The best ever escape room and mini golf in Chicago

[caption id="attachment_4568" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Success![/caption]

By Robert, aged 14:

During the recent summer holidays my family and I decided not to exercise and get a typical summer body. Instead we opted to go  to America so our physique could resemble the jellybeans we learnt about on the Jelly Belly factory tour in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin (about an hour and a half from our base in Chicago). But whilst we gained pounds (and lost them at the currency exchange), the week we spent in Chicago was brilliant. I’ve been asked the question “What was your favourite bit?” multiple times since we got back from and every time I’ve replied with the same answer: “The escape room.” 

The Escape Game 

I’d been to three escape rooms in my life previous to this Chicago holiday and I had loved going every time. The one we went to in Chicago was run by the company The Escape Game. On offer at the venue we visited were five different experiences which varied in difficulty: Gold Rush, Mission: Mars, Special Ops: Mysterious Market, Prison Break and of course my favourite of all the ones I’ve done: The Heist. Unlike any escape room that I’ve partaken in before, this one actually had a proper storyline. Before we started, we were shown a video explaining our situation (that we were proving a dodgy art dealer to be a fake by stealing a painting) and this really made the next hour more exciting and fun. 



The rooms themselves were immaculately designed, they actually looked like what they were meant to be: a gallery, an office. There were no clues or objects that seemed out of place, which really made you feel like you were in the story. Also, in the British escape rooms that I’ve been to there have been many worn out props or creased laminated pages of which their sole purpose was to be a clue. The clues and rooms at The Escape Game were all in great condition, there were absolutely no puzzles that were just simply written on pieces of paper. 

[caption id="attachment_4570" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The rooms were so intricate - beautifully designed[/caption]

 

We managed to escape the room with under three minutes to spare and having only used about six  prompts or clues – which we used almost all in haste during the last few minutes! Unlike the typical “find some numbers and open up a cupboard with a padlock” puzzles which we were used to, The Heist would reveal something after we completed a sequence. An object or clue would appear on the floor or the table without us doing anything so it was really cool. 

[caption id="attachment_4567" align="alignnone" width="1200"] We had to rescue this fake picture (it took us a while to find it!)[/caption]

Overall I thought the whole thing was genius and I ended up repeating “that was so cool” over and over for the majority of the day! The storyline and unique puzzles made the experience thoroughly enjoyable, fast-paced and exciting. There were multiple times (which I can’t mention in detail or else it will spoil them) that were outstanding and we keep talking about. I hope that, without mentioning anything about the clues or puzzles, I have conveyed how awesome this escape room was as we all thought it was brilliant and would definitely go back again. If only it wasn't so far away....

The Escape Game Chicago is located in River North and costs $35.99 per player, although there are often offers if you look out for them! 

City Mini Golf 

Another unique experience that we all really enjoyed was playing a round at City Mini Golf which is located in the beautiful Maggie Daley Park. The crazy golf course started off as a popup created by school teacher Rob Long, but then it became so popular that it has now become a permanent attraction at the park and was voted Chicago’s #1 Miniature Golf Course. 

Rob - who we actually met on the day that we went to have a game - makes all the holes himself and every year he expands the designs of the less exciting one. He told us that he already has many ideas for this winter meaning if you visit it will be even better than we went – and we really enjoyed it!  The setting for the game is lovely, with greenery all around you in the park and an open view of the amazing Chicago city skyline.  

The holes themselves were extremely innovative and unique as we had to putt the ball through or around intricately made models of Chicago landmarks: The Willis Tower, China town and even a miniature replica of Picasso’s Chicago Sculpture – as well as loads more.

[caption id="attachment_4576" align="alignnone" width="1200"] You can see the new China Town hole in the background![/caption]

I’ve been to quite a few mini-golf courses in my life and I’ve got to say that the NBA themed hole at City Mini Golf was one of the best I’ve ever played. You had to hit the ball up a ramp and land it in a basketball net which dropped it into tube facing the hole, it was so cool. At the end of the 18 hole course you get to put your ball into a game and if it lands in a certain place you win a free round. Out of the four of us we actually won this once meaning it’s not that hard to get another go at an already extremely good-value attraction. The balls were colourful and painted with designs, the holes were brilliantly crafted and overall it was a great place to come and have a fun time in Chicago. 

