If you’ve been hunting for things to do in Vernon Hills that aren’t a movie theater, a mini-golf course, or another loop around the mall, there’s now an answer that didn’t exist eighteen months ago. On the lower level of Hawthorn Mall, tucked across from H&M, a 60-foot corridor of laser light holds a herd of elephants, a breaching humpback whale, and a Tyrannosaurus rex that will absolutely make you flinch.
Hologram Zoo Illinois is the first permanent walk-through hologram zoo in the Midwest. It’s not a VR arcade, it’s not a projection-mapping room, and — this is the part that surprises most first-time visitors — there isn’t a single live animal in the building.
Here’s what it actually is, what it costs, who it works for, and why it’s earned a spot at the top of most Vernon Hills activity lists.
What Exactly Is a Hologram Zoo?
The concept originated with Australian holographic technology that TIME named to its Best Inventions list in 2023, and Forbes later profiled as “the future of wildlife.” Vernon Hills is where it landed in the Midwest, operated locally by Tleules Mananov.
The mechanics are simple enough to explain and strange enough to experience. You put on a pair of lightweight tracked glasses — think chunky sunglasses, not a headset strapped to your skull. Lasers project light into the space around you, and the glasses resolve that light into three-dimensional animals that appear to occupy the room with you.
The distinction from VR matters more than it sounds. You can still see the room. You can still see your kids, your friends, and the person next to you gasping at the same whale. Nobody disappears into a private headset world. If a child gets overwhelmed, they take the glasses off and they’re standing in an ordinary dark room — no disorientation, no motion sickness.
“Our goal is simple: to spark curiosity and wonder while giving families an unforgettable shared experience,” Mananov said around the opening. The shared part is the whole design philosophy.
The Five Tunnels
The core of the attraction is a set of 60-foot walk-through tunnels, each running roughly 30 minutes. You don’t do all of them in one pass — you pick your experience, and many visitors come back for a different tunnel on a second trip.
Dinosaur Tunnel. The headliner, and the one most families book first. Life-sized prehistoric animals move through the corridor around you. There are startle moments — roaring, sudden approaches, the occasional shattering-glass effect — which is thrilling for a seven-year-old and occasionally too much for a three-year-old.
Africa Tunnel. Elephants, big cats, and savanna wildlife at full scale. This is where the “zoo” framing lands hardest: you get the sense of standing beside an elephant without an elephant standing in a Vernon Hills enclosure.
Arctic Tunnel. A newer addition. Polar wildlife and ice environments, generally calmer in tone than the dinosaurs.
Asia Tunnel. New for 2026, covering the wildlife of the Asian continent.
Space Tunnel. Also new for 2026, and a change of pace from the animals — planets, asteroids, and deep-space scale. Older kids and adults tend to rate this one highly.
There’s an aquarium-themed experience in the mix as well, featuring whales, dolphins, and sea turtles, which is often the favorite among visitors who find dinosaurs a bit intense.
The HoloRooms: Where It Gets Interactive
The tunnels are something you walk through. The HoloRooms are something you do.
Four interactive rooms — Dinosaur, Aquarium, Sports, and Monster — let guests actually engage with the holograms rather than observe them. In the dinosaur room, that means feeding dinosaurs, guarding a clutch of eggs, and watching them hatch. It’s the part younger kids talk about on the drive home.
If you’re deciding how to spend a limited budget, the general pattern from visitors is: tunnels for the spectacle, HoloRooms for the engagement. Kids under eight often prefer the HoloRooms.
How Long Should You Plan For?
Each individual experience runs about 30 minutes. A single-experience visit is a tidy hour once you account for check-in and glasses fitting.
Most families stack two or three experiences, which puts you in the 90-minute to two-hour range — a genuinely satisfying outing, and short enough that you can pair it with lunch or shopping at Hawthorn without the day feeling overstuffed.
Birthday parties run longer, between 1.5 and 3 hours depending on the package.
