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Kansas City’s 4th of July Guide

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Kansas City celebrates Independence Day with a bang! Read carefully… our guide includes both events with and without fireworks.

Always Remember:


Weather may result in some events changing plans. Please watch websites and Facebook notices CLOSELY before taking your kids to a fireworks display as schedules are subject to change. We will do our best to update this page, but all schedules are weather permitting.

Note: This list was compiled by KC Parent Magazine Staff and may not be copied in print or online without permission from KC Parent Magazine. If you know of a great 4th of July event to add to our list, email kristina@kcparent.com.

Tip: Click on the event title for a link to the event website – this may include driving directions, full schedules, and additional tips!

Fortopia at Powell Gardens a Favorite for Kids

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If you have been reading my work for KC Parent for a long (or even just a week) you may have noticed somewhere along the way that I have a few “especially favorite” places in the Kansas City area that I love to write about and mention often (making certain new readers discover these much-loved gems!). Powell Gardens is one of those places.

I adore Powell Gardens. Many of my fondest childhood memories were formed at Powell Gardens (I still remember catching the “First Fish” at a fishing derby when I was in elementary school – an event they no longer host). My daughters consider it to be one of the most beautiful and magical places in the area to explore and they love to bring their cameras and sketch pads on the adventure. We love the Heartland Harvest Garden, Rock & Waterfall Garden, and wooded paths. For our family, Powell Gardens is a beautiful place to simply enjoy nature, fresh air, and the great outdoors… and on more than one occasion I have found myself wandering in the woods at Powell Gardens to rejuvenate my creative juices and resolve writer’s block. 

This summer, Powell Gardens guests are invited to enjoy Fortopia!

Forts are the stuff of childhood dreams. Gathering pillows and blankets to create an indoor fort, or tarps, sticks, and rope to build forts in the backyard is a favorite way for children to explore their creativity. There’s something special about having a little nook or hiding place of your own. Powell Gardens’ Fortopia captures that bit of magic and whimsy beautifully!

Many forts are now on display having been designed by educators, architects, horticulturalists, and fabricators. Each of the forts encourages a love of nature and the outdoors, and each is unique and creative. This year’s fort designers include a team of preschool children, artists, landscape designers, architects, and more local creators. We loved seeing their creative ideas.

In the summer, after exploring Fortopia, you may explore more of Powell Gardens. When it’s hot outside, my girls especially appreciate cooling off in the fountain.

The chapel at Powell Gardens is iconic for its masterful design, beautiful windows, and elegance as its surrounded by nature:

As we walked to the Heartland Harvest Garden, we had to explore the Greenhouses. The Heartland Harvest Garden is gorgeous. We love going up in the silo to see the “quilt blocks” below:

The Children’s Garden (just past the quilt blocks in the Heartland Harvest Garden) offers a fence maze, giant play pieces inspired by gardening, and sculptures of giant bugs! Kids love this fun and creative space. You may also cool off in the education center where there is air-conditioning and educational materials including activity sheets for kids.

In addition to these gardens, you may visit the Woodland & Stream Garden, the Island Garden, and the Prairie.

Tips for Your Visit to Powell Gardens


  • Check their calendar in advance for wonderful events including Festival of Butterflies, Festival of Lights classes, and family programs.

  • We usually spend a half-full day exploring the gardens. Memberships are a great investment so you may enjoy special events and come throughout the year. Our favorite way to visit is to explore one-half of the gardens on each visit as there is so much to see.

  • Bring refillable water bottles and remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day. I set an alarm on my phone as a reminder on especially hot days.

  • You will be outside walking, so wear comfortable clothes, a hat for shade, and walking shoes. Check the forecast and dress for the weather.

  • In the summer, remember sunscreen and bug spray and reapply throughout the day.

  • Bring strollers or wagons for little ones.

  • Bring snacks and picnics. There are tables to enjoy a picnic outside the visitor’s center. Consider hydrating snacks like fruit and cucumbers in the summer.

  • Food is available in the gift shop inside the visitor’s center. This includes box lunches, drinks, and ice cream.

