Our list of things to do with kids this weekend is filled with exciting Earth Day festivities to help you appreciate our incredible planet. While officially recognized on Monday, April 22, 2024, local organizations are hosting volunteer opportunities and outdoor celebrations all weekend long where you can learn about recycling, composting, conservation and more. Make a difference in your community and pledge to protect our environment at one of these family-friendly events.
How will you be spending time outdoors to honor Earth Day this weekend?
This weekend planner is sponsored by Theatre of Western Springs.
James and the Giant Peach, Jr.
James and the Giant Peach, Jr.
April 19 – 28, 2024
Children’s Theatre of Western Springs
4384 Hampton Avenue
Western Springs, IL 60558
Based on one of Roald Dahl’s most poignantly quirky stories, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach JR. is a brand new take on this “masterpeach” of a tale. Featuring a wickedly tuneful score and a witty and charming book, this adventurous musical about courage and self-discovery is destined to be a classic.
When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that grows a tremendous peach, rolls into the ocean and launches a journey of enormous proportions. James befriends a collection of singing insects that ride the giant piece of fruit across the ocean, facing hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements along the way.
Things to Do with Kids This Weekend: Western Suburbs
Please check the details before you go to these events to ensure you know about registration requirements and additional info to maximize your family’s fun. While we do our best to keep the most up-to-date information in our calendar, last minute location or time changes do happen. Want to find “weekend events near me”? We have you covered!
Friday
Visit the Exotic Animal Show at Fox Valley Mall in Aurora or the Bilingual Story Time at DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville. There’s also Free Open Swim on Friday night at Bolingbrook Recreation & Aquatic Complex in honor of the Week of the Young Child.
Bugapalooza (Wonder Works Children’s Museum, Oak Park)
April 19, 2024 | 9:30am – 3:30pm
Included in general admission.
StoryWalk (Diane Main Park, Westmont)
April 19, 2024 | 9:00am – 7:00pm
Big Blue Blocks (St. Charles Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 9:30am – 4:00pm
Indoor Recess (Downers Grove Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 10:00am – 11:30am
Bilingual Story Times (DuPage Children’s Museum. Naperville)
April 19, 2024 | 10:30am – 11:30am
Included with general admission.
Exotic Animal Show (Fox Valley Mall, Aurora)
April 19, 2024 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Week of the Young Child: Free Open Swim (Bolingbrook Recreation & Aquatic Complex)
April 19, 2024 | 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Outdoor Cooking (Camp Bullfrog Lake, Willow Springs)
April 19, 2024 | 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Register in advance.
Saturday
Excitement is everywhere on Saturday! Are you in the mood for Healthy Kids Day celebrations at Fry YMCA in Naperville, Bolingbrook’s Touch a Truck, or Doc’s Day celebrations at Primrose Farm in St. Charles?
Wheaton French Market
April 20, 2024 | 8:00am – 2:00pm
Des Plaines River Cleanup (River Forest)
April 20, 2024 | 8:00am – 10:00am
Earth Day Kite Fly (Prairie Point Community Park, Oswego)
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 1:00pm
StoryWalk (Diane Main Park, Westmont)
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 7:00pm
Oswego Country Spring Market
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 1:00pm
Earth Day: A Party for the Planet (Brookfield Zoo)
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 2:00pm
Noon Lions Club Free Vision Screening (Aurora Public Library – West Branch)
April 20, 2024 | 9:30am – 11:30am
Bugapalooza (Wonder Works Children’s Museum, Oak Park)
April 20, 2024 | 9:30am – 3:00pm
Included in general admission.
Story Stroll (Batavia Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
Tiny Toes Music (La Grange Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 10:45am
Register in advance.
Book Swap (Westmont Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
Celebrate Earth Day Activities (Trailside Museum of Natural History, River Forest)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Lowe’s Kids’ Workshops (Check your local store)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 1:00pm
Earth Day (Sand Ridge Nature Center, South Holland)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
Earth Day (Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, Lisle)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
Healthy Kids Day (Fry YMCA, Naperville)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 1:00pm
Celebrate Earth Day (Darien)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 11:00am
Registration is required.
