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This is one of our family’s absolute favorite things to do in the Kansas City area! Located in Overland Park, it is just a quick 20 minute drive from downtown KC and gives a glimpse of what life was like living on a frontier farmstead. This unique farm has tons for toddler and children to do and see, such as bottle feeding baby goats, taking a horse drawn wagon ride, and catching catfish using cane poles. They have cow milking demonstrations, a fantastic butterfly garden, and a great trading outpost to find authentic souvenirs, like salt water taffy.
If you are visiting in the summer, you know Kansas City can get HOT! So indoor activities are great for the afternoon heat when you have littles. We spent an entire afternoon at this fantastic kids museum this summer, and I had to drag my kids out! It is located in Overland Park, about 20 minutes from downtown KC. They have a huge water play area, a kid-sized grocery store and restaurant, a maker space with any kind of art supplies you can imagine, and a real life school bus sticking out of the side of the building! Not to mention their massive outdoor play space with a treehouse, sand pit, and tricycle path. When we went this summer, my kids were 2, 4 and 6, but my 8 year old nephew was with us as well, and this place was a hit with all of them.
We visited Science City for the first time this summer, and I was a little unsure if my kids would be too young for this science museum or not. Man was I wrong! We spent an afternoon here, and wish we would have had another hour or two! While there were some exhibits geared towards older kids, there were so many fun things for younger kids to explore. The fossil dig, the art room, and the train space were huge hits with my kiddos. My two-year-old could have spent the entire day watching the model trains drive and playing pretend in the life sized train cars. There’s a neat planetarium, and a fantastic outdoor play space if the weather is nice! Plus, it’s located inside of Union Station, which is a really great place to have lunch and explore.
Kaleidoscope is an art-making studio session located in Crown Center designed for kids aged 14 and under. Sessions are just under an hour, and kids have the freedom to explore the studio and use any of the available materials to create whatever they want. There are tons of different materials that can be used: multiple types of paint, markers, ribbon, cardboard, stickers, and so much more! Some of our kiddos favorites included the splatter paint and watercolor station with the fast dryer, but honestly, what kid wouldn’t love free reign in a room full of endless art supplies!
Sessions are free, but you do have to preregister, and they fill up fast. They do have some spots available for walk-ins, but I can’t attest to how quickly those fill up, so make sure to get there early if you want a spot without a reservation.
The Kansas City zoo is the perfect place to spend the day with kids! With over 1,700 types of animals and 200 acres, there are so many great things to see here. They recently opened a brand new aquarium, which was amazing and a must-do! The 650,000 gallon aquarium is located close to the entrance, and has a fantastic collection of nearly 8,000 animals to bring the ocean to the Midwest. Enjoy sharks, sea turtles, otters, multiple touch tank exhibits, and so much more in this immersive under water adventure.
Of course there are so many more amazing things to see and do at the Kansas City zoo besides the aquarium! Polar bears, penguins, and sea lions were some of our family favorites, but you can find just about any animal you can think of here. They also have a safari train and sky tram if you need a break while exploring. There are tons of family friendly dining and snack options, as well as several places to sit and eat your packed lunch.
We found this zoo to be one of the most family-friendly places we visited in Kansas City. We saw so many nursing suites for breastfeeding moms, and many of the bathrooms had step stools and toddler seats on their toilets, which make life so much easier when visiting with littles! Definitely check this awesome zoo out on your next trip to Kansas City!
What are your favorite things to do in Kansas City with kids? Let me know in the comments!