MOEN Presents
Water City

Water is life. Every living thing needs water to survive. Water is inherently dynamic. It provides endless ways to explore and learn—from the way it moves, behaves, and changes states, to lessons in conservation. Water is the perfect plaything. In the new Water City experience, children of all ages and abilities can determine their own experiments, narratives, sensory experiences, and explorations of the physical properties of water. 

Together with MOEN, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, IFF, and the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Water City connects water play and STEM experiences for the next generation of young explorers and their families. 

The MOEN Presents Water City exhibit is in the historic part of Navy Pier called the Head House, in the western 50 ft. tall tower and includes a central water feature with three legs echoing the three branches of the Chicago River, and uniquely Chicago elements such as a lock/dam system, Lake Michigan, and skyscrapers from Chicago’s iconic skyline.  

How Adults Can Support Playful Learning in Water City

  • Look around at the cityscape together. Ask children: What part do you want to explore first?

  • Talk about the buildings and structures you see: Do any of these structures look familiar to you? Use the sign showing Chicago buildings as a reference.

  • As you are playing in the water, think together about all the words you’d use to describe it. Cool, smooth, shimmery, soft, clear...? What words describe how water makes you feel? Calm, excited, cool, thirsty...?

  • Ask “What if” questions: What do you think will happen if we direct the water sprayer at those spinners on the building? What would happen if we open up the dam? Then test it and see what happens!

Discover more opportunities for growth in development and how to support children’s learning through play at Chicago Children’s Museum. Explore the Supporting Learning Through Play Guide here!