  • Tram Rides are available to offer a break from walking. During our visit, the trolley was in for repairs and golf carts were running (limited space and availability)

  • Kids LOVE to cool off in the splash pad located in the fountain garden – dress with that in mind. Bring towels to dry off.

  • Take photos!

Kansas City’s Ultimate Summer Fun Bucket List

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KC is cool all the time, but especially in the summertime! Enjoy the best of summer with our MEGA FUN Bucket List!


Kristina Light will be writing about summer fun in Kansas City all season long on KCParent.com.

KC’s Water Fun Guide

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Olivia Bock updated this article on 6/8/25 to include the newly opened splash pad at Ashland Square Park.

From free spraygrounds for young children to daring water rides for teens and adults to classes and programs, pools and waterparks, and everything in between – Kansas City has it all. Dive into fun this summer!

Tip: Most of these attractions are open Memorial Day Weekend – Labor Day Weekend.

Note: This list was compiled by the staff of KC Parent Magazine and may not be reproduced in print or online without permission.

Kansas City Area Waterparks:

Oceans of Fun

Splash into SUMMER FUN at Kansas City’s premier outdoor water park! With waves of fun from mild to wild, Oceans of Fun offers AMAZING for everyone in the family. Extreme water slides appeal to thrill-seekers and kiddos love our pint-sized slides, geysers, and foundations at Crocodile Isle. Float along on our Caribbean Cooler lazy river and catch some waves at fan favorite, Surf City Wave Pool. Riptide Raceway, the world’s longest mat racing waterslide. From five stories high, racers will speed down 486 feet in enclosed, winding tubes and around a 360-degree loop before an epic, splashdown finish.

Enjoy season-long access and free parking to Worlds of Fun with a Gold Season Pass, including seasonal events Grand Carnivale and Halloween Haunt.

Outdoor Waterparks:

    • Adventure Oasis: (2100 S. Hub Dr. Independence, MO) From 700 exhilarating feet of water slides to a peaceful 900-foot lazy river, there’s so much to do at Adventure Oasis! Splash & play in the family pool, take a dip in the lap pool, or visit the Oasis Grill. Your adventure awaits!
    • Bay Water Park: (7101 Longview Road, Kansas City, MO. 816.965.9218)  Water attractions to satisfy all ages and thrill-seeking levels.
    • Blue Surf Bay: (425 N.E. Mock Ave, Blue Springs, MO.) This waterpark features a 40-foot slide tower with multiple slides. Additionally, the outdoor space includes a lazy river with a special action channel, a wave-ball pool with an attached activity pool and a zero-depth entry pool with play structure for younger children. One of the main attractions of the waterpark is a double surf simulator that allows visitors to try knee boarding or stand-up surfing.
    • Blackbob Bay: (14570 W. 151st St., Olathe, KS. 913.971.5345). Features: Raft water slides, Lazy River, Shallow water play structures, Family changing room, Shade areas for party rentals, Dive well including two 1-meter diving boards and two 3-meter diving boards, 50-meter pool, and Baby pool.
    • Bonner Springs Aquatic Park: (1200 S. 134th St., Bonner Springs, KS. 913.422.7011) The aquatic park features a zero-depth entry pool, 2.5-meter lap pool, floatable pods, water playground, diving boards, water slides, and basketball goal.
    • Gardner Aquatic Center: (215 N. Center, Gardner, KS. 913.856.0962) Special amenities include zero-depth entry, an active in-water play area, lazy river, multiple water slides, floatable walk, climbing nets, spray grounds, and a tot pool.
    • Thomas A. Soetaert Aquatic Center: (13805 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS.913.631.0054) Features 2 slides, a lazy river, diving boards, lap lanes, an AquaClimb, a full enclosed baby pool area with water playground and a Wibit interactive play feature.
    • Sar-Ko-Par Aquatic Center: (8801 Greenway Ln, Lenexa, KS.) The aquatic center features a blend of excitement and relaxation. Amenities include:  Zero-depth entry pool with interactive features for younger children, Climbable play feature with dump bucket, Lazy river with a variety of flow currents and features, 25-yard competition/lap pool, Deep-water alcove and diving boards, Inner tube slide and speed slide, New shade features, and New family restrooms and open-air admissions area.
    • Splash Cove is located at 5800 King Avenue, Shawnee, KS 66203. Splash Cove is a unique water park as it is designed and geared towards kids 9 and under. It has a large slide, but also a multi-feature play structure and a wave pool. The entire facility gets no deeper than 4 feet.
    • The Springs Aquatic Center: (9400 N. Congress Ave., Kansas City, MO. 816.350.2628) Whether you’re lounging in the leisure pool, racing in the competition pool, or romping on the spray ground, The Springs is for you.
    • Summit Waves: (120 SW Blue Pkwy., Lee’s Summit, MO. 816.969.1545) Features a 904-foot action river, body slide, tube slide, 6-lane lap pool with diving boards, a water playground area featuring mini-slides, dump buckets, and more.