[caption id="attachment_4577" align="alignnone" width="768"] Mum by the brilliant Chicago Bulls hole[/caption]

City Mini Golf is located in the middle of Maggie Daley Park, just five minutes from the amazing Cloud Gate (the Bean)! It is open Monday-Thursday, and Sunday from 11-8 and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am-9pm. It costs $11 per person, but if you live locally, you can get a whole season pass for $32!

Further reading:

NEW! Read about how we took part in a virtual escape room (but did we escape?)

NEW! Read Jess's account of our trip to Chicago, with her tips for teens.

Read about our trip to a London escape room, ClueQuest

Read about our trip to the biggest mini golf course in Europe

Visiting London's Natural History Museum as a teenager

[caption id="attachment_3880" align="alignnone" width="1024"] (pic by John Cummings via Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]

Jess, aged 15, writes: I visited the Natural History Museum frequently when I was younger (in fact, one of my earliest memories is looking at the dinosaurs), but I hadn't been for at least five years until one of my friends suggested a visit. It's strange being a teenager at museums: exhibits are either super babyish or ridiculously quiet and intellectual, and attempts at appealing to teenagers usually involve cringe-y "LOL"s and hashtags. We wondered if the museum had changed much since we last visited it, and if there would be anything for us.

We started out in the "Red Zone", which is all about earth's structure. My friend and I were instantly entranced by the entrance: an escalator leading into a giant model of the earth. It seemed like the start of a ride at Disneyworld! The first exhibition was one I remembered from years ago - "Volcanoes and Earthquakes". Despite both of us being Geography GCSE students and already knowing most of the facts, we really enjoyed the exhibition - it was colourful, in depth, relatively up to date, and had lots to see and do. Particular highlights were casts from Pompeii and a supermarket that simulates the 1996 Great Hanshin earthquake.

[caption id="attachment_3878" align="alignnone" width="753"] (photo courtesy of the Natural History Museum)[/caption]

Next, we passed through the "Human Evolution" and "Earth's Treasures" galleries, which we found fascinating. "Human Evolution" features lots of realistic models of different human species over time, and "Earth's Treasures" is full of minerals and jewels of every size and colour. While these were definitely exciting to look at, it was also very interesting to learn about mineral structure and history of metals. My friend and I were pleasantly surprised - we didn't remember any of this from when we were younger, and it was set at a perfect level for us.

Next came the "Blue Zone", which was all about biology. We both remembered this room, which contains a gigantic blue whale model. There was a lot to see and do, and while everything was impressive, we got bored very quickly. Everything was exactly the same as we remembered, and it seemed quite faded and repetitive. However, there was another exhibition about human biology which we really enjoyed - while it was old, unchanged, and some things didn't work, there were lots of games to play and videos to watch. We enjoyed a game where you had to keep a boy alive by monitoring breathing rates, food consumption and more (we failed), circus mirrors, and an unintentionally funny video about getting hurt while being scared of a dog. We learnt nothing, but it was a lot of fun!

Next came the dinosaurs, which we were really looking forward to. This was the busiest part of the museum, and as expected, it was seemingly unchanged from when we were younger. The dinosaurs were as gigantic and awe-inspring as ever, and we spent a long time in the exhibition. However, this wasn't our favourite part of the museum...

The "Treasures" gallery is something I had never ever heard of before, but my friend and I thought it was amazing. It is a collection of 22 of the most remarkable objects in the museums collection, and we spent about 40 minutes just in this small room. This includes pages from the world's most expensive book: ("John James Audubon's Birds of America"), and my personal favourite, an emperor penguin egg collected on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to Antarctica. This was with the aim of finding a link between reptiles and birds by looking at the penguin's embryo. My friend and I were shocked and amazed by this story, and I went home and looked it up to find out more. Here's a video from the museum:

[kad_youtube url="https://youtu.be/PdBT670fiCQ" width=200 height=100 ]

Overall, my friend and I had a really great time at the Natural History museum. We learnt a lot and had a lot of fun interacting with the exhibits. However, we thought that the famous parts of the museum (the dinosaurs and the mammals) weren't as interesting as the rest of it. We definitely had a good time, but we won't be making a return visit, seeing as it hasn't really changed that much.

Entrance to the Natural History Museum is free, although there is a charge for some exhibitions. The Treasures Gallery is now undergoing refurbishment, but will reopen this summer.