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25 Ways to Enjoy Spring in KC

...especially with little ones

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Beautiful places on sunny days, super fun places on get-out-the-wiggle days and favorite indoor places for rainy or mega-hot days, these are 25 of our favorite ways to enjoy spring with infants and toddlers in Kansas City.

  1. Urban Air Trampoline Park (locations in Overland Park and Lenexa) is one of our favorite indoor attractions in the city. They offer a terrific toddler play space in addition to trampolines and attractions for all ages. Their special Jumperoo play sessions (on the KC Parent calendar) are exclusively for tots.
  2. Ride the carousel at the Kansas City Zoo. The zoo is always a favorite destination, with polar bears, penguins, elephants, kangaroos, sea lions and hundreds more animals to enjoy. Purchase a FOTZ pass to include rides and visit often, plus zoo memberships are reciprocal with other zoos if your family travels.
  3. Build a giant Duplo tower at Legoland Discovery Center.  Tip: Enter to win FREE passes on KCParent.com.
  4. Something is always blooming at Family Tree Nursery (three metro locations, FamilyTreeNursery.com). Family Tree offers some of the largest nurseries in the area with wide selections to enjoy through one of the most unique and fun shopping experiences in the city. Little ones love the fairy gardens and displays.
  5. Meet sea animals face to face at Sea Life Aquarium. Come nose to nose with sharks and enjoy astonishingly close views of everything from starfish and seahorses to graceful rays. Tip: Enter to win FREE passes on KCParent.com.
  6. Stroll through the free outdoor arboretum at Linda Hall Library a beautiful outdoor oasis right in the heart of the city.
  7. Visit Science City at Union Station where they offer terrific hands-on exhibits with little ones in mind. The nature center within the museum is home to many animals, including many at eye level for the youngest visitors.
  8. Play pretend at KidScape at the Johnson County Museum. This 3,500-sqaure-foot indoor play village is an imaginative and interactive experience allowing children to “work on the farm, perform at the theater or the puppet show, teach in the school, deliver mail, care for patients at the hospital or fry up some burgers at the diner.”
  9. Visit Ceramic Café, where moms and tots can paint something together. Let your little one get creative or design a handprint or footprint keepsake.
  10. Powell Gardens, the area’s botanical gardens, is a delightful place to spend a spring day. With flowers in bloom, the charming Heartland Harvest Garden (entirely edible landscape), rock wall garden and more, there is much to see and explore—including play areas for children.
  11. The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center is a 15,000-square-foot hands-on children’s museum with indoor education exhibits, including science, careers, building, art and a Nature Explorer Outdoor Classroom.
  12. Visit the Native Hoofed Animal Enclosure in Fleming Park. This 110-acre fenced enclosure is home to bison, elk and white-tailed deer.
  13. Feed fish from the dock at Longview Lake Marina. Purchase fish food for a dollar or two in the marina shop and enjoy the feeding frenzy as carp splash for the food. Tip: Remember life jackets.
  14. Play at Penguin Park. Penguin Park is one of the most beloved parks in the city, with giant penguins, elephants and kangaroos adorning the expansive playground. This is one park worth the drive for a special playdate!
  15. Stop and smell the roses at Loose Park.
  16. Explore Leawood City Park, one of the Variety KC parks in the city featuring a fully accessible playground for little ones of all abilities to enjoy!
  17. Visit Kauffman Memorial Garden. This free botanical garden offers a beautiful place to enjoy flowers and fountains and is a great spot to take photos of your family.
  18. Explore at Brumble’s Forest at Meadowmere Park. The forest theme at this park is beautiful and features a wooded landscape that is one of a kind in the metro.
  19. Take photos in the sculpture park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
  20. The Overland Park Arboretum is a delightful place to spend a spring day. With blooming flowers to enjoy and the charming children’s garden, the whimsical train garden and the stunning Monet garden, as well as miles of trails to walk and explore—you and your little ones will have an enchanted visit.
  21. Visit your local pet store and look at the fish, turtles, birds and other pets.
  22. Watch the fish at Bass Pro. The outdoors shop features giant fish tanks kids love.
  23. Play at Wonderscope Children’s Museum. The museum reopened in a brand new space in the Red Bridge neighborhood in October 2020, offering amazing hands-on exhibits specially designed for early learning and play.
  24. On weekends, May-September, treat your kids to a ride aboard the KC Northern Railroad. Three 16-inch gauge trains restored and operated by volunteers run on a half-mile track through tunnels that are sure to make your children smile.
  25. Search “Best Parks” on KCParent.com to find whimsical and enchanting playgrounds to explore across the metro.

Some of Kristina Light’s favorite memories are enjoying these great KC places with her girls when they were toddlers. Feeding fish at the lake was a favorite for the whole family.

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