Indoor Waterpark:

    • Kansas City’s indoor water resort, Great Wolf Lodge (10401 Cabela Dr, Kansas City, KS, 855.826.8062), is an 84-degree indoor water park that boasts more than 38,000 square feet of water-packed excitement, including jaw-dropping slides for thrill-seekers and zero-depth entry areas for little ones.

Learn to Wakeboard at KC Watersports

KC Watersports is the best wakeboarding destination in the midwest. For beginners, they offer day camps and lessons to perfect your skills. For our experts, you won’t find a more challenging set of rails, ramps, and sliders anywhere in the US. For the family, they have a beach, with shade, where you can relax and watch the kids ride, with the Snack Shack to keep you going throughout the day. The Pro Shop is well stocked with the best gear in the industry, with rental equipment also available. All skill levels are encouraged, so head out to KCW this summer and enjoy some fun in the sun!

Swim at the Beach

Lake Olathe  Lake Olathe Park features a 170-acre lake surrounded by a 258-acre community park. The Swim Beach features locker rooms, outdoor showers, vending machines, and a floating obstacle course ‘ The Aqua Park. Lake Olathe Park visitors can rent canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and pedal boats at the Marina. Coolers with food and non-alcoholic beverages are welcome along with beach chairs and umbrellas. Additional renovations to Lake Olathe now offer an upper event lawn surrounded by landscaping and a small stream. The water feature flows into a waterfall before ending in a pond. A creek leading from the pond wraps around the newly built Spray Ground before flowing into the lake. An amphitheater, featuring event seating for 1,500 and Lake Olathe as its backdrop, is a great spot to relax and enjoy nature’s elements. This lake also recently improved its accessibility! Variety Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City offers a water wheelchair at Lake Olathe that is free to check out! The lake also offers accessible parking and access to the water!

Additional Swim Beaches:

    • BONUS: Enjoy Beach Volleyball at these venues: Volleyball Beach (13105 Holmes Rd., Kansas City, MO, 816.942.2820), Shawnee Mission Volleyball Beach (19800 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS, 913.422.4070) or Centerline Beach Volleyball (1910 US 40 Hwy., Blue Springs, MO, 816.224.4455).

Boat Rental at Kansas City area Lakes:

    • Jackson County, MO, offers boat rental at Blue Springs Lake, Longview Lake, and Lake Jacomo (816.503.4870). All three lakes offer pontoon, bass boat, and fishing boat rental. Lake Jacomo also features pedal boat and canoe rental.
    • Legacy Park Legacy Park in Lee’s Summit offers canoe, stand-up board, and bicycle rentals (816.969.1550).
    • Lake Olathe Visitors can rent canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and pedal boats at the Marina (913.971.8973).

