ILLINOIS

Children’s Discovery Museum:

• Access: Right downtown on the corner of downtown Bloomington, next to the train station

• Layout: I was very impressed by the size, design and activities in this museum. It was very clean, intentionally curated and was very hands on and interactive. Spread out over three floors connected by elevator, it is very manageable to watch your kids in the activity sections.  There is so much to see and do on each floor, they each have a different theme/variation.  The first floor has a pizza shop with wood-fire “ovens”, an adventure park with climbing structure, a doctors office and water play, upper levels have music, a kids theater, lights, farm exhibits and a massive two story climbing structure.  There is so much to do, you can easily spend a couple of hours here.  Staff were attentive and the whole space was very clean and well-maintained.  Highly recommend.  At the time of our visit it was $10 admission.

• Amenities:

  • Kid/family friendly bathrooms with changing tables.

  • Hand sanitizer on every floor, by all exhibits

  Miller Park Zoo:

• Access: Inside park complex, parking is right by the entrance and easy to find.

• Layout: Pathway makes it easy to get around the zoo with a stroller or wagon.  Very little kid friendly with good sight-lines for littles. Reptile house has steps so kids can easily see animals, some activities for them to play with. The whole footprint is very small and even walking very slow you can easily see everything in 45 minutes or less.

• Amenities:

• Very affordable entry fee. Includes all exhibits.

• Some activities (carousal) are seasonal and do not operate in bad weather/winter.

Peoria Zoo:

• Access: Located in a park complex with a massive playground, pickle ball courts, the Peoria Playhouse and a garden, there is limited parking for all things offered so if you’re going on a busy day, may find it hard to park right near the zoo. The zoo itself has maybe 40 parking spots in a lot out front. You pay on entry. The zoo is part of the AZA reciprocal program that gives discounts to visiting zoo members from other locations.

• Layout: While the zoo didn’t seem big on a map, we spent over two hours exploring and could have stayed even longer. The zoo is organized by continent (Africa, Asia and Australia). The layout makes it a fun discovery of the different animals living in very impressive habitats. There is a boardwalk that takes you above a savannah with giraffes and rhino so you can see from above. Along the path are graphics and facts to make the journey very interesting. They had multiple babies when we were there and we had several different zoo keepers provide great customer service by initiating conversation and sharing information about the animals we were observing. Overall, would definitely go back and recommend it for a fun afternoon, especially with little kids.

• Amenities:

• Very stroller friendly

• Kid/family friendly bathrooms with changing tables and water fill stations throughout.

• Hand sanitizer throughout the zoo.

• Interactive design and good nightlines for kids.

Peoria Playhouse:

• Access: Located in a park complex with a massive playground, pickle ball courts, the Peoria Zoo and a garden, there is limited parking for all things offered so if you’re going on a busy day, may find it hard to park right near the Playhouse, but the whole area is reasonably sized so it would not be hard to walk over. There are lots of trees surrounding the area to make it shady and cooler.

Rader Family Farms:

• Access: Need to drive, no public transit.  Plenty of parking in a dirt lot.

• Layout: Large space with kids fall activities set up.  Plenty of room to run, on grass so a stroller would not work well, plan to carry kiddos or have an all-terrain wagon. Shop and food stand is at the front and depending on what event you’re visiting you either continue through the main side (fall/pumpkin patch) or you get on a hayride across the lot to the flower fields (Sunflower Festival).

  • The Sunflower Festival takes place during select weekends in the summer. We went in August and the fields were in full bloom, it was also 95 degrees without much shade but we had a great time. There is a small trailer train for littles, face painting (for a fee), amazing photo ops in the flower fields, little crafts and yummy treats. You can also pick jars of the Zinnias and Sunflowers to take home (for a fee). The main snack barn was open and we enjoyed donuts and fresh lemonade. The fall attractions/rides/petting zoo was NOT open during this event. I would guess older kids would find it fairly boring, but our 2 & 4 year old really loved looking at the flowers and exploring, if had been a little less hot that would have made it perfect. Bring lots of water!

  • Fall/Pumpkin Patch has a lot more for older kids with rides, activities, the pumpkin patch, a giant rug slide and more. It is also a lot more crowded and busy than the other events they have at this location.

• Amenities:

• Flush toilets

• Food for sale including lunch options, treats and snacks

• Great photo ops for kids and families of all ages

Roth Farms/Pumpkin Patch:

• Access: Need to drive, no public transit.  Plenty of parking in a dirt lot.

• Layout: Large space with kids fall activities set up.  Plenty of room to run, on grass so a stroller would not work well, plan to carry kiddos or have an all-terrain wagon. Shop and pumpkins are at the front, petting zoo, tractors, rides and games are throughout the back part of the space. A little hay wagon and train are available for rides also, there is a small covered waiting area as the lines can be decently long on busy days.

• Amenities:

• Port-o-potties were the toilet option available. 

• No baby changing space was available.

• Some food was for sale, but it was mostly sugar (donuts, cider, etc.).

• Great photo ops for kids and families of all ages

Closest Airports
Central Illinois Regional Airport Bloomington-Normal [BMI]
Peoria International Airport [PIA]

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