The Best Day for....

Savvy parents need to have a few tricks up their sleeves to make the most of the long days of winter. This is your "What-to-Do-Today Planner” for Kansas City’s winter months—your guide to beat cabin fever with fun and creative solutions.

5 Ideas for Indoor Fun in Kansas City:

Get those creative juices flowing at these great locations for imaginative play, creating and learning.

• Science City at Union Station (30 W. Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO, 816.460.2020) is Kansas City's own hands-on science center with permanent and traveling exhibits to educate and engage children.
• Kaleidoscope (2500 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 816.274.8301. Visit www.HallmarkKaleidoscope.com for a complete schedule.) offers free walk-in sessions in the winter throughout the day during school holidays and in the afternoons when school is in session. Children love Kaleidoscope, a magical hands-on world of creativity and imagination where they create masterpieces with super cool, super fun supplies in a super amazing art center, all thanks to Hallmark.
• Johnson County Museum (6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913.715.25550. Admission: FREE. Hours: Tue.-Sat., 10:00-4:30; Sun., 1:00-4:30) is home to KidScape,  a delightful educational and hands-on exhibit for kids ages 3-9 (but our younger-than-3 children love it, too!). Youngsters escape into a child-sized suburban streetscape, where they role-play as community figures in educational environments: bookstore, park, city hall, hospital, fashion boutique, farm and theater.
• Little Monkey Bizness (12219 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., Shawnee, KS, 913.631.7000). Little Monkey Bizness is an indoor play facility with soft play, tunnels and Little Tykes toys for little ones, and a great art room to make art projects. Parents may sit in the snack bar area overlooking the play area and visit or work using free Wi-Fi. The facility is kept clean and sanitary by staff, it is well supervised, and the toys and play equipment are ideal for little ones!
• Parkside Coffeehouse at Cedar Ridge Christian Church (8835 Lackman Rd., Lenexa, KS, 913.393.3000. Hours: Tue.-Thu., 8:00-8:00; Fri., 8:00-4:00; Sat.-Sun., 9:00-Noon.) is a free indoor playground with toys for children and a coffeehouse.

5 Ideas for Outdoor Winter Fun in Kansas City:

Take advantage of the cold and enjoy winter’s finest sports and outdoor venues.

• The Kansas City Zoo (6800 Zoo Dr., Kansas City, MO) is open year-round and it is never crowded in the winter! At the zoo’s polar regions, you can enjoy the polar bears of the North Pole and the penguins of the South Pole. The zoo’s tropics exhibit features animals native to warmer climates. Enjoy watching all of them at play!
• Ski at Snow Creek (1 Snow Creek Dr., Weston, MO, 816.640.2200), the region’s nearest ski and snow board facility. They offer lessons for beginners and group packages.
• Ice Skate at one of Kansas City’s outdoor rinks. The Ice at Park Place ( 11565 Ash St., Leawood, KS), Crown Center Ice Terrace (Crown Center, 2500 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO), Linden Square (NE 70th & N. Cherry, Gladstone, MO) and The Rink at Burlington Square (6109 NW 63rd Ter., Kansas City, MO, 816.249.2600) offer lots of frosty fun!
• On a snowy weekend, enjoy sleigh rides at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop (1200 E. Kansas City Rd., Olathe, KS, 913.971.5111). Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop is one of our favorite historic sites in the Metro, with wonderful interpretive programs throughout the year. A favorite tradition historically, a horse-drawn sleigh ride on snowy weekends is great fun for the whole family (snow required, so this is dependent on the weather).
• Sledding, another weather dependent activity, is a favorite on one of Kansas City’s best sledding hills.

5 Ideas for a Fun Family Night in Kansas City:

These attractions are open a little later than you might expect and are especially fun to visit in the evenings when they are less crowded and your family can enjoy more time with each exhibit or asking the expert staff members questions!

• LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Kansas City (2475 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO. Hours: Sun.-Thu., 10:00-7:00 (final admission at 5:00); and Fri.-Sat., 10:00-9:00 (final admission at 7:00). Kids love building, creating and playing in the indoor Lego-themed play land. With two rides, a 4D cinema, a mini Lego replica of Kansas City and a variety of play areas where children can create their own LEGO models, this is a favorite family destination.
• Sea Life Aquarium (2475 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO. Hours: Sun.-Thu., 10:00- 7:00 (final admission at 5:00) and Fri.-Sat., 10:00-9:00 (final admission at 7:00). Every time we visit, we learn something we didn’t know before! The touch pool is a fave for our family, where we enjoy exploring sea creatures with our fingers and learning all about them. For instance, I grew up thinking those celestial-looking sea creatures were starfish, but learned on a recent visit that they are actually sea stars—the animal isn’t a fish at all! The stingrays, sharks, turtles, fish, seahorses, octopi and other sea creatures are fascinating to observe, and the staff at Sea Life are passionate about what they do and sharing that passion with visitors.
• The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (4525 Oak St., Kansas City, MO, 816.751.1278. Hours: Wed., 10:00-4:00; Thu.-Fri., 10:00-9:00; Sat, 10:00-5:00; and Sun., Noon-5:00. Admission: FREE) is open late on Thursday and Friday. Kansas City’s art gallery is one destination where you will discover something new with each visit. Families enjoy the FUN Spot, located in Bloch Lobby, where visitors with children learn what activities are available for them that day to maximize their fun. Tip: Use our “Nelson Scavenger Hunt” to add to your fun.
• Burn off energy at an indoor trampoline park! I don’t know about you, but my girls are bouncing off the walls after too many days inside. Get some exercise at one of Kansas City’s indoor trampoline attractions. The hours of operation vary for each location, but they are open many evenings through the week. Check out Sky Zone (6495 Quivira Rd., Shawnee, KS, 913.213.5900) or Cosmic Jump (12025 S. Strang Line Rd., Olathe KS, 913.397.7700).
• Catch a movie. I remember growing up in an era when most movie theaters were "alike"—the differences from one theater to the next were so subtle it really didn't warrant going to the other side of the city—so we all frequented the local theater. Now, movie theaters are competitive. In-theater dining, gigantic leather seats, 100+ soda selections, bigger, better, bolder screens and sound systems.... the competition is on! Read our list of  “5 Coolest Theaters in Kansas City” to discover our favorite movie theaters in Kansas City.

In January, when Kristina Light isn’t enjoying a winter picnic at the zoo watching penguins and polar bears, she can be found sledding with her kids at their favorite nearby hill.