"Only in Kansas City" Museums

Kansas City-style barbecue isn’t the only thing that makes our city unique! KC also has many distinct museums and cultural centers that are found only here, at home, and are worth a visit.

The Kansas City Money Museum is an excellent educational resource for children to learn about the economy and banking. Visitors experience interactive exhibits where they can try to spot a counterfeit bill, design their own money and lift a gold bar worth $400,000! By reservation, middle school students may participate in an iPad scavenger hunt to search for the Federal Reserve’s “lost vault.” Also included in the tour of the Money Museum is a view of the cash vault, where one can watch robots move thousands of dollars worth of money, as well as a historical timeline of our nation’s Federal Reserve.

The National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial houses one of the largest collections of WWI artifacts in the world, including 75,000 objects and documents. A tour of this magnificent museum includes soldiers’ first-hand accounts of their experiences, recreated trenches, weaponry and a breath-taking glass bridge that extends over a poppy field. Also, lectures and battlefield tours are offered for those with museum membership. And despite the darkness of WWI, the museum is committed to providing engaging experiences for young people as well. Children can participate in scavenger hunts throughout the museum, as well as “Hands-On History” events, through which children can see and touch WWI artifacts.

In 1856, the Arabia Steamboat, loaded with 200 tons of supplies to be delivered to newly settled frontier towns in the Midwest, hit a snag in the treacherous Missouri River and sank. Buried under a Kansas farm for 131 years, the Arabia was discovered in 1987 and transformed into a fascinating museum for Kansas City’s tourists to enjoy. It houses the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world, including clothing, weaponry and personal effects of the 130 passengers. The museum offers adult tours, as well as tours designed specifically for children (one of which allows kids to clean artifacts!)

Leila’s Hair Museum is the only hair museum in the world, featuring hundreds of wreaths and thousands of jewelry pieces made from human hair. You will find pieces containing hair from Queen Victoria, four presidents, the Virgin Mary (allegedly) and multiple celebrities ranging from Michael Jackson to Marilyn Monroe. The oldest brooch in the museum, with a piece of hair enclosed in a crystal case, was made in 1680.

Found in the vibrant 18th & Vine Jazz District, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a must-see in KC. Our city appropriately houses this tourist attraction, as the Negro Leagues were born here in KC in 1920. And in 1945, the Kansas City Monarchs released Jackie Robinson to be the first black baseball player to play for a major league team (the Brooklyn Dodgers). Along with artifacts and memorabilia, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum offers several unique educational opportunities. One such program is Reading Around the Bases in which celebrities read to children to promote literacy in Kansas City. The museum also offers an annual event called the Night of the Harvest Moon on Halloween as a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treating venue for local children.

A significant piece of Kansas City’s history is its heyday in the garment industry. After World War I and through the 1940s, more than 4,000 people were employed in Kansas City’s garment district. It’s said that during this time, 1 out of every 7 women in the United States purchased a garment designed and made in Kansas City. Ann Brownfield, the author of We Were Hanging by a Thread, a history of KC’s garment industry, is the Garment District Museum curator and tour guide. The museum’s displays change with the season but consistently display historic garments and artifacts from the 1930s to 1940s. An interesting fact about the garment district that truly represents its value to KC’s history: Henry Perry, “the father of Kansas City-style barbecue,” got his start in 1908 selling food in an alleyway in this historic neighborhood.

Karen Johnson, mother of three children, blogs at Musings of a Non-Scrapbooking SAHM (www.the21stcenturysahm.com).