We went last week. Wait until after Aug 15 to go. Currently there is little or no explanation of life in the 1800's (except the mansion - the mansion was the regular docent-led tour - well done). For some insane reason, they have decided to "feature" the 1980's. Poorly. A quiz about TV commercials in the 80's. We were there with children, 30-somethings, and a tourist from another country. No one knew any of these answwers and they wouldn't stop. NOTHING about the newspaper printing in the 1800's. Blacksmith was at least about being a blacksmith, but no history. School - "Well, schools were pretty much the same as they are now. Not like this one." Our kids understood that Twister was a game and movies were on a tape in the 80's. But they were not interested. Nice craft opportunity with the scrunchee. But not about early settlement. If not for the mansion, 2 stars (things were open to go inside, at least). I will check carefully again before I would take kids for any history that they would care about. Must be a big draw for the 50 -60 year olds! Huge disappointment for us and our grade-school kids. read more

Came here for the Halloween trick or treating. There was lots to do and it was fun for all ages from 12 months to 65 years old. We played with the dinosaurs eggs, bubbles, entered the costumes contest, and took a tour of the mansion. The decorations were pretty great! read more

Registrar's office never returns phone calls. Tried to offer a historic museum piece more than once but couldn't get them to respond to voicemail. Family was one of original pioneers of the area. read more

The experience here as a "living history" museum is really disappointing. Except for the main mansion, the two other buildings we were able to visit were limited entirely to their placards for information, and hardly anything local or special to this museum. The website told us the museum was open from 12-4, which would have been perfect. We arrived at 12:30 ready to go, paid our entrance, and were told to enjoy our time. We perused a few buildings before joining a field trip for a tour of the mansion - note that only the first floor was open. By time we moved on to the other buildings with guides, they were closing up. We tried to check out the print shop and were told the educators stopped their stations at 2 from November to April. And yet... it was 1:37, so plenty of time for what I'm sure is a five-minute speech about 19th century printing presses. Really felt like a waste of $12 when I know there are better living history museums in driving distance. read more

Our daughter had a recent field trip here and she loved it so much she's asked us to take her again so she can see some of the things they didn't have time for. read more

Come get educated about Naperville's past and history. In downtown there's a few old buildings and you can take tours. Naper Settlement is a collection of some of the oldest buildings in town. Even if it's not free it's worth it for your groups. They also have summer camps if kids are actually interested. A lot of these historical villages are pretty corny. It can be like that here, especially with the amateur actors and stuff like that. The old buildings are real, but most of these were transplanted. If you're a Naperville resident, it's free admission. It's about $20 for adults, and some children are free. There's pretty informative tours. If you're interested in history you'll think it's worth it. The children can even attend summer camps if they really like it a lot. Events occur the entire year so be sure to come back. It has a holiday market featuring handcrafted items. They have light displays and other cool stuff. read more

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Went with the family to Naper Settlement. Had gone to this place years ago, seems like it's more developed than before with new buildings including the entrance. Lots of historical information. The tour which was free provided interesting information and the tour guides were knowledgeable. Very nice grounds. Lots of greenery. Numerous buildings to see. The kids had a good time playing in the little water pump area. The times/hours of opening can be confusing in my opinion. We parked for free on the street. Overall would recommend and worth seeing! read more

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Was here for a tribute band concert so didn't actually experience Naper Settlement but during the concert I walked around and noticed quite a few new buildings and interactive museums and experiences. It's a great place to take kids or my mom enjoyed when she visits from out of town. read more

Naper Settlement - Naper nights; Weezer and Green Day tribute bands - Museums Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

