10 Things We’re Looking Forward to This Summer in KC

The school year is drawing to a close, the days are warmer and the sun is shining brighter … it’s time for summer fun! We’re looking forward to enjoying new and old favorites this summer in Kansas City.

• Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

  The Kansas City Zoo recently welcomed koalas Chuckels and Thackory to the zoo. It’s the first time in five years the zoo has had koalas on exhibit. The beloved marsupials from Australia are a big hit with visitors of all ages and will be staying through November. While you’re at the zoo, be sure to feed camels, visit Nuniq and Berlin, the resident polar bears, explore the Penguin Plaza, and enjoy the Elephant Expedition.

• Worlds of Fun

  Worlds of Fun for everyone!

  Kansas City’s amusement park with 235 acres of family rides, thrill rides, and waterslides, including seven world-class rollercoasters and admission Oceans of Fun, the city’s first waterpark.

  Your senses come alive as you enter the gate, the sights and sounds take over, and the little ones in your family take your hand. Breathtaking views from towering coasters, hair-raising thrill rides, and a Planet Snoopy kids area that is the playground for new memories.

  Enjoy unlimited visits and free parking to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun every public operating day, including Grand Carnivale and Halloween Haunt with a Gold Season Pass.

  Accessibility Notes: Not all rides and attractions are accessible.

• Oceans of Fun

  Kansas City’s own Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun will open again for summer memories this season. The season begins for Worlds of Fun on May 22, and Oceans of Fun opens May 29. This summer, the record-breaking Riptide Raceway debuts at Oceans of Fun. Thrill seekers race down the five-story-high four side-by-side tunnels atop a soft foam mat. Racing to be the first to reach the finish line, riders in each lane will zoom more than 486 feet down a winding hillside, around a tight 360-degree loop and through a rapid final descent before splashdown.

• Union Station

  Union Station is bringing the world class exhibit Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. to Kansas City on June 14. Featuring more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs, the exhibition allows visitors to experience artifacts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, including hundreds of personal items—such as suitcases, eyeglasses and shoes—that belonged to survivors and victims of Auschwitz.

• Kansas City Monarchs at Legends Field

  Celebrate baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs (the new name for the KC T-Bones, part of the American Association of Baseball), a brand that hasn't had a home field since 1965.  The team is rebranding in a partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and celebrating part of Kansas City’s rich baseball history. The Kansas City Monarchs was the longest-running franchise in Negro Leagues history and a founding member of the league in 1920. The Monarchs won 10 league pennants and the inaugural Negro League World Series Championship in 1924. When the team was disbanded in 1965, it had produced more major league players than any other Negro Leagues franchise. On Opening Day of 2021, the Monarchs will take the field for the first time in pinstripes at the Field of Legends.

• Lake Olathe Park

  We love spending summer at the lake, and Lake Olathe is one of our favorite local lakes with a beautiful swim beach and inflatable Aqua Park. For landlocked Midwesterners, it’s great to have a place where you can build sandcastles, swim with the family and jump into the water from a giant floating playground. Lake Olathe Park visitors can rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and pedal boats at the marina. The upper lawn at the lake is surrounded by landscaping and a small stream with a water feature flowing into a waterfall before ending in a pond. A creek leading from the pond wraps around the kid-friendly Spray Ground before flowing into the lake.

• Mid-Continent Public Libraries

  Mid-Continent Public Libraries just keep getting better! Branches across the metro have been treated to a major makeover, and new locations (Lee’s Summit!) are opening too. The changes mean newly reimagined spaces that create a place for community. With open spaces, comfortable seating, ideal lighting and fantastic programming, the libraries have been reborn as a center of the community. Check out a new location (or two or three) this year. And be sure to sign up for the Summer Learning Program where children earn prizes for reading and participating in summer learning activities.

• Johnson County Museum staff, 2020

  Johnson County Museum

  The Johnson County Museum is showcasing the exhibit Paul McCobb: America’s Designer May 22, 2021-January 2022. Paul McCobb designed Mid-Century Modern furniture and furnishings for post-war America that sold in department stores across the nation. With objects pulled from a local collection, this groundbreaking exhibit explores the most famous American designer you didn’t know you knew. Free with museum admission.

• Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

  Summer means beautiful weather and a chance to enjoy the great outdoors. Whether you’re in the mood for a simple picnic at the park, a relaxing stroll, time to sit and read or a full day exploring acres of botanical paradise, our gardens offer something for everyone. The Overland Park Arboretum (OPKansas.org) is a 300-acre garden, home to a Monet garden, a whimsical train garden, beautiful trails, prairie and ponds to explore.

• Kauffman Memorial Gardens

  Kauffman Memorial Garden (Facebook.com/KauffmanMemorialGarden) is a small, free botanical garden near the Country Club Plaza and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where something new is in bloom all year long. With fountains, scenic places to sit and read and paths to stroll, this is an urban oasis.

• Powell Gardens

  Lastly, Powell Gardens (PowellGardens.org) is a great day trip adventure. The 970-acre botanical gardens are home to the Heartland Harvest Garden, the nation's largest edible landscape, and the Island Garden and Waterfall Garden.

• Fun Farm

  The Fun Farm, in Kearney, is a favorite destination for strawberry picking in the spring. Check out the Strawberry Festival select weekends in May. This locally owned family business is a delightful agritourism site for all ages.

• National WWI Museum and Memorial

  Within the walls of the National World War I Museum and Memorial lies one of the best historic sites in the Midwest. Realizing that World War I is a complex era of history for anyone to grasp, especially the youngest visitors, the museum provides a free family gallery guide booklet for children. Hands-on exhibits engage throughout explore World War I-era Kansas City and learn more about the period.