Top Family-Friendly Things to Do in Schaumburg

1. Watch Knights Joust at Medieval Times: Families tuck into a feast (including ripping apart roasted chicken with their hands) while cheering on jousting knights.
2. Play games and dine at GameWorks: This 39,000-square-foot entertainment and restaurants complex features more than 200 games, plus gourmet pub food.
3. Build something cool at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago: The attraction boasts 10 build-and-play areas, a 4D cinema, and two rides.
4. Wander through nature at Spring Valley: This free outdoor living museum with 135 acres encourages visitors to explore more than 3 miles of handicapped-accessible hiking trails and an 1880s living history farm.
5. Grab some classic Chicago eats: Schaumburg may be 31 miles from Chicago, but it still has outpost locations for such iconic restaurants as Lou Malnati’s, Portillo’s, Maggiano’s, and Kuma’s Corner. All are kid-friendly.
6. Catch a ball game at Boomers Stadium: It’s like Wrigley (the park even has the same dimensions) without the high prices.
7. Spot the sculptures at The Chicago Athenaeum International Sculpture Park: This serene park is home to swans and giant sculptures from international artists.
8. Traverse the Schaumburg Bikeway System: It may not be as well known as the Prairie Path trail, but it’s still a great mix of bike paths.

Spotlight On: Medieval Times

Medieval Times is not just unique in Schaumburg, but in all of the Midwest. The immersive dinner-theater show tells the tale of the Middle Ages and features live horses and knights, jousting, swordplay, and a four-course feast you eat with your hands. It teaches kids about the Medieval period in Europe, but mostly, it’s a really fun show.

In 2017, Medieval Times underwent a few major changes. Here’s what you’ll find there now:  

A queen in charge—A king has ruled over Medieval Times since it was founded in Spain in the 1970s, but after guest feedback that they would prefer to see some women in lead roles, the company created a new storyline with a queen in charge.

The queen riding an Andalusian stallion—It reportedly takes two months to train an actress to ride.

New costumes and armor—The period outfits are created by a costume shop in Dallas. The suits of armor, shields, and helmets are created by a real armory in Florida.

New music—A composer who has worked with Sting created the film-like score, which is synchronized to the show’s action.

Snippets from Our Interview with Robert Idrizi, a Medieval Times Knight

Groupon: What's the most surprising thing about your job?

Robert: A lot of people assume we're all actors or stuntmen or horsemen, but most of the knights who work here have no previous experience whatsoever. We have to train them from the ground up.

Groupon: Do you think you'd survive as a knight in Medieval England?

Robert: Certainly. I wouldn't go as far as to say we're real knights because we're not really fighting to the death. But we've got skills that would definitely let us compete. We know how to ride horses, we know how to use a shield, we're strong enough to swing a weapon, and we're physically conditioned to do the sword fighting. So yeah, I think we would be able to hold our own.

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Spotlight On: GameWorks

Vegas. Seattle. Denver. Schaumburg. All of these places have something in common—a GameWorks entertainment complex. At the 36,000-square-foot Schaumburg location, families play more than 200 games, both video and prize. They also watch sports on giant screens and dig into gourmet pub food. Here’s a taste of what else you’ll find at GameWorks:

• Dark Ride XD: a multisensory adventure ride with 7D graphics, motion, light, and sound
• MiniRider: two-seat roller coaster simulator with three different courses
• Classic games: from Skeeball to milk-jug toss
• National and college sports games: which patrons watch on multiple big screens
• Intriguing food: including mac ‘n’ cheese topped with toasted Cheetos, cheeseburger ravioli, and pulled pork in a barbecue sauce infused with Angry Orchard hard cider

Fun Fact

At LEGOLANDs across the country, Master Model Builders create giant Lego sculptures using hundreds of thousands of bricks. The Schaumburg location is home to Miniland, a mini Chicago built with more than 1.5 million bricks! It features such famed landmarks as Navy Pier and the Wrigley Building.

5 More Family-Friendly Things to Do in the Surrounding Suburbs

Read on for our top ideas.

1. Brookfield Zoo: One of America’s best zoos
2. Raging Waves Waterpark (Yorkville): 26 water slides, a lazy river, and a dedicated kids’ area draw crowds to Illinois's biggest water park
3. Naperville Kayak: Rents kayaks and standup paddleboards for 3-mile trips down the calm DuPage River
4. Arlington Park: Horse track with cheap tickets for kids, changing rooms in every restroom, and a private area for breastfeeding
5. Pirates’ Cove Children’s Theme Park (Elk Grove): Theme park with a pirate ship, tiny paddle boats, bouncy house, climbing wall, and giant fun slide.

Brookfield Zoo Spotlight

Since it opened in 1934, Brookfield Zoo has been a pioneer in the zoo world. It was even one of the first zoos in the world  to create more natural-looking enclosures for its animals, eschewing cages in favor of moats and ditches. Everyone who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago has visited this zoo at some point. Here are a few reasons why Brookfield Zoo is so beloved:

• More than 20 habitats host everything from African lions to meerkats to dolphins.
• Kids can interact with penguins during a penguin encounter.
• Kids can feed giraffes.
• The zoo is still very focused on animal conservation.
• Mold-A-Rama machines let kids can take home a souvenir of their favorite animal.