Great Fishing Spots in Missouri and Kansas:

    • Kill Creek Park (Olathe, KS)
    • Shawnee Mission Park (Lenexa, KS)
    • Antioch Park (Olathe, KS)
    • Heritage Park (Olathe, KS)
    • Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead (Overland Park, KS)
    • Englewood Lake (Kansas City North, MO)
    • Lake of the Woods in Swope Park (Kansas City, MO)
    • Blue Springs Lake (Lee’s Summit, MO)
    • Lake Jacomo (Blue Springs, MO)
    • Longview Lake (Kansas City, MO)

A Few of our Favorite Pools

    • Summit Waves in Lee’s Summit: A family aquatic center featuring a 904-ft Action River! The outdoor water park also features one body slide and one tube slide, a six-lane lap pool with diving boards, a water playground area featuring mini-slides, dump buckets, and more. When taking a break enjoy the concession stand with healthy items, snacks, drinks, and more.
    • Memorial Park Outdoor Water Park in Belton: Enjoy the action river, and plunge more than two stories down the Speed Slide, or hop on an inner tube and swirl down the Tornado Slide into the pool below. Float over to Cargo Crossing, where you can challenge your balancing skills and try to stay dry as you traverse across floating lily pads while clinging to the palm tree-supported cargo net above. Grab a tube and float around the water park in the 82,000-gallon Action River, or get a little exercise walking against the 4 mph current.
    • Overland Park Swimming Pools: The City of Overland Park has multiple outdoor pools.  Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center: At TRAC, the city’s largest overall pool facility, visitors can enjoy lots of shade and grassy areas for laying out or relaxing. Stonegate Pool: Originally, the city’s smallest pool, Stonegate Pool was rebuilt in 2009 after more than 40 years of summertime fun. Young’s Pool: One of the city’s largest pools, Young’s makes its mark with a 31-foot-tall water slide that dares guests to take the plunge down the drop slide. The indoor pools at Matt Ross Community Center are open year-round.
    • Black Bob Bay in Olathe: This waterpark features Raft Water Slides, Lazy River, Shallow Water Play Structures, Family Changing Room, Shade Areas for Party Rentals, Dive well (2 1-meter diving boards and 2 3-meter diving boards), 50-Meter Pool and Baby Pool.
    • Lenexa Swimming Pools: The city of Lenexa offers several outdoor pools. Indian Trails Aquatic Center: Eight 50-meter lanes, ¾-meter diving board, in-deck spray feature, AquaClimb rock wall, and two large water slides. Flat Rock Pool: Zero-depth entry, on-deck and in-water shade structures, in-water benches, interactive mushroom water feature, three 25-yard lap lanes, 1-meter diving board, in-deck spray feature, basketball goal, and AquaClimb rock wall.
    • Gladstone Municipal Pool: Amenities include a water slide, concession area and deck, shade structures, deck furniture, and play features

Kansas City Area Spraygrounds:

Kansas City is home to many wonderful Spraygrounds! Spraygrounds are water playgrounds where children can run and play through sprinklers and sprays on a safe surface. This is a fantastic, fun, FREE way to cool off on a hot Summer Day. Spraygrounds are open Memorial Day-Labor Day across the Metro!

Tip: Remember to bring water shoes, beach towels, water bottles (to drink), sun screen, and snacks when you visit a splash pad or sprayground. 

Note: As a rule, spraygrounds only operate on days that are 75 degrees or warmer, and they will not be operating during thunder or lightning storms. Check the weather before you plan your outing. 

Missouri Spraygrounds & Splash Pads:

Blue Springs, Missouri Sprayground:

    • Burrus Old Mill Park: 112 NW Woods Chapel Rd, Blue Springs, MO

Grandview Missouri Spraygrounds:

    • John Anderson Park: 4701 E. 135th Street (Note: This one features a fun pirate theme!)
    • The View Splash Park: 13500 Byars Rd. (this sprayground features water slides in addition to spray features)

Kansas City Missouri Spraygrounds: 

