Train's Coming! All Aboard!

What can a family do for weekend fun now that the pools are closed and the kids are boarding the school bus? Why not take a train ride to a destination-- real or imaginary!

Although Des Plaines is known for its many freight trains, we are fortunate to live in a town with a Metra Train Station for commuters. Special  $7 fares are available for the entire Saturday-Sunday weekend! You can travel downtown and back again, or head out to explore a different northwestern suburb.

Better yet, the library offers a Museum Pass discounted admission to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, a truly amazing place with huge barns of locomotives and  passenger cars and a real two mile train ride.

If you cannot make the trip right now on either one, just get "on track" with some amazing train books and DVDs.

It's A Butterfly's Life

Summer is the time to appreciate…butterflies!  If you haven't seen many winged beauties yet, and want your kids to learn everything about them, take the family on a field trip to a butterfly garden!

Happily, there are four such special exhibits in the area this summer where, for a small admission fee, you can see hundreds of butterflies native to Illinois and the Midwest or even exotic ones from around the world. In Chicago, the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum  maintains 500 butterflies of a dozen different species. On the North Shore, in the Butterflies and Blooms tent at the Chicago Botanic Garden you can watch exotic butterflies from Asia, South America, and Africa emerge from chrysalises to feed on flower nectar. In the western suburbs, the Butterflies! is an annual exhibit at Brookfield Zoo, and Peck Farm in Geneva, Illinois hosts the Butterfly House.

  (Reminder: Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo also offer discounted admission to the main park through our Museum Pass Program.)

But,where are two of the best blooming places to see butterflies flying free? Your neighborhood parks and your own backyard! Why not make it a summer and fall family project to build a simple butterfly feeder or plant new flowers to attract more butterflies, and watch them come to you! Finally, on sizzling hot days, why not cool off at the library, enjoying the amazing color photographs in our exciting butterfly books (J 595. 789).

New Museum Pass Program

We have exciting news coming out of the library this week.  Not only will our Museum Pass program be continuing, but we have a new sponsor and pass participant... LegoLand!!!!

We are so happy to be able to continue to offer this program, and we couldn't have done it without them.  As before, your family will be able to check out one pass to a museum per 7 day period and each pass is good for 7 days.  We hope that you find time to stop in and get your pass, and check out all of the other museums we offer passes to.  You and your family could have a great day out of the house.  For information on the Museum Pass program and to see the new website and updated participants, look here. 

Fall Free Days at the Chicago Museums!

Are you looking for something fun (and educational) to do with your family on a fall weekend?  Take advantage of free days at the museums in Chicago!  A number of museums are offering free days throughout the fall for Illinois residents. Visit Sue the dinosaur at the Field Museum, journey through space at the Adler Planetarium, find Nemo (or his friends) at the Shedd Aquarium, climb aboard the Pioneer Zephyr at the Museum of Science and Industry, or travel wherever your imagination takes you at the Chicago Children's Museum.  Click on the links above to view the free days at the Chicago museums this fall.

If the hustle and bustle of the city is too much for you, you can always check out a free Museum Adventure Pass for suburban museums at the library. View the list of museums available and then visit the 2nd floor information desk to check out your free museum pass.

Ew.... Bugs!

As the preschool liaison for our library, it is my job to visit all of the preschools in the city and engage them in a fun learning experience.  These past few months have been filled with bugs; books shared, rhymes acted out, and songs sung.  You can create your own bug-infested learning experience this summer by sharing the suggested books below, and heading to the Brookfield Zoo to experience Extreme Bugs, a new exhibit.

Get your child excited about bugs by sharing the following books with him/her:

Bug Safari by Bob Barner

Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran

Buglette the Messy Sleeper by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman

After you have excited them with your tales of bug life, check out one of our Museum Adventure Passes to Brookfield Zoo.  The pass is good for two free general admissions.  While you are there, check out their Extreme Bugs exhibit and enhance your child's learning experience.

When you get home, you can find a ton of books in our non-fiction collection on your child's new favorite bug.  Will it be a Stink Bug, a Lady Bug, or a Praying Mantis?  Visit the zoo, read some books and find out!  Get more information on the zoo's Extreme Bugs exhibit here.

