an 86-acre enclosure housing bison, elk, river otters, cougars, black bears, timber wolves, coyotes, red foxes and other species. Eagles, hawks, owls, western hognoses and copperhead snakes, alligator snapper and red-eared slider turtles, western chorus frogs and native fish can also be found. Wildlife Prairie Park has several playgrounds — one with a 56foot sliding board — a reconstructed 1850s log cabin and schoolhouse and intricate bronze statues. Admission is $6.50; $4.50 for children ages four to twelve. Visitors can also indulge in Sunday brunch at the park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Brunch is an additional $13.99 for ages 13 and above, $9.99 for ages four to twelve. Call (309) 676-0998 or go to www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org.
A trip to Peoria is not complete without visiting the Lakeview Museum of Art and Science. Children of all ages are sure to enjoy hands-on art and science exhibits at the museum’s Discovery Center. More than 30 displays, including a mineral house, cloud ring, duck-in kaleidoscope, shadow walls and other activities and demonstrations serve to educate and captivate the minds of its visitors. A Midwestern folk art collection with more than 600 works of art spanning three centuries highlights the museum’s Folk Art Gallery. The gallery includes the Glick Collections of Illinois Coverlets and Quilts, Illinois River Wildfowl Decoy Collection and a display of carvings dating back to the 19th century.
Lakeview Museum is best known for its spectacular Planetarium, which includes the world’s largest solar system model.
The planetarium’s “Our Universe: The Uniview Experience,” is a live program taking visitors on a tour of the 14-billion-yearold universe. Volunteers have the opportunity to fly a spaceship from one planet to the next via an X-box controller. The “TimeSpace” show transports visitors across the universe to experience the Big Bang, the Doom of the Dinosaurs, and Apollo 11’s trip to the moon, before catapulting visitors into the year 3001. 1125 West Lake Street. Call (309) 686-7000 or go to www.lakeview-museum.org.
The Wheels O’ Time Museum is a true blast to the past with exhibits and artifacts dating back 100 years. The museum features collections of 47 antique automobiles, three fire trucks, pre and post-World War II model trains, farm tractors, bicycles, musical instruments, tools, toys and washing machines dating back to the early 1900s. Highlights include a life-size barbershop quartet of expresidents, a miniature circus, coin-operated player piano, orchestrion, jukeboxes, a steam locomotive, and an old-fashioned windmill as well as a Hurdy Gurdy man with his beggar monkey. Many of the museum’s exhibits are interactive, leaving visitors longing for days of old. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Adults $5.50, children 3-11 $3. 11923 North Knoxville Avenue. Call (309) 243-9020 or go to www.wheelsotime.org.