    • Ashland Square Park: Elmwood Ave. and East 23rd St., Kansas City, Missouri 64127
    • Blue Valley Park: 23rd St. & Topping
    • Central Park: Linwood Blvd & Bales Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Dagg Park: 701 E 21st Ave
    • Douglas Playground at Grace Williams Nicholl Park: 2632 Jarboe St. Kansas City, MO
    • Garrison Square: E. 4th St. & Forest Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Gillham Park: 3915 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO
    • Golden Oaks Park: N.E. 46th Street & N. Antioch Rd. Kansas City, MO
    • Harmony Park: E. 10th St & Agnes Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Longview Tract: 7107 Longview Rd. Kansas City, MO
    • Loose Park: W. 52nd Terrace & Summit Ave. Kansas City, MO (Closed Wednesdays.)
    • Lykins Square: E. 8th Street and Myrtle Avenue
    • Nelson C. Crews Park: E. 27th St & Michigan Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Parade Park: 1600 John Buck O’Neil Way, Kansas City, MO
    • Seven Oaks Park: E. 39th St. & Kensington Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Spring Valley Park: East 27th and Woodland Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Sunnyside Park: W. 83rd St. & Summit Ave. Kansas City, MO
    • Swope Park Pool: 6700 Lewis Rd., Kansas City, MO
    • Zona Rosa: I-29 and Barry Rd. Kansas City MO

Kearney Missouri Spraygrounds:

    • Lions Park: 340 S Jefferson St.

Independence Missouri Spraygrounds:

    • McCoy Park: 24 Highway & N. Delaware
    • Rotary Park: 24th & Hardy

Lee’s Summit Missouri Sprayground:

    • Howard Park: 3498 NE Independence Ave
    • Miller J. Fields Park: 1301 SE 3rd Terr
    • Lea McKeighan:  125 NE Chipman Rd

Liberty Missouri Spraygrounds:

    • City Park: 970 S. Highway 291
    • Ruth Moore Park: 401 N. Morse

Raymore Missouri Spraygrounds:

    • T.B. Hanna Station: 214 S. Washington St.

Kansas Spraygrounds & Splash Pads:

Kansas City Kansas Spraygrounds:

    • Eisenhower Park: 2901 N. 72nd St.
    • Heathwood Park: 10th & Parallel Pkwy
    • Pierson Park: 1800 S 55th St.

Olathe Kansas Spraygrounds:

    • Olathe Lake Spray Pad: 221 S Beaver Shelter Ln

Overland Park Kansas Spraygrounds:

    • Roe Park: 10400 Roe Ave
    • Sapling Grove Park: 82nd & Grant Ave
    • Thompson Park: 8045 Santa Fe Dr

Shawnee Kansas Spraygrounds:

    • Wilder Bluff Park: 24200 W. 55th St.
    • Erfurt Park: 24135 W 71st St.

Note: This list was compiled by the staff of KC Parent Magazine and may not be reproduced in print or online without permission.

A Day at the Lake: Shore and Water Safety

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A day at the lake sure feels different once you have kids. The days of worrying only about yourself are gone. Instead, you must be constantly vigilant about where your kids are, what they’re doing and how to keep them from drowning. Kids require constant supervision, whether they’re swimming, boating or playing by the water’s edge. Water safety requires a layered approach, including education, supervision and establishing clear rules and boundaries for everyone in the family. Whether you plan to cruise out on a boat or just play and splash along the beach, get your family ready for summer safety with practical tips and tricks.

Open Water Risks

Lakes and beaches provide endless entertainment and learning opportunities for youngsters. They also present safety risks and hazards not present at regular swimming pools.

    • Murky water that hides submerged obstacles, including rocks, debris and uneven terrain
    • Sudden depth changes and dropoffs
    • Currents and waves, even in shallow areas
    • Boats, jet skis and other watercraft activities

Don’t forget the weather! Check it before you leave and remain alert for sudden changes in wind and temperature.

Constant Supervision

Children should never be left unattended near or in the water – constant supervision is the most fundamental water safety rule. Even strong swimmers can be caught off guard or run into trouble. There should always be a designated adult supervisor whose only responsibility is monitoring the kids. If you’re at the lake with multiple adults, set a schedule to switch supervisors every 15 minutes, so everyone gets a chance to enjoy the day.

Clear Rules and Boundaries

Set clear rules and boundaries even before you leave the house. In age-appropriate terms, explain why the rules are so important.

