Midway International Airport to offer activities for kids, travel tips for parents on family nights
Midway International Airport is set to offer two family nights this month, with activities for kids, a practice travel run for parents, and even an opportunity to get on a stationary plane.
The Chicago Department of Aviation will host the first free Midway Airport Family Night this coming Saturday, Sept. 13, with two interactive sessions from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. A second family night is coming up Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Space is limited.
Some of the family night events will take place on a plane parked at a gate at Midway, but the plane will not take off.
After checking in and going through security, families will gather for a question-and-answer session and airport orientation, walk to the Southwest gate, and practice the boarding process as if they were really traveling. They will then get onto and navigate the stationary plane, where the kids can explore.
At the family night events, a variety of activities will be available for kids, along with stickers, coloring books, and refreshments, the Department of Aviation said.
Meanwhile, representatives of the airport, the Transportation Security Administration, and Southwest Airlines will have some advice for parents flying with kids — including tips on going through airport security with items such as milk or juice, medications, food pouches, car seats, and strollers, as well as checking baby gear as luggage and checking strollers at the gate.
"Few experiences are as magical for a child as their first flight — and much of that wonder begins before the plane ever leaves the ground," Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Michael McMurray said in a news release. "At Midway Airport Family Night, we want young travelers and their families to feel that same sense of excitement and confidence as they move through the airport. This event is a chance to explore the journey together — from check-in to boarding — and to show kids that flying isn't just about the destination, it's about the adventure of the whole trip."
Families who take part in the event do not need to be taking a flight themselves the same day, but they will need to obtain a gate pass and go through security to get into the terminal and onto the stationary plane for the event.
Ahead of time, parents will need to register with the names, dates of birth, and genders of all adults and minors who are taking part, a phone number, and an email address. Registration is limited to families of up to four participants and all participants — including minors — must register ahead of time for a gate pass.
Sept. 13 family night registration
Sept. 30 family night registration
Also at the gate, everyone over 18 will need to present an acceptable form of identification such as a REAL ID or a passport, and will need to follow all airport security rules the same as if they were actually boarding a plane to travel.
Families who don't make it to the Midway Airport family nights and aren't planning on traveling by plane anytime soon can still explore the inside of a real jet plane — about eight miles due east of the airport. Since 1994, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry has had a real United Airlines Boeing 727 jet plane cantilevered to its balcony level for the "Take Flight" exhibit, which explores air travel since the plane took its first flight in 1964, the physical systems of the aircraft, and the science behind how your body feels during flight.