches in the place of baby changing tables.

I’m not sure. The portion of the Green Line south of 35th/Bronzeville/IIT teases me. I keep getting to Bronzeville and getting off the train. Why? Why can I not go the rest of the way? What obstacles are in front of me?

They called it the big orange box.

Accurate if nothing.

Where: United Kingdom, Surrey
East Molesey, Surrey KT8, directions on website
Cost: £13.30 for a single adult, £6.65 for children under 16, free for children under 5, £37.00 for a family of up to two adults and three children
Website: http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/
Hours: Monday through Sunday 10AM to 6PM (summer) and 10AM to 4:30PM (winter)
How to get there: National Rail, Hampton Court stop (from Waterloo station)
When visited: Fall 2008

Five stars of family friendly. I can’t easily think of any major tourist attraction that has been more family friendly.

Where to begin?

Ok, here are the basics. Hampton Court Palace is the palace of Henry VIII, among others. Queen Elizabeth lived there. William and Mary added a modest extension. It’s a palace so it’s impressive. Very impressive. You’ll probably want the better part of a day to properly explore it, if not more.

It’s easy to find. Getting on a National Rail train from Waterloo station, take the train to Hampton Court, which leaves twice an hour. Take it to Hampton Court, which is the end of the line. The huge building on the other side of the Thames, here a much smaller river, is it.

The staff was helpful from beginning to end. In fact, they even tipped us off to some of the most family-friendly features. It isn’t marked clearly on the map, but there is a family room with toys for children to play with. There is even a ball pit. Your young children can blow off steam here while you marvel at the amazingly complex clock Henry VIII built outside. For older children they have a selection of tours in the family room, but the ghost tour might be the most interesting. You can find the family room behind the audio tour room. You may want to make it a first stop if your children are a little older, but not yet teens.

Children may be interested in the Tudor kitchen, but the thing they will want to see is the maze. Our daughter didn’t like the closed-in feeling at 17 months, but the other children in the maze were full of loud, happy noise. My wife and I enjoyed it. A hit for all ages.

There are changing tables in the main bathrooms, but they appear to be the only changing tables. All of the eating options at Hampton Court have children’s meals available. The Privy Kitchen Cafe, which is in Queen Elizabeth’s own kitchen, will let you grab a quick bite without having to leave the palace. The Tiltyard Cafe is on the palace grounds, but not in the main palace. I would imagine you can picnic in the summer, and it looks to be a pleasant place for it. There is an elevator there, but we couldn’t find it. It wasn’t too much of a hardship as the number of stairs was pretty minimal.

This is a wonderful place to visit with children. I can’t wait to catch a great fare to London again so I can go back. They went above and beyond the call of duty to make it child friendly. An amazing visit.

Dis manibus
Puella icognita
Londiniensis
hic sepulta est.

So there I am on a late night walk, and bang! Latin. And carved in stone (how else?) near a hyper-modern building. Crazy. Talk about a convergence of ancient and modern.

Where: United Kingdom, London
Bankside, London SE1, directions on website
Cost: Free, suggested £3 donation
Website: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10AM to 6PM and Friday through Saturday 10AM to 10PM
How to get there: London Underground, Southwark and Blackfriars stops are closest
When visited: Fall 2008

Is this a must see site? I’m not sure. I would say the biggest question you have to answer is, “Do my children like modern art?” My daughter tolerates the gallery portions of modern art. I can look around a gallery and immediately determine which two or three pieces I want to look at more closely. Strangely, it almost alway seems to be “name” artists.

Anyway, the real reason to bring the family here is for the turbine hall, unless they love Rothko or Bacon. It’s an amazing space. Since the Tate Modern used to be a power plant—right in the middle of London, crazy, I know—the main space is an enormous room capable of eating whatever building you live in and then a few more. It’s huge. A rotating display is featured there. My daughter loved the one we saw: ranks of yellow and blue bunk beds. She had to touch all of them. Truly an overwhelming space to contemplate art, certainly unique to my experience.

There are baby changing facilities in several locations of the Tate Modern. For those with strollers, there is a bank of elevators, though if busy the wait might be fairly long.

If it weren’t for its central London location I doubt we would have gone there, but I’m glad we did. The turbine hall is worth a visit, and you can cross the Thames on the Millenium Bridge when you’re done.

Yes, they suggest you avoid this tube stop on the weekend. Having had the dubious honor of using it on a weekend, I get it.

Yikes.

I stood on the runway. No one does that, unless it’s community day for the first new runway to open since 1971. Then they invite everyone to show up. It’s surreal. A runway at a major international airport is nowhere you get to go to on foot, except today. Next time I’m here, I’ll be in an aluminum bird aiming for the sky.

Oh, and I didn’t pay for parking either. Surreal.

See the picture at: http://images.43things.com/i_did_it_entry/668xl.jpg

Where: Southern California, Los Angeles
1200 Getty Center Drive, directions on website
Cost: Free, parking is $10 per vehicle
Website: http://www.getty.edu/
Hours: Open all days except Monday (closed), 10AM to 5:30PM and 10AM to 9PM Saturday
How to get there: Car, bus possible
When visited: Summer 2008

An amazing collection of art in an amazing setting. I don’t know where to begin. The gardens? or the building? or the art? It’s all amazing here. Just don’t confuse this one with the Villa in Malibu. But you won’t be able to do that after you visit.

Children will love the tram that takes them from the parking area to the museum itself. The views are stunning, but there is a bit of a wait to get on the train. Families with children in strollers or wheelchairs seem to get priority boarding.

Since this is Southern California, the several buildings are arranged around a central courtyard. It’s very striking. One of the buildings stuck out of the mountain in a way that reminded me of a modern Alhambra. The gardens, which range from desert plants to more traditional sorts of plants are arranged throughout the grounds. There is some shade, but if you come unprepared the museum has umbrellas.

The art on display here ranges from medieval to modern. Since each building is fairly small and grouped by time period, the time needed to visit each one won’t vex the kids. See some art, play outside, repeat. It’s almost too easy to keep ‘em happy while visiting here. The gem, which really surprised me, was a room for children to play in where each play station took inspiration from one of the works in the gallery. Their website also has much in the way to prepare older children for their visit.

The staff was helpful and there was a cafe to get some food. Prices didn’t seem out of line at all. Bathrooms had changing tables for the very young.

Worth a visit if you are anywhere near it. Families with small children may last a half a day, but older children and budding artists may last longer.