Essential Kid Water Safety Rules

    • Only enter the water with permission from the adult.
    • Always enter the water feet first – no diving!
    • Wear well-fitting, approved life vests.
    • Stay in designated swim areas.

Essential Adult Rules

    • Distraction-free supervision is paramount – put down your phone and book and only supervise if you’re sober.
    • Keep kids within arm’s reach, regardless of swimming ability and perceived strength.
    • Teach kids how to call 911 and contact emergency services.
    • Explain consequences and follow through if kids don’t follow the rules.
    • Lead by example: Wear your life vest and follow your established rules.

As with most things in life, your actions speak louder than words. Make the rules and expectations the norm, and you’ll influence your children’s water safety attitudes and behaviors.

Teach Water Safety Skills

Water safety is an essential life skill. Enroll kids in swimming lessons from an early age to build their confidence and proficiency in the water. Kids should learn to float on their backs, tread water, perform basic swim strokes and safely enter and exit water. Kids should also learn about the dangers of diving into unknown waters and respecting safety signs and guidelines.

All children and adults should wear properly fitting U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets when near, in or on open bodies of water. Many families make it a rule that kids put on life jackets before stepping foot on a dock.

All the rules and expectations make a day at the beach sound like a lot more work than it may be worth. If you do it right, you’ll feel like the bad guy and may even wonder whether it’s worth it to pack the kids up. But 20 years from now, your kids won’t remember your enforcing all the rules. They’ll remember the fun you had. One day, not so far in the future, you’ll once again have a lazy, carefree day at the beach and wonder how time flies so fast.

References

American Red Cross, “Swimming Safely in Lakes, Rivers, and Streams.”

Tanganyika Wildlife Park: Best Day Bundle

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We have experienced over twenty zoos with our children over the years, but Tanganyika Wildlife Park is SPECIAL. This one-of-a-kind wildlife park is a truly exceptional place where your family can experience the adventure and wonder of meeting animals up close and personal. Whether it’s feeding giraffes and lemurs, going behind the scenes to meet and feed Amur Leopards, or an encounter with a new baby rhino… Tanganyika is one attraction our family loves to visit again and again!

With their Best Day Bundle, you can experience two animal encounters, unlimited feeding, and unforgettable memories.

Taking a 3-hour trip to Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, KS where, as they say in their tagline, “Forget We Bought A Zoo!  The Fouts family built one from the ground up!” was a highlight of our family’s spring adventures!

Tip: Enter to win FREE Tickets to Tanganyika in our latest giveaway!

Tanganyika Wildlife Park is unlike any other zoo we’ve ever visited – this privately owned zoo is small and intimate, but every exhibit is beautiful, immaculate, spacious, and offers the most natural habitat possible for the animals. The entire experience felt like a boutique zoo, truly connecting guests with nature.

So many family outings are geared toward children (adults watch kids play) or entertainment (everyone watches a show), this getaway is incredible for all ages including grandparents, parents, teens, and kids!

Guests to the Tanganyika Wildlife Park may choose to participate in all of their “Wildly Different Experiences,” or you may purchase the opportunities a la carte. For the best value, the Best Day Bundle allows guests to experience the zoo, unlimited feedings, and two Wildly Different Experiences on their visit.

Each experience includes digital photos of your experience. You may choose from over 15 experiences hand-crafted by Tanganyika keepers. They are committed to the best care for the animals and the safest opportunities for visitors. Each animal encounter deepened our understanding and appreciation for animals and how to care for them. 

This is what we experienced during our recent Best Day Bundle Visit!

Giraffe & Friends


During this experience, a hoofstock keeper, gave us a tour of the African/Asian barn. The giraffe exhibit at Tanganyika Wildlife Park is especially beautiful. The zoo uses as many natural barriers as possible to create the best habitat for its animals and the best viewing space for visitors.

We were able to shake hands with monkeys.

It’s not every day you get to pet a warthog! It was fun to meet Betty Boop. You never know who you might meet in the barn. 