Who It Works For
Ages 3 and up is the official guidance, and it’s about right — but the real threshold is whether a child will keep the glasses on. Four and up is a safer bet. The glasses are light, but a toddler who fights them will see a dim, blurry room and not much else.
Older elementary and middle schoolers are arguably the sweet spot, especially kids who like science, space, or natural history. There’s genuine educational substance underneath the spectacle.
Adults without kids are not out of place here. The technology is interesting on its own terms, and the Space Tunnel in particular plays well to an adult audience.
Sensory-sensitive visitors should ask about the low-sensory option, which the venue offers for younger children. The environments are intentionally dark to make the holograms read brightly, and there are loud, sudden moments in the dinosaur content. You can pause or step out at any point.
One practical note that trips people up: only the guest wearing the glasses sees the full effect. Everyone else sees a blurry version of the projection. Plan glasses for every member of your party who wants the real thing.
What It Costs
At the time of writing, general admission for a single experience runs around $24.95, with $21.95 for military and seniors and $19.95 for children ages 3–15. Prices and promotions shift, so confirm before you go.
Group rates kick in at 10+ people. Birthday packages are tiered:
- Birthday Core — $225 per 10 guests
- Birthday Plus — $274 per 10 guests (the most-booked tier)
- Birthday Ultra — $349 per 10 guests
The birthday guest of honor attends free, packages include the photo studio and Projectogram, and you’re welcome to bring your own cake and food — a meaningful cost saving compared to venues that mandate their catering.
Booking is online through Peek, with instant confirmation and no account required. Rescheduling is generally allowed up to 48–72 hours out, depending on ticket type. There’s a Groupon listing that surfaces periodically as well, typically on the group and party packages rather than single admissions.
Getting There, Parking, and Access
Address: 318 Hawthorn Center, Hawthorn Mall, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Phone: (847) 281-7030
Hours: Monday–Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Park near the Macy’s entrance — it puts you closest to the lower-level location, and Hawthorn Mall parking is free. The venue is stroller and wheelchair accessible.
For anyone coming from the city, Vernon Hills sits roughly 35 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, about 45 minutes by car in reasonable traffic.
Why It Ranks High Among Things to Do in Vernon Hills
Three reasons it keeps showing up at the top of local lists.
It’s genuinely weather-proof. Lake County winters are long, and the list of indoor things to do in Vernon Hills that aren’t food-based or screen-based is short. Hologram Zoo is fully climate-controlled and open rain, snow, or heat wave.
It’s novel without being gimmicky. Plenty of “immersive experiences” are a projector and a dark room. This is a distinct technology doing something you haven’t seen at other Chicago-area attractions, and there’s no equivalent within a few hundred miles.
No animals in captivity. For families who’ve grown uneasy about traditional zoos, this resolves the tension entirely. You get the scale and the awe of standing beside a whale, and nothing is confined to deliver it.
Reviews have been strong since opening — well above 4.5 stars across more than 100 Google ratings, with consistent praise for the staff and the wow factor of the first tunnel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hologram Zoo Illinois the same as VR?
No. There are no VR headsets. You wear lightweight tracked glasses and stay fully aware of the room and the people in it.
How long does a visit take?
About 30 minutes per experience. Most families do two or three, for roughly 90 minutes to two hours total.
What’s the minimum age?
Officially 3 and up. Practically, 4+ works better because of the glasses.
Are there real animals?
None. Every animal is a hologram.
Can I do it more than once?
Yes — that’s part of the design. Different tunnels on different visits keeps it fresh, and new tunnels have been added since opening.
Is it worth it for adults?
If you have any interest in emerging display technology, yes. The Space Tunnel especially.
The Bottom Line
Among things to do in Vernon Hills, this is the one that doesn’t have a comparable elsewhere. It’s an hour or two, it’s indoors, it works across a wide age range, and it delivers a moment — usually somewhere in the first sixty seconds of the first tunnel — where everyone in your group makes the same noise at the same time.
Book ahead on weekends and school holidays. And park by Macy’s.