What fun! I won the Yelp! raffle for 2 tickets to NaperNights at NaperSettlement in Naperville to go see two bands play. It started with Yacht Rock by The Ron Burgandys followed by the Talking Heads tribute band, Big Suit. Thank you to the Marketing Director, Brittany, sending me the directions to claim my tickets! I walked in and check in was simple. The #polishstinians brought our lawn chairs and purchased our tickets for drinks. There are vendors inside and they take cash. Have no fear of you don't have cash, they do have an ATM by BMO. I suggest getting money from your bank before to avoid the lines. We bought drinks and food from Tailgate Caterers. I suggest getting there about an hour early if you want to grab a good spot to park your chair/blanket. I do suggest those foldable lawn chairs, everyone has those. If you get stuck on the ground behind people sitting on those lawn chairs, you won't be able to see much but people's butts! The lines are pretty long, but they move fast. You can't bring any drinks or food in, but the selection is fine for a quick bite. They also had a Nothing Bundt Cake vendor and gelato vendor so my sweet tooth was covered! You were able to get a few types of beers and Rodney Strong wines. This was a fun night. They have bands play these Naper Nights one weekend in July, August, and September. It's only $15 if you go for a 5 hour evening, which is awesome. I'm grateful to Yelp! and NaperSettlement for the tickets and fantastic evening! read more

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I wish I could give zero stars. I bought a ticket expecting to explore and possibly showcase this historic site -- only to find out just minutes later that video recording is not allowed inside any buildings. That policy was not clearly posted before purchasing tickets, and it completely ruined the visit. I understand the importance of preserving history. But if people aren't even allowed to show others that this place exists, how is it supposed to grow? Social media is a powerful tool -- and when someone is willing to promote your museum for free to thousands of viewers all over the world, that's not a threat. That's an opportunity. Instead, the museum comes off as unwelcoming and stuck in the past. Without the ability to show interiors, you're left with a few buildings that aren't especially impressive -- especially if you're from places like Europe where real historic depth is everywhere. For example, the Ulysses S. Grant House in Galena, Illinois understands this perfectly. That site is truly historic -- a presidential home, visited by people from around the world -- and yet they still allow respectful filming. Because they know that visibility keeps history alive. Let's be honest: everyone in the world knows the Smithsonian. But not many have ever heard of Naper Settlement. And if they keep rejecting exposure, that won't change. You're honestly better off visiting one of the many nearby museums that actually want to be discovered and shared. read more

Simply amazing. I've visited lots of history museums around North America and most of them tend to be a bit smaller with only a handful of exhibits. Naper settlement on the other hand, spans 30 buildings and structures over 30 acres. These are high quality exhibits as well, with well designed displays, great tour guides / volunteers, and a large variety of things to learn about. For only $12 admission (and free to Naperville residents), I felt like I got my money's worth and would love to visit here again for a special event! read more

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Since it's winter most everything was closed, but it was nice to have a trail to follow and lots of audio guided tours to choose from as I walked. Grounds were clean and well maintained (and salted), definitely want to come back with kiddos after covid and in warmer weather. Took a star off since I paid online and there was no signage or open buildings nearest the parking lot where I could ask for assistance when I arrived. read more

Naper Settlement - Centennial Church - Museums Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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Ha, I was told I'm apparently like many of their visitors.  That is, I never came here when I lived in Naperville (for 14 years and just a couple miles away) but returned to visit only after moving away. That's aight, I enjoyed my nice leisurely and educational visit on a quiet and pleasant Friday afternoon all the much better whilst looking back in time. It's quite nice that a town has the opportunity to preserve its own heritage in such a big and significant way.  Most towns don't have such resources, and Naperville is not small by any means, but still.  So this is where I learned of citizen Carrie Martin Mitchell of the same Mitchell Mansion and the land and home she bequeathed to Naperville that lead to this Naper Settlement. For a $10 non-resident senior admission ($12 for other adults), you do get to see a lot of historic buildings and hear their stories - the Martin Mitchell Mansion, a chapel, a one-room school house, a post office, a log house, and a working blacksmith shop among other things.  It's all on a self-guided tour, though some of the buildings do have volunteers telling the story.  I liked it all as well as wandering the attractive grounds, but particularly enjoyed the Mitchell Mansion, the post office, and the blacksmith shop due to interactions with their volunteers.  In the visitor center, they also currently have a display on Naperville connections to World War II. Overall, highly recommended if you're a local history buff and/or simply want to educate your youngsters on American life in the later 1800's.  Just fyi - Naper Settlement is also a spacious and easily accessible venue for events such as concerts, ethnic festivals, holiday festivals, and weddings. read more