We then met the giraffe herd. Each member of our family participated in target training (the giraffes touch the target to their nose) and fed lettuce to the very happy reticulated giraffes. The magnificence and height of these incredible animals were not lost on us. As these gentle giants, each 12-16 feet tall, grabbed lettuce with their 18-inch long tongues, we were impressed by their agility (their necks move and bend easily, and amazingly have seven vertebrae the same as a human neck), and beauty.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park is a giraffe breeding facility. They typically keep mothers and daughters together when they can, noting that giraffes are known for a special mother/daughter bond (as a mom of four girls, I can relate to this!). 

Origins – Behind the Scenes


The Origins Tour was one of my favorite experiences at Tanganyika Wildlife Park. This interactive Behind the Scenes tour gave us the history of the Tanganyika Wildlife Park, and the chance to see many wonderful animals in person (including Amur Leopards), and lions! This was truly a magnificent experience.

Our tour guide shared the history of Tanganyika with us from Jim Fouts’ early beginnings as an employee at Sedgewick County Zoo (nearby in Wichita), to his work at the LA Zoo. With a strong love for birds, he worked for the USDA in Bolivia learning all about South American Zoos. He then purchased a USDA facility in California with the goal of breeding birds. When that endeavor failed, he and his wife moved back to Goddard, Kansas, where she was from, where they were gifted their first five acres of land from family. From that, they began acquiring animals and started operating as a breeding facility. Originally, they did not want to be open to the public as a traditional zoo, only offering tours for special groups. As interest grew over the years, their vision grew and eventually they opened to the public in 2008 as the ever-improving seventy-acre Wildlife Park we see today. We learned about many animals that have been born at the facility over the years.

On the tour, we visited animal barns and saw many beautiful animals, but the most interesting to me was the Amur Leopards, the rarest of big cats. Two live at Tanganyika, one with visible spots and the other appearing to be entirely black (though it also does have spots, they just blend in quite well – you see them when sunlight hits the fur). Mystique, the female leopard, is melanistic (the opposite of albino) and is one of only a few melanistic Amur Leopards in the world. Dima, the male, has visible spots. We also learned that leopards do not purr, they roar (though to me their gentle roar sounded like an excited purr). Each species of cat either roars or purrs, they don’t do both.  We were even able to FEED the Amur Leopards (very safely, as you can see in our photos) – a truly one-of-a-kind experience!

Finally, we met the lions, Ellie and Valkyrie (females), and Nemean (the male). The lions came from a breeding facility in Africa. We first met the girls, weighing 350-400 pounds each, and then the male.  

Feeding Stations at Tanganyika Wildlife Park


In addition to all of the wild encounters, our girls LOVED the Feeding Stations (5 Feeding Stations are included with your All-Day Admission Pass. Unlimited Feedings are included with your Unlimited Pass). Lucy especially loved feeding bunnies. Visitors may feed Ring-tailed lemurs (my teens’ favorite), giraffes, pygmy hippos, Indian Rhino, lorikeets (my husband’s favorite), African tortoises, bunnies, and guinea pigs.

Bunnies, Tortoises, and Guinea Pigs:


Lucy fell in love with the bunnies, spending quite a bit of time with them every day we were at Tanganyika Wildlife Park. Their soft fur and sweet spirit make them a favorite for children.

Ring-Tail Lemurs:


Feeding lemurs is my favorite Tanganyika experience for all park visitors. This exhibit is available to experience for all visitors to Tanganyika and it is a MUST-DO. Our family loves hand-feeding ring-tail lemurs cranberries and they climb on our laps – we love it so much my youngest daughter and I fed them three times during our recent visit!

Lorikeets:


Feeding lorikeets is one of our family’s FAVORITE things to do at Tanganyika. My husband especially enjoys this experience. We were given small cups with nectar and the birds flocked to the sweet treat. Many of us had multiple birds land on us at once – with multiple birds choosing the top of heads as their favorite perch!

Indian Rhino:


Our most special treat during our visit was meeting Monica, the eight-year-old Indian Rhino, and her infant son Marjon! During our encