Crown Fountain & the Bean
A free downtown splash pad with spitting faces, plus the warped-reflection Bean.
Why you'll go
The two 50-ft towers spout water into a shallow pool — a free downtown splash pad in warm weather — and the Bean (reopened June 2024) warps their reflection until they lose it.
What they'll love
The two 50-foot glass towers loop giant close-up video faces of real Chicagoans, and every so often a face purses its lips and shoots a stream of water out of its mouth, gargoyle-style, into a black-granite pool only about a quarter-inch deep, so even a wobbly walker can stomp and splash without going under. A short walk away, the mirror-polished Cloud Gate ("the Bean") warps and stretches their reflection as they toddle underneath its curved silver belly.
Real talk
Crown Fountain water runs roughly May–October. Shallow water on hard granite — slippery, supervise closely. Weekday mornings beat the tour-bus crush.
Don't miss
- Wait out the water-spitting faces Water sheets down both towers, but the big payoff for little kids is when a projected face puckers its lips and spouts a concentrated stream from its mouth into the splashing crowd below. There is no fixed hourly schedule like Buckingham Fountain, so you just wait for it. Park yourselves near the base of one tower and wait; the spout draws squeals every time, and the pool water is only about a quarter-inch deep, so it is wade-and-stomp, not swim.
- Walk under the Bean for warped reflections Cloud Gate is a polished stainless-steel sculpture you can walk directly beneath, into the concave chamber, where a toddler's reflection multiplies and stretches. The plaza is paved and stroller-friendly with ramp access, so a stroller rolls right in. Go early morning for the Bean; the plaza is far quieter and you can actually find your reflection before the tour crowds arrive.
- Pack a full splash kit before you go in Crown Fountain is described by parents as 'more of a landmark than a splash pad,' and the nearest bathrooms are roughly a block walk away and get crowded in the hotter months. Bring towels, a full change of clothes, water shoes, and a plastic bag for the wet laundry; change kids before the long restroom walk, not after.