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Nice place for kids. Guides are very knowledgeable and nice. I enjoyed it more than my kid, hhh. Reasonable for kids 5-14 year old, but adults also will. read more

This is a review of their "All Hallows Eve" event for 16 yr olds and below held on 10/14 to 10/15/2022. (Written from a point-of-view of a parent.) The good: - Great outdoor event for teens. They had a stage for teen bands. - Different activities (Harry Potter, Reptile house, glow in the dark painting, zombie maze, haunted house, shows on stage etc.) - Various tables and chairs which allows people to buy food off food trucks and eat while sitting down - Food trucks The bad: - The lines - The lines - The lines - The lines. All activities had super long lines. We paid $20 per person (family of 4) to stand in lines and just go to 2 activities (zombie maze, bubble show) and see two shows (magician, and Dizzy Lizzy). Not worth it. - Some booths are about house improvements. Why are they in this event? - Obnoxious tweens just being too loud and overacting. (However, that was to be expected given the age group. It was the lines that was a turn off.) Kudos to: -The actors in the zombie maze. They saw we were with little kids and acted accordingly. Just waves to the kids and let us through. Also, to not be wearing jacket on a cold night and committing to the acting? Great job and and kudos to them! Verdict: Will not do this again. $80 to stand in line. We can go to a pumpkin patch, Halloween night time event, night time corn maze, etc. for cheaper and we would be able to go to a lot of activities with less lines. XXXXXXXX read more

Ever been to Greenfield Village in Detroit? You know, where they have all the historic buildings and demonstrations of old-timey craftworks? Well, this is a much more modest version, dedicated to Naperville's history. They also have special events like Civil War Days and Oktoberfest, and my FAVORITE thing: the Naperville Woman's Club Art Fair (smaller and less expensive than the Riverwalk one, and set on the beautiful shady grounds of Naper Settlement!) I like that they have a penny smashing machine in their visitor center. It's definitely a place worth exploring if you live here, or a nice little day trip if you are in the Chicagoland area. Historical, educational and just plain fun! read more

They do a really excellent job with living history and have lots of excellent historical buildings to visit. The interpreters are terrific and clearly love what they do. I wish that they offered admission discounts to educators/students/librarians, though. Moreover, I think they would really benefit from doing a "Haunter Naper Settlement" event, since there's a lot of fun lore about the grounds. read more

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Checked the website for hours and updates about the museum. All seemed fine and I left the City at 11:00 thinking I'd spend the day out there. I showed up at the entrance desk and was told the museum buildings are "closed" for the day to prepare for an event over the weekend. Here's the best part though -- I could pay full fare to walk the grounds. Huh? I asked if I could at least look at the displays in the next room. Nope. Not unless I paid to get into the one small room. Ugh. I'd think a professionally managed museum such as this would update their website so patrons would not show up when it's closed and be disappointed. Swing and a miss Naper Settlement. read more

We stopped here for the Chistkindlmarket and that was very enjoyable too. Many of the buildings were closed do to the market being opened but we will go back for the other features of this settlement as they looked cool and I love history and historical items also. It was not very packed due to the times we went here. read more

THE Naperville museum. Here you can see several preserved, 19th-century Naperville buildings, private homes and industrial. You will also see the progression from a town of 180 founders in the 1830s, to the current state of things with us 150,000 or so shlubs. My daughter has visited more often than I have since the school takes them on field trips. I like the views. It's interesting to see how people lived before radio, television and Peapod, and it's fun to explain it to the kids. It's especially curious when you realize so much of the stone for Chicago buildings came from Naperville quarries. The beautiful grounds and buildings make it a great spot for wedding receptions and special events. The Taste of Naperville (about 20 restaurants, plus a band and air-filled bouncy buildings for kids) is held here every June around Father's Day and is a good time. Parking is free. read more