Naperville Plays (Naper Settlement, Naperville)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 1:00pm
Storytime with The Language Labs (Helen Plum Library, Lombard)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 11:15am
Mark Anderson Cartooning (Wheaton Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 11:30am
Register in advance.
Budding Botanists (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 2:30pm
Dudes and Donuts (Lemont Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 11:00am
Earth Day Celebration (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 2:00pm
Reptile Party (North Riverside Park Mall)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:00pm
Bluey Party (Berwyn Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:00pm
Registration is required.
Lego Club (Maywood Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:00pm
Barbie Party (Woodridge Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:00pm
Register in advance.
Earth Day Celebration (Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Willow Springs)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 1:00pm
Nature Play on Earth Day (Geneva)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 3:00pm
Touch a Truck (Bolingbrook)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 2:00pm
Smart Money Week (Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Doc’s Day (Primrose Farm, St. Charles)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Register in advance.
TD3 Minecraft Engineering: The Big Bad Wolf (Brookfield Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Lego Club (Aurora Public Library – West Branch)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Sensory Friendly Movie (Wheaton Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Family Movie (Downers Grove Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Sunday
Explore Bugapalooza at Wonder Works Children’s Museum in Oak Park before it ends on Monday, or Oak Park’s annual KidsFest is happening Sunday, too! Don’t forget to register for Junior Naturalists programming at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville.
Dog Admission Days (Morton Arboretum, Lisle)
April 21, 2024 | 7:00am – 7:00pm
StoryWalk (Diane Main Park, Westmont)
April 21, 2024 | 9:00am – 7:00pm
MSI Free Admission for Illinois Residents (Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago)
April 21, 2024 | 9:30am – 4:00pm
KidsFest (Oak Park)
April 21, 2024 | 10:00am – 12:30pm
Register in advance.
Bugapalooza (Wonder Works Children’s Museum, Oak Park)
April 21, 2024 | 10:00am – 3:00pm
Included in general admission.
Budding Botanists (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 21, 2024 | 10:30am – 2:30pm
Junior Naturalists (Isle a la Cache Museum, Romeoville)
April 21, 2024 | 10:30am – 2:00pm
Register in advance.
Family Sensory Hour (Elmhurst Public Library)
April 21, 2024 | 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Sunday Makebreak (Michaels Craft Stores)
April 21, 2024 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Spring Sensory Playtime (Santori Library, Aurora)
April 21, 2024 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Things to Do with Kids This Weekend: Northwest Suburbs
We strive to answer the question “Where can I find weekend events near me?” Our team takes care to stock the calendar full of kid-friendly fun, but please keep in mind that last minute changes to events do happen. We recommend clicking through to the event details to double check if there has been a change in registration requirements and to get additional information before you go. Have fun!
Friday
Visit the Mount Prospect Public Library for Build and Watch, or enjoy Stories and Snacks at the Schiller Park Public Library. As the weather changes, it’s a good time to visit Just Between Friends Resale at Soccer City in Palatine for warm-weather attire.
Drop In Crafts (Rolling Meadows Library)
April 19, 2024 | 9:00am – 8:00pm
Just Between Friends Resale (Soccer City, Palatine)
April 19, 2024 | 10:00am – 8:00pm
Scales-N-Tales Storytime (Franklin Park Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 11:00am – 11:30am
Register in advance.
Friday Fun Day (Wood Dale Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 11:00am – 4:30pm
バイリンガルお話し探検家 / Japenese Bilingual Story Explorers (Schaumburg Township District Library)
April 19, 2024 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Coding Club (Prospect Heights Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Register in advance.
