Navy Pier has been dear to Chicagoans since its completion in 1916. Now it’s the Midwest’s top tourist destination, with attractions like nighttime boat tours that take full advantage of the spectacular Lake Michigan location.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

by Brian Doolittle

Just east of downtown Chicago, jutting 3,000 feet into Lake Michigan, is a family-friendly haven in a dazzling fresh-air setting.

Chicago’s historic Navy Pier is a multi-faceted complex that offers an overwhelming amount of things to see, do, and experience. After a long day, you can wind down at Navy Pier’s East End and enjoy a view of the city’s skyline at sunset.

Navy Pier’s 50 acres of parks, promenades, gardens, shops, eateries and attractions are a real tourist wonderland, especially conducive to child parenting. Despite the Pier’s never-ending blend of history, events, attractions, and culture, it is often the simple things that work best, like the 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel! One revolution takes eight minutes, and you bet your children will insist on a ride.

The Midwest's top tourist destination, Navy Pier attracts more than 8.6 million visitors per year. With plentiful space, you will not usually feel overcrowded, though a typical summer day draws large crowds. You can get where you need to go while having easy access to the amenities that families rely on to get through a long day. Navy Pier is also very stroller-friendly.

Navy Pier has a captivating history. The Pier originally opened in 1916 as both a recreation facility and a shipping facility with docking for freight and passenger ships. When the U.S. entered World War I, the Pier housed several soldier regiments, Red Cross and Home Defense units. The Navy operated various training programs at the pier throughout the 40s and into World War II. The Pier also flourished as a venue for concerts and exhibitions for half a century.

In 1989, following 20 years of infrequent use, the Pier’s ownership was transferred to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. The present adaptation of Navy Pier opened in 1995.

We’ll summarize several of the Pier’s main features, but be sure to visit navypier.com before visiting to nail down your agenda.

From a swing ride to Shakespeare

Gateway Park is the 19-acre lakefront entrance just west of Navy Pier. It features a fountain and computerized jet streams, which are bound to be a hit with the kids. On the adjacent streets, a colorful mix of jugglers, mimes, comedians, singers, and musicians perform.

Navy Pier's south side, including tour boats and the 150-foot Ferris Wheel

The Family Pavilion includes the three-floor Chicago Children's Museum and a 440-seat IMAX Theater. It also houses 40,000 square feet of restaurants and year-round shops. If you have children, rest assured that they’ll have an entertaining place to run around for a long time. Most of the interactive exhibits are aimed at 10 and under.

Also in the Family Pavilion, Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze is 4,000 square feet of sensory experiences, including the Mirror Maze, Spinning Tunnel, and a duplication of the Great Chicago Fire. The Pavilion’s food court has abundant variety, from fast food to romantic dining.

Another area in Family Pavilion is Crystal Gardens, an indoor botanical park, which provides a year-round center for family activity. The six-story glass atrium has over 70 full-size palm trees.

Navy Pier Park, just east of the Family Pavilion, holds the aforementioned Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, an old-fashioned swing ride, and an 18-hole miniature golf course.

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater boasts an intimate 525-seat courtyard-style theater, and English-style pub, and an English garden. You can find live music at the Beer Garden’s Bud Light Stage, which is free to enter.

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows displays 150 windows in an 800-foot long succession of galleries in the lower level of Festival Hall. It is the first U.S. museum dedicated to stained glass windows. Themes include Victorian, Prairie, Modern, and Contemporary.

The City's only Segway-authorized touring company offers two-hour guided tours of the lakefront.

Boat rides that take you out onto Lake Michigan for a breathtaking view of Chicago’s skyline depart from Navy Pier's South Dock. If boating is not your thing, you may enjoy the AeroBalloon, which allows you to float in silence 35 stories into the air in a helium-filled balloon. Each flight lasts approximately nine minutes.

“Navy Pier is a wonderful place to wow the kids and wear them out before an adult night on the town,” said Christine Lageson, 28, who moved to Chicago from St. Louis two years ago. “Between the boats, rides, food and games, there is so much to do and there is no fear of not finding something for everyone.”

Special summer events

A  favorite summer showcase is the Tall Ships Chicago convention. More than 20 historic Tall Ships from around the world are will be featured for a week every August.

A tall ship is defined as a large, rigged sailing vessel. Popular tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs, and barques. Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, with separate topmasts and topsails.

This event begins with the opening Parade of Sail on Lake Michigan, where these ships make their way to Navy Pier's docks. During these six days, you can enjoy up-close ship viewing, on-deck tours, sailing excursions on Tall Ship Windy, and nightly fireworks.

 

Brian Doolittle is a writer in St. Louis, Missouri. He has covered the NBA for 13 years and fantasy sports for 11 years, and recently worked for a classic rock ‘n’ roll station for over four years. But writing about being a stay-at-home father is easily the most fulfilling work he has done.

Lead photo courtesy of Navy Pier • © Panoramic photo by Elegeyda | Dreamstime.com

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Inspire Your Kids to Cook

 

by Christina DiMartino

 

Your kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.

 

Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)

 

* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating. 

* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.

* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.

* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.

* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.

* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.

* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.

* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.

* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.  

 

It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.

 

A role model for cooking with kids

 

Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)

 

The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.

 

The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.

 

Good cooking habits

 

Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food.  (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)

 

When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.

 

You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.

 

Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.

 

Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.

 

Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.

 

 

CREDIT:

Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.

 

 

PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:

Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org

 

 

TEASER: 

Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.