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"Churn butter churn, churn butter churn. We are waiting at the gate, waiting for our butter cake." We sang this song as we churned our cream into butter and soon after shared it with others. It felt like it took forever, but was so good; I might make my kids churn butter for Thanksgiving! ;) Where else around here can you help keep the fire in a blacksmith shop going, print your own bookmark with a press, saw a log, and dance a reel with a 10 yr old boy? Nowhere. Just Naper Settlement. A living museum in the heart of downtown Naperville. If it's cold outside, dress accordingly! They didn't have central heating in the 1800s. ;) read more

I'm a little conflicted about the Naper Settlement, so I'll just break it down, and you guys can decide. Pros- Great location, easy and free parking, good prices. The Museum areas were well-curated and the interpretive signs were well thought-out and easy to read. You really get a good grasp of the key players around here if you have the patience to read it all. The facilities are very clean and every is very tidy. Cons- Too tidy! I'm a history purist, so I am a little disenchanted by the paved sidewalks, CFL bulbs, and mixed time periods. You will visit a "log cabin" that doesn't have any real association with the Naper Settlement (brought in from somewhere else to represent a generic cabin) and walk right next door a Greek revival mansion, feeling a little confused. I walked into the print shop and was told that there wasn't a paper printed at the Naper Settlement. Whaa? Your map won't give you many details, and often the dates on the building signs and the interpretive maps didn't match. Another disenchantment- the folks dressed up as the Naper Settlement citizens weren't talking in first person. The blacksmith was telling folks that modern blacksmiths only do it for art's sake. I left feeling a little confused. What exactly WAS the Naper Settlement? I understand it was supposed to represent evolution of a town over time, but I don't think this is communicated effectively here. I highly recommend New Salem for a great living history experience. TIP- Your ticket is good for two days! read more

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Growing up in Naperville I never went here as a highschooler but now that I have my own kids they absolutely love going to Naper settlement they learn a lot and don't seem tired of exploring the activities especially the metal shop where they get to see things made right before them and help fuel the fire! It's free if you are a citizen of Naperville! We can't wait to see what it's like during the Christmas holiday. read more

Much better for the kringle market than the city! Not as jammed. Just as fun. :) If you like German food and cool handmade xmas stuff...ornaments and such youll have a good time! 1star down cause its a bit pricy. Still a fun time tho! read more

This review is ONLY for the Christmas lights, since I haven't yet made it out here otherwise. Overall, they did a cute job of decorating the place, and it's nice to wander through while you drink your gluhwine from the Christmas market. We have gotten spoiled by lights in the city, since there aren't a whole ton of decorations up (you can do the entire lap in about 20-30 minutes, and that was with a crowd). I'll have to go back to check out the rest of the museum when it's not at night and cold! read more

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. I volunteered here and it was the most unorganized establishment I have ever experienced. I was not told to wear a costume and makeup when I showed up to be a part of the zombie maze. I volunteered with 3 others from North Central College and we were not informed of anything. I was not told where I needed to go, no one helped us. We had to throw together our own makeup looks and then we were not told where we needed to go because we were a part of the zombie maze. We had to find it on our own. We then asked other volunteers in yellow jackets what we had to do and they were not helpful. We had to figure out what to do on our own. We also were not told to sign out so when me and the girl were leaving through the gate we signed in from, we were chased after and yelled at. The lady who told us we needed to sign out also was very rude to us and told us to go to the front. Me and the other person who were leaving have never been to the Naper Settlement before so we didn't know where the front was located. When I asked, she snapped at us and just pointed in a direction. It was an awful experience. If any of you reading this are thinking of volunteering here, save yourself the time and don't. read more