Celebrate the Winter Holidays with a Museum Pass

Looking for ideas for day trips with your family during the December holidays that don't require heading to downtown Chicago? Why not check out a Museum Adventure Pass with your Des Plaines Library card, bundle up the kids, and head to one of the major suburban outdoor parks for a holiday stroll? Each park is hosting amazing light shows and special day/evening events all through the month! Discounted admission with the Museum Pass is a real money-saver, and since each pass is good for one week, you can be flexible about what day you choose to visit and then come back and check out a pass for another wonderful place the following week. 

What are the parks' special winter events ?

Brookfield Zoo evenings bring Holiday Magic, a wonderland of laser lights, wild animals, carolers, live music, costumed characters, a talking tree, holiday foods and gifts, plus photos with Santa or a real reindeer. Santa breakfasts or brunches weekends.

Cantigny Park (Winfield) is lit by community Christmas trees, and hosts a free LEGO Train Show this weekend, December 10-11. Of course, kids can always climb on the tanks, and parents would enjoy the McCormick house holiday decorations.

Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe) showcases the Wonderland Express, a miniature train moving over bridges and waterfalls past 80 Chicago landmarks, plus drop-in activities on Saturdays and Sundays, such as a visit with Mrs. Claus for hot chocolate and cookies.

Cuneo Museum and Gardens (Vernon Hills) features a drive-your-car-through-the-estate holiday light show, an Open House with Santa on December 16th, and a play, The Velveteen Rabbit.

We hope your family will enjoy one of these participating parks' festivities. Please check the link to each park's website for detailed information on program dates, times and fees.

Happy Holidays from the Des Plaines Public Library's Museum Adventure Pass Program!

Remember the Civil War?

My children think I am old enough to remember the Civil War. For the record, I am not. However, I do know that the Civil War began exactly 150 years ago today. I am looking forward to learning more about this historic time period as we begin the Sesquicentennial. (I love fun words, don't you? In case you've forgotten, sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary.)

I was excited to discover the Illinois Civil War Sesquicentennial website. Since it represents the work of Save Illinois History and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the information is reliable and extensive. Downloadable articles and curriculum materials for teachers are included.

This online resource also has a comprehensive calendar of events related to the Civil War Sesquicentennial, including activities at the Lake County Discovery Museum. Free general admission passes are available for Des Plaines Public Library cardholders through the Museum Adventure Pass program.

One of the dates included in the website's detailed timeline is April 12, 1861. That is the day that Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. (That's how I knew that the Civil War began 150 years ago today.) The timeline extends through the end of the War in 1865, so there is plenty of time to explore.

You can also explore the books here at the library. Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself has great projects for hands-on learning.

You Wouldn't Want to Be a Civil War Soldier! is a catchy name for a book. I was absolutely convinced of the truth of that title when I read that soldiers often brought their wives along to cook, wash clothes and take care of the sick.

I plan to learn more about this important time in our history throughout the Sesquicentennial. Let me know if you have any good resources to suggest.

Free Museum Admission

Many of you enjoy using our Museum Adventure Pass program for free admission or discounts to museums and cultural institutions throughout the Chicago suburbs. Sometimes we run out of passes, or receive requests for museums that aren't part of the program. I am excited to let you know that several of those museums are currently offering discounted admission days.

Shedd Aquarium has Community Discount Days every Monday and Tuesday in January. Community Discount Weeks are January 16-21 and February 20-24.

The Museum of Science and Industry offers free general admission on weekdays throughout January, as well as February 1, 8, 14, 15 and 22.

The Field Museum has free admission days on January 18, 19, 24, 26 and 31 and February 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 17.

The Art Institute of Chicago has free winter weekdays through February 4. Free general admission from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings continues through May 26.

Brookfield Zoo offers free general admission on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays through February.

What a Relief!!!

After my last post about the oil spill in the Gulf, I have to admit, I was pretty depressed about how those animals were faring and the picture of the pelicans on the post was making me sad (and as someone who regularly re-reads this blog, I had to look at it a lot). However, I heard on the news this morning that five of the rescued pelicans have found homes right here in the Chicagoland area at the Brookfield Zoo.

At first I was confused as to why these birds weren't released back into the wild, but as it turns out, these animals had failed to migrate North in the spring and avoid the spill because they were injured and could not fly. Due to their injuries, these birds stayed in the warm Gulf waters and were trapped in the oil slick and needed to be rescued. Now that they will be safe and sound at the zoo, your family can go visit them! You can get a pass for two free admissions to the Brookfield Zoo through our Museum Pass Program. Stop by or call in to see if a pass is available and get on over there today!

You can read more about the pelicans and the other great things they have going on at the zoo here.