Trailside Museum of Natural History

"A nice small nature center on the edge of a Forest Preserve. It has some live animals, educational displays, and is surrounded by native plant gardens. The surrounding Forest Preserve has a pond and mostly unpaved trails leading to the Des Plaines River. The friendly staff offers field trips for schools, and there are free nature programs every weekend and some weekdays. There is an outdoor Nature Play Area for the littles."

"First off, ample parking—a true luxury. The sheer joy of getting a vacation’s worth of walking just from your child’s car seat back to the driver’s seat. That whole millisecond of tranquil silence before stepping back into a car filled with nursery rhymes, broken Goldfish, and my own shattered dreams? Bliss. The picnic grove is a great place to watch hours of carefully prepped food go untouched by both children and adults, while you sit in the shade of ancient trees contemplating your life choices. There are nature paths for stretching little legs (and your patience), an outdoor nature play area where kids can let loose, and animal enclosures where you can pretend, just for a moment, that you are alone in the woods instead of managing complete and utter chaos. The owls are beautiful, by the way. Thatcher Glen Pond is there if you want to try fishing—but check the website for rules before you break some obscure fishing law and get side-eyed by a ranger. Thatcher Glen Woods hosts fun weekly events, including a "Worst-Case Scenario Hike", which feels oddly like my everyday life. The Des Plaines River is there too—though, let’s be real, I mostly come here for the indoor nature center from November to March, where my kids are entertained, and my sanity remains intact."

"I am thankful this museum has free admission. I enjoyed looking at the birds and reptiles during my visit. Parking lot is available in front of Thatcher Glen Pond and plenty of spots are open during the day."

"Interesting museum & amazing trail with abundance of wild life wandering freely around the trail. I saw deers, and coyotes. Also in the museum’ yard they keep injured animals in cages for kids. That includes hawks, turkeys, turtles, fox etc."

"BEAUTIFUL area! One of the best places just outside of Chicago to go for a walk, or visit the nature museum and see some animals. Breathtaking in autumn with all the Fall colors!"