We went during a July 2017 weekday to this outdoor, living, history museum. 12 acres of buildings dated 19th century to the present, with costumed villagers and special exhibits that tells the story of daily life in Naperville as it changed from a simple frontier outpost to a bustling turn-of-the-century community. I love to expand my history knowledge and even better that i try to make it fun for my daughter. My daughter especially love the playscape area that looks like a wooden fort. Theres: 1.) splashpad. Theres water cannons and groubd misters so bring towels! My daughter was able to cool down and play with water! 2.) playground. Consists of a twisting slide, talking tube pipes, and telescope/periscope. What kid not love to explore new playgrounds! 3.) trading post. Kids can role play trading goods. That only lasted a few minutes for my daughter and she ran around it. 4.) Conestoga wagon: For picture opportunity. 5.) animal tracks: kids can guess which animal belongs to the animal tracks. 5.) Sensory Prairie Garden: See plants the pioneers would be grown in a garden. 6.) activity cart, which we misses out on. 7.)ittle free library. Take a book or donate one! I loved walking through time, sightseeing and going inside these buildings. There are 30 buildings and I especially love the colonial schoolhouse. We also borrowed a wagon for my daughter so she isn't too exhausted from walking and heat. No restaurants or cafes here! People can bring outdoor picnic baskets and vending machines. read more

This is purely about the "Naper Nights" music attractions they hold here monthly in summer. Plenty of other reviews about the nice village, and victorian home, etc. Recently they had Beggar's Banquet, a Rolling Stones tribute band, as a warm up, and American English, a Beatles tribute band as the main draw. This drew a huge crowd, and even tho the place was absolutely jammed, they kept selling tickets. Go early if you want a decent spot to set up your camping chairs. The Stones tribute band sounded fine, except I found the vocals a little lacking. But the guitar riffs, etc were pretty good. American English we have seen b4, same place last year in fact. These guys are very polished and the vocals are very close at times to the old Beatles. They put on a good act for sure. They sell beer, wine, soda etc and the smell of cooking meat is awesome. We ate b4 attending but the meat smell from grilling was great! You cannot bring in your own beverages or food, so do not try. Camping chair bags are searched at the entry point. It was $15 per person for entry. It is outside, and the sound system is pretty good. read more

This past weekend we went to the Naper Settlement to look around Ythe Christkindlmarket. First, the parking was $5. I think the high school lot should have been free. Once there, we walked by many little huts full of Christmas ornaments, food, and German things. The booths were all crowded, most took only cash. There were lines to get into the larger exhibits. The 50's Christmas exhibit was small but nice. All in all, i would not attend again unless down that way for something else. read more

Wanna have a nice lil' Summer Sunday? Well, walk it on down to Naper Settlement for *FREE ICE CREAM SUNDAES with an add your own toppings bar... oh, and a TON of educational AND fun events.. For a *nominal admission fee, you can come to naper settlement, see the historic set up, some live reenactments, have sack races, see an old time letter press (my fave), tour an old Victorian mansion, take a black smith class, or go for one of the summer movie nights where you can bring your own picnic gear and watch a fun movie under the stars. ... Oh! and I swear it seems like every weekend there's a wine festival- can't go wrong with that, amiright? I highly recommend for a nice warm weather day or eve... or wedding celebration for all you crashers out there.The BF and I always have a fun time and I gotta give mad probs to those reenactment people who've just GOT to be sweating their azzes off! We can't wait to partake in all the fun festivities they've got going this Summer. ;) read more

Naper Settlement kicks butt! I took a group of my junior high school students there earlier in the week to supplement our Civil War curriculum and for them to get a peak into what life looked like during that time in the world. The kids loved it and I got compliments from my principal when we came back because she had never had so many kids go on a field trip that came back saying they had such a great time, telling her what they learned, and asking when they could go visit the same location again. We were a little time-prohibitive on our field trip because we only had 2 hours to spend at Naper Settlement (we were coming from far away and our kids have an earlier school day and we had to be back in time for the busses). So we didn't get to see everything we would've liked, but we loved everything we did see! We saw the Blacksmith Shop, the Schoolhouse, an older home, a log cabin, and a fort. It doesn't seem like much, but the presentation the staff at Naper Settlement puts on inside each of these buildings is incredible. We were in some of the buildings for 20-30 minutes where the staff gave us demonstrations on building farm tools, taught us out of authentic 19th century school books, showed us how to cook our "food," change our sheets, where we would go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. So cool! The highlight of the trip was definitely the 19th century schoolhouse. They lined us up in a boys row and a girls, brought us into the schoolhouse and taught us exactly like we were in that era. They referred to all the teachers as though we were the "8th graders" and wouldn't let us call ourselves "Mr.", "Ms." or "Mrs.". Seriously, the kids got the biggest kick out of the schoolteacher giving us a hard time... calling us out by our first name, asking us if we'd been out playing baseball instead of studying our math problems. It was too funny. If you bring a group of students here and are on some kind of time prohibitive schedule, make SURE you come to the schoolhouse. I highly recommend Naper Settlement to anyone! I'm hoping to personally attend their All Hallow's Eve event and might even try to take our students back in December when they run an Underground Railroad program. read more

Fun and educational. Great place for special events. Parking is easy and a great area.

We had our wedding ceremony at Naper Settlement chapel, and it was absolutely perfect. Built in 1864, the Gothic Revival architecture style was exactly what we were looking for. Something different and beautiful, we were immediately sold on having our wedding here. My husband and I knew that a traditional ceremony wasn't going to fly so we were hoping to find a nice non-denominational church. When my MIL suggested Naper Settlement, hubs and I agreed to check it out. We went to the open house in February of 2014, and without hesitation dropped off our deposit the next day to ensure we'd lock in our date. Our wedding was in an "off peak" month, so we received the winter rate for our two hour rental time slot (plus 1 hour for rehearsal). Then being during the holidays, the chapel was already decorated, therefore saving us a HUGE amount of money. We didn't have to purchase or rent flowers, pew bows, etc...we didn't even need an aisle runner. The skies were partly cloudy and it was a "balmy" 48 degrees on 12/13/14, which allowed me to wait outside before my entrance. We had rehearsed with me possibly entering from downstairs if the weather wasn't great but thankfully I didn't have to go that route. Keep in mind that you may not be able to enter through the large doors as planned if there's lousy weather on your big day. We dealt with many different employees in the ten months of correspondence. Initially there was Becca, then Heather, and then a few others. Regardless of the rapid turnover, every employee was helpful and was quick to respond to any email inquiries we had. I couldn't be more pleased with how well everything went on our big day. As Amy R. said, it's worth every penny! read more

I was off the weekend of Civil War Days and decided to nerd it out with my boyfriend. Neither of us had ever been there but both of us are interested in American history. I really enjoyed the day spent there. Aside from the Civil War soldiers being there, you could watch a blacksmith do... blacksmith stuff? There were also a printer, an old cabin, and an old school. I am planning on going back again to learn to make maple syrup! read more

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Tour the Buildings, Meet Historical Characters! It is one thing to see local history. At Naper Settlement you are immersed in it. Costumed interpreters in period clothing portray historical characters and answer all of your questions. There are living history programs for school groups and Scouts. Time your trip for a special event like Spring Fever, Civil War Days, Oktoberfest, or All Hallows Eve if you can. Naper Settlement, in downtown Naperville, includes 26 amazing historical buildings in a beautiful 12 acre park. (See photos.) These buildings were moved here from the area and carefully rebuilt and beautifully restored. Note that this is a fairly large outdoor museum se expect to do some walking. Check out the nearby Riverwalk and Millennium Carillon if you have time. From April through October admission is $12. Winter admission is $5. Don't miss the Print Shop, Blacksmith Shop, Fire Station, and the Martin-Mitchell Mansion. Check ahead for the many special events, reenactments, summer concerts, and hours at napersettlement.org. read more

