The communities surrounding Chicago break the stereotype of the boring ’burbs with a number of outstanding wildlife and natural attractions.
Planners can remind people they’re primates at the world-famous Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield. Receptions as large as 250 stay lively with frolicking dolphins in the Seven Seas habitat or with playful penguins in the Living Coast. Up to 400 people can gather in the fecund, gator-infested bayou of the Swamp or with energetic monkeys in Tropic World. The Discovery Center offers a ballroom capable of seating 350 as well as two smaller spaces. In the summer, as many as 10,000 people can picnic in the tented Oak Grove picnic grounds. The zoo also offers several unique interactive options. The Wild Encounters program allows groups of six to get up close and personal with trainers and their amazing animal students. The Pinniped Pals encounter introduces participants to seals and sea lions and is available May through October. In the Deckside with the Dolphins encounter, available year-round, participants learn about dolphin training and then try their hands at giving commands.
The 1,700-acre Morton Arboretum in Lisle boasts plant collections from 60 different countries. Groups can get lost and find themselves again in the Maze Garden, a one-acre living puzzle with a half-mile of paths, seven hidden plant rooms and a lookout platform at the center. Guided walks and narrated tram tours are available for groups of 12 or more. The stunning Ginkgo Room is part of the arboretum’s new visitor center. It offers panoramic views of Meadow Lake and reception space for 350. Cudahy Auditorium seats 100. Thornhill Auditorium can host as many as 200. The elegant and historic Founder’s Room welcomes groups as large as 100 for banquets and receptions. Planners can also make their event relevant to its setting by choosing from an array of speakers from the arboretum’s own ‘Tree Talks’ speakers bureau.
Groups can experience the law of the jungle at Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center, a 37-acre team-building center set in a beautiful nature preserve in Olympia Fields. Three separate courses reinforce teams’ ability to cooperate and value each other’s skills and talents with a variety of challenges. Groups of eight to 14 can tackle the Team Challenge Course or the Oaks High Ropes Course, each a series of obstacles that grow increasingly trickier as the group progresses through them. The Power Pole High Element has participants working to climb a 25-foot pole and find the courage to leap off the top. The two levels of the Discovery Center can accommodate 85 and 40, respectively. Two meeting rooms can be combined into one 1,300-square-foot space. A picnic area and one-and-a-half miles of hiking trails are also available.
For More Info
Brookfield Zoo 708.485.0263
www.brookfieldzoo.org
Morton Arboretum 630.725.2089
www.mortonarb.org
Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center 708.481.2330 www.ironsoaks.com
