✕
☰

13 Before You Turn 13

by

Must-do ways to experience your hometown as a true Kansas Citian.

1. Experience our world-class museums.

Kansas City is home to many fantastic museums, but three are truly world-class experiences.

When you visit the National WWI Museum and Memorial, a visit to the top of Liberty Memorial is included with admission to the museum. Within the museum walls below lies one of the best historical sites in the Midwest. With tremendous state-of-the-art exhibits telling the story of World War I and, more importantly, the soldiers and civilians of the era—their sacrifices, their journeys—this is one of Kansas City’s most important attractions.

Spend a day enjoying the fine arts. Begin at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art where admission is free. Explore this world-class museum where you can enjoy everything from ancient to modern art. The museum is home to extensive Chinese and Japanese galleries, African and Indian art, American Impressionists, European classics and Native American and Modern art.

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence tells the story of Truman and his presidency. Visitors read, listen, watch, look and relive through film and interactive displays some key moments in American history. The museum is home to exhibits documenting these important moments in the nation’s history. TrumanLibrary.gov

2. Visit the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium.

Explore the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium. With more than 1,700 animals on 202 acres, it's the most affordable family fun for kids of all ages. Travel all over the world without ever leaving the Kansas City Zoo. Explore the new Sobela Ocean Aquarium. The brand-new 650,000-gallon aquarium features six zones with 34 exhibits that will tell the story of how ocean currents connect animals across the globe. Approximately 8,000 animals populate the aquarium, including sea turtles, sea otters, multiple species of sharks and octopuses. Be sure to explore the Elephant Expedition, where the zoo’s beloved pachyderms play in water and enjoy their state-of-the-art habitat. Take a spin on our Endangered Species Carousel, ride the train, then continue your journey on the tram to our award-winning Africa exhibit. Visit Polar Bear Passage, Helzberg Penguin Plaza, the Discovery Barn and Stingray Bay. Stroll down Tiger Trail and get nose to nose with primates, orangutans, tigers and more.

3. Drop 205 feet on the Mamba.

Kansas City’s own Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun (816.454.4545) are two theme parks enjoyed for the price of one ticket. Worlds of Fun is a roller coaster enthusiast’s dream park! It’s home to eight world-class roller coasters, including one of the tallest, longest and fastest roller coasters in the world, the Mamba that thrills with a first drop of 205 feet! The Patriot is a giant inverted coaster that carries the daring through four inversions at a top speed of 65 mph. And, this year brought a reimagined Zambezi Zinger back to the park. In the summer, enjoy Oceans of Fun, a huge water park with waterslides, rapids, an 800-foot rapids river and a wave pool. 

4. Tailgate before the game.

Tailgating is a Kansas City rite of passage! Take the family to a home game to cheer on the Kansas City Monarchs, Kansas City Royals, Sporting KC, Kansas City Current or Chiefs. Or catch a race at the Kansas Speedway. Cheer on the KC Mavericks, an indoor ice hockey team in the winter months (and grab concessions there).

Go Ape

5. Zip line through the trees.

Near the Kansas City Zoo, Go Ape offers treetop and private group adventures. The two- to three-hour obstacle course includes 40 crossings that feature rope bridges, five zip lines, Tarzan swings and net bridges. This is a fully immersive experience combining obstacles and zip lines for the adventure enthusiast.

6. Take a photo with a fountain.

Kansas Citians know our home is the City of Fountains, but you may not know that our first fountains were not for ornamental purposes. They were rather utilitarian, to provide water for horses, dogs and birds. The city’s first fountain was built in 1904 at Fourth & Minnesota for just such a purpose. It featured a large pedestal and a granite basin, and the water spewed from the mouths of lions into a taller bowl where people could get clean water as well. Since that time, it is said we have added more fountains than Rome. Find a map to local fountains at KCFountains.com.

7. Know your Q.

Enjoying barbecue is part of our city heritage. In 1908, Kansas City’s king of barbecue, Henry Perry, sold a slab of pork ribs for 25 cents in the 18th & Vine neighborhood. Since that time, our city has created an art form, developing the best sauces and smoking the tastiest meats in the United States. According to the Kansas City Barbecue Society, we have more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States. Find a guide to the Best Barbecue in KC on KCParent.com.

8. Enjoy the great outdoors.

Powell Gardens, Loose Park’s Rose Garden, Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden and the Overland Park Arboretum are just a few of our favorite places to enjoy the outdoors locally. Discover Kansas City’s local nature centers and gardens using our interactive Going Places Guide on KCParent.com.

9. Eat fun food at the fair.

From trendy boutique shopping to old-fashioned county fairs, ethnic festivals with delicious delicacies and local barbecue festivals ... there is something for everyone! Some of our favorites include Celebration at the Station, Great Balloon Glow, Festival of Butterflies, Waterfire, Grand Carnivale at Worlds of Fun, Great Lenexa BBQ Battle, Jazzoo, Missouri State Fair, Ethnic Enrichment Festival, CiderFest and more. Find them all in our Festival Guide on KCParent.com.

10. Celebrate the seasons.

Pumpkin patches, corn mazes and apple picking in the fall. Ice skating, holiday lights, Christmas shows and sledding in the winter. Flower gardens, strawberry picking, barbecue and baseball in the spring. Fireworks, water parks, roller coasters and festivals in the summer. Celebrate the seasons in Kansas City and search “Four Seasons of Fun” on KCParent.com for ideas.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park

11. Experience adventure.

Check off a must-do experience on your bucket list, whether it’s swimming with penguins at Tanganyika Wildlife Park, hot air balloon rides, a helicopter ride, rock wall climbing at RoKC, riding a race car with the Richard Petty Driving Experience, canoeing, kayaking, go-karts, Tick Tock Escape, or a 4D movie experience, you’ll find attractions to experience all of these things in the Going Places Guide on KCParent.com.

12. Go Stargazing:

We may be urban, but you can still enjoy the night sky at Warko Observatory on the UMKC Campus (free on Friday nights May-October), Powell Observatory in Louisburg (affordable on Saturday nights May-October) or the Gottlieb Planetarium at Union Station (year-round).

13. Camp out.

So many beautiful campgrounds embellish the area, but one of our all-time favorites is Watkins Mill State Park in Lawson, Missouri. The park is home to a 100-acre lake, campgrounds, picnic areas, trails and Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site. Tour a 19th-century three-story woolen mill and home to learn what life was like for families more than a century ago. The mill is the only 19th-century textile mill in the United States with its original machinery still intact. While you’re camping, enjoy the paved bike path, fishing spots, boating, picnic tables and a swim beach. Find information at MoStateParks.com/park/watkins-mill-state-park. Find more local camp ideas on KCParent.com.

Kristina Light writes about her hometown year-round on KCParent.com, where you’ll find lots of local inspiration for family memories.

Back to topbutton