Mitchell Museum of the American Indian - Chicago Museums and kid-friendly dining at Ezo's

It may make me a bad mother or a good mother (I like to think great) but once a year I take my kids out of school, individually, and we have a museum day.  It is nice to be able to spend as much time or as little time at each exhibit in a museum.  A couple of years ago my older son (about 9 years old) and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry.  At the time he was really into WWII and anything having to do with battles.  We spend almost 3 hours looking, reading, and talking about the U-505 Submarine, he was fascinated!  

I take them out of school because I am trying to avoid the crowds that can be found on weekends or school holidays.  I always check the Free Museum Days Guide to make sure I am not planning our day when admission is free to everyone in Illinois.  That doesn't mean that I need to pay full price for admission.  There is always the Kraft Great Kids Free Museum Passes at the Chicago Public Libraries, the Macy's Adventure Passes at the suburban libraries, and the Bank of America Museum on Us Program.  

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston.  

This year my 10 year old and I headed to the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston.   

I used the Macy's Adventure Pass for the 1st time. Very nice! All I had to do was go into my local library, show my library card, and tell them which museum I wanted to visit. The cool part is not only is admission free for 4 but that they print out the pass and there is nothing to return to the library. The printed pass is good for 7 days. I only wish they would include some of the Chicago museums but who's complaining. They do have the Brookfield Zoo and the Morton Arboretum 2 great places to take the kids.  It is small but they pack a lot of items into the museum. Because we were able to use the Museum Adventure Pass so it didn't cost a cent. 

There was a glass case containing several different types of moccasins highlighting that the materials used to make the moccasins varied by tribe and where the tribe lived.  The moccasins on the far right in the picture above are made out of dried grass which I have never seen before, pretty neat but it makes sense.

It may be hard to tell in the photo and it was not even apparent at first in real life but the wigwam in the photo on the right is made out of branches and bark.  The large brown sheets laying over the large branches are actually large sheets of birch bark.  In this same area they have a lot of other items that can be touched and felt such as a beaver skin, dried skin, and snow shoes.

We were near the wigwam at the same time a 1st grade class was getting a tour so we were able to sit in with them and learn a bit more.  They do have a book in this room that explaines all of the items, what they are made of and what they were used for.  We managed to spend about 3.5 hours looking around.  I think this would be a nice tour for a scouting or school group. Personally, I prefer the American Indian exhibit at the Field Museum although when you take into account travel and cost this was a nice, easy, inexpensive outing. 

 

They have a library with a large collection of books.  We spent about 45 minutes looking at the different photographs of American Indians through the centuries.  My son had to drag me out of there because I was content to spend another couple of hours just looking at the photographs.  Very cool.

Of course all that museuming makes one hungry so we headed to 

Edzo's Burger Shop also in Evanston.

I have to admit I am a burger girl but these days a good burger is hard to find but I keep on searching.  We arrived a bit before noon and avoided the lunch rush. 

My son had the kid's meal - burger, fries, and a drink for $4.89 (they do have other options). The burger was their 1/4lb. grilled burger (great that it is not char. broiled as he never would have eaten it). I had the 8oz. char. burger - it was nice and juicy and messy and tasty. I also ordered the garlic fries which too were very tasty but to "spicy" for my son. While we were waiting for the food my son pointed out that 1/3 of the items on the menu are french fries done in different ways. I wish I could have ordered a "french fry flight" :) The staff was on their toes and friendly.  

If you are looking for other kid-friendly restaurants check out our Family Friendly Dining Guide.  Looking for a Kids Eat Free Deal check out the one and only Chicago Kids Eat Free Calendar.