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I had such a good time at Naper Settlement today! My sister invited me to tag along with her and my nephew. We went to the splash waterpark located inside the 'settlement.' It had a mini playground with some water cannons and such. The theme was along the lines of the facility. I think this is a really cool place. I went here for a field trip back when I was in elementary school. It's still really cool in my opinion, and I think it'd be a great place to bring kids for a day during the summer, or a field trip. Staff was very friendly as a few of them said hi to me while I walked throughout the facility. Check it out! read more

I will never bring my family to Naper Settlement again. I drove all the way from Darien with a 1 year old and a 5 year to go to their splash pad, which I had pre-registered for on their website. Even though their website says 4 and under are free, they refused entry to us because I did not have a ticket for my 1 year old. I understand limiting capacity but there were maybe 20 people in the whole place on a Tuesday morning. Very disappointed in their service and they should consider updating their website to be more clear that infants require a splash pad ticket. In addition, the woman at the front desk told me they were sold out for today but when I got home, I could have easily added another ticket for the splash pad. Why couldn't she have given me that option at the front desk???? read more

I brought some out of town guests to the Naper Settlement on a Sunday afternoon. It was my first time visiting and I wasn't sure what to expect exactly. There's a pretty nice permanent exhibit in the basement of the entry building. I especially enjoyed reading about the bad blood between the residents of early Naperville and Wheaton. It's not everyday that you see the phrase "thieving Wheatonites" twice in the same room. I may have to start sprinkling it into everyday conversation. The blacksmith shop was very cool, with an impressive re-enactor crafting right before your eyes. I also found the print shop to be pretty interesting. There were a number of young people in period costume milling about and playing games of the 19th century. A high-school aged dude rather persistently asked, "would you like to pack a trunk" -- "umm, not really" -- "are you sure?" -- "yeah. I'm sure." He then asked my companions if they would like to pack a trunk. They demurred as well. I hope he was able to find the assistance he required to begin his journey. Sunday was some sort of special day in which Culver's provides custard and toppings to make a custom sundae. Nice. Finally, the mansion tour (which begins every half-hour) was interesting. The well-preserved home showed a glimpse of what life was like for the well-to-do in Naperville back in the day. The beds seemed about two feet shorter than I would have required, though the docent suggested that they slept propped-up in the manner of reading in bed. Overall, the Naper Settlement was a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. read more

The settlement is really cool. I was just there for the Naper Days fest, volunteering at the stage beer tent right before the Gin Blossoms played. I'm not sure who they've had in the past, but I don't think they expected the crowd that showed up, and came close to running out of beer (I think one of the kinds of beer did go dry). I haven't seen everything in the settlement, but just walking around is really cool to see the old buildings and an old buggy/wagon. You actually feel like you were there when they settled in the area. To think that a huge town of 150,000 people surrounds the settlement now is pretty darn cool. read more

I've been here a few times. I loved it the first few times. Then I grew up. This place is a fairly authentic representation of what Naperville was like in the 1800's. I guess. I'm a bit of a history nut, and upon my first time visiting after I graduated highschool I was a bit appalled by the lack of the "dirty" spots. It made Naperville seem entirely perfect for the entirety of it's existence. I also found out that the buildings are actually mostly transplanted. In order to centralize the historic buildings and monuments of Naperville's heritage they destroyed Naperville's heritage. It's definitely a good place to take kids (probably 15 and under) for a bit of a history lesson. But to someone who's concerned about vetting their claims and authenticity: pass. Also: the Civil War reenactors... not that great. Won't fool a US History Major or a Civil War Buff. But to those of us who are not obsessed with the war, it works well. read more