Stories and Snacks (Schiller Park Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Build and Watch (Mount Prospect Public Library)
April 19, 2024 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Earth Day Craft-O-Rama (Indian Trails Public Library – Indian Trails Branch, Prospect Heights)
April 19, 2024 | 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Saturday
Stretch your legs at the Walk for Autism in Arlington Heights or meet new animals at Indian Trails Public Library’s Super Saturday: Scales and Tales Traveling Zoo. Kidlist readers love to visit a Touch a Truck at the Elmwood Park Public Library.
Earth Day Volunteer Cleanup (Bensenville)
April 20, 2024 | 8:30am – 10:30am
Earth Day (Elk Grove Village)
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 11:00am
Touch a Truck (Elmwood Park Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 9:00am – 1:00pm
Fish Release (Roselle)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 11:00am
Fish Release (Bloomingdale)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 11:00am
Just Between Friends Resale (Soccer City, Palatine)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 3:00pm
Lowe’s Kids’ Workshops (Check your local store)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 1:00pm
Walk for Autism (Arlington Heights)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Earth Day Celebration (Medinah)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 11:30am
Earth Day Family Celebration (Bensenville)
April 20, 2024 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
Budding Botanists (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 2:30pm
Red – A Crayon’s ASL Story (Arlington Heights Memorial Library)
April 20, 2024 | 10:30am – 11:30am
Earth Day Celebration (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 2:00pm
Earth Day 2024 (Park Ridge)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 3:00pm
Earth Day Celebration (Wood Dale)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 1:00pm
Super Saturday: Scales and Tales Traveling Zoo (Indian Trails Public Library – Main Branch, Wheeling)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:00pm
Earth Day (Des Plaines)
April 20, 2024 | 11:00am – 2:00pm
Earth Day Nature Play (Crabtree Nature Center, Barrington)
April 20, 2024 | 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Adopt a Dog Event (Schaumburg)
April 20, 2024 | 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Earth Day Celebration (Franklin Park)
April 20, 2024 | 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Smart Money Week (Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Reptiles and Amphibians with the Frog Lady (Park Ridge Public Library)
April 20, 2024 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Sunday
We love when museums offer free days on the weekends! Visit MSI Free Admission for Illinois Residents, or check out a local Earth Day celebration in the northwest suburbs.
MSI Free Admission for Illinois Residents (Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago)
April 21, 2024 | 9:30am – 4:00pm
Earth Day Celebration (Buffalo Grove)
April 21, 2024 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Budding Botanists (Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago)
April 21, 2024 | 10:30am – 2:30pm
Earth Day (Wheeling)
April 21, 2024 | 11:00am – 1:00pm
Earth Day Party (Schaumburg)
April 21, 2024 | 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Sensory Play Sunday (Arlington Heights Memorial Library)
April 21, 2024 | 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Sunday Makebreak (Michaels Craft Stores)
April 21, 2024 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Family Concert Series (Poplar Creek Public Library, Streamwood)
April 21, 2024 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Want to look ahead to next week?
Check out all the family-friendly events happening in your neighborhood and beyond on our events calendar. You can filter the calendar by day by clicking the date on top, so if you are looking for things to do on a specific day, it’s easy to find!
You might also be interested in…
We hope you found some family-friendly fun in our list of weekend events in the west and northwest suburbs of Chicago! This list is updated every week and sent out in the Kidlist emails. (Click here to sign up if you haven’t already.)
We love local businesses, libraries, park districts, villages, and organizations — they plan great events for all of us to enjoy. If you are hosting an event or know of an event that should be on our list, click here to submit it to the Kidlist calendar!
We strive to be the most comprehensive source for family fun, which is why you’ll always see so many weekend events listed. It would definitely be easier to just list the details for a few events and call them “the best weekend events for families”, but we recognize that everyone has different interests. Not to mention, sometimes I’m in the mood to go to a huge festival, and sometimes I’d rather go to a low-key storytime at the library. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. That’s why we work hard and spend a lot of time to find everything going on in our area so you don’t have to!
We hope you find it helpful and we are open to suggestions. The Kidlist Team always talks about how we can improve and evolve to meet your needs, so let us know!
