The countdown to our annual trip to Hawaii is on. In just a few weeks we will leave behind the freezing (yes, it’s already freezing) temps of the Midwest and jet off to paradise—at least for a little while. Last night I noticed our flight itinerary includes a 3-hour layover in Chicago. (Hmm… a 3-hour layover with a rambunctious 2-year-old.) I thought I’d better do some research on Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Not that I haven’t spent the better part of my adult life navigating through the place, but I haven’t done so with a toddler in tow. I am so glad I took the time to surf the net for airport maps because in doing so I discovered that O’Hare’s long awaited overhaul of its children’s play area is scheduled to be complete in the next two weeks. What’s that you say? You didn’t know that O’Hare had a children’s play area? It’s true and they aren’t alone. My research shows at least 40 airports throughout the country now have such facilities, and more are cropping up each month.
Did you know that nearly 38,000 children — or 18% of passengers — pass through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport each day? With those numbers it makes sense that airport officials would designate an area where kids could burn off some steam after being cooped up in an aircraft for hours. The play area at O’Hare ranks among the best in the world. The area is dubbed: “Kids on the Fly”, and was developed a decade ago by the Chicago Children’s Museum and the Chicago Department of Aviation. In the years since its debut it has become a model for the airport play concept.
“Kids on the Fly” is located in Terminal 2 (but as I mentioned earlier it is closed until November 3rd for upgrading, once renovations are complete it is expected to attract an additional 9,000 children, up from 227,000 a year ago). The area features a two-story control tower, airplane with cockpit and cargo hold, luggage slide and ticket counter. Designers of the play area say it was created to help pint-size travelers understand the air-travel experience.
Another Midwest airport taking a cue from O’Hare is the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which features two playgrounds that came with a $200,000 price tag. The play area in Minneapolis features seating made to look like super sized suitcases, brightly colored hand-painted skylines of the area, and — of course — a climb-on mock airplane and air-traffic control tower made of wood and molded fiberglass. Gone is the infamous cockpit microphone. When children started yelling things such as “poopy pants” throughout the airport, the live microphone option was discontinued.
The airport play area is the ideal spot for children to expend energy and the perfect place for parents to take a breather. I can’t wait to let my daughter explore the new attractions at the O’Hare play area… can’t wait to spend time at an airport with a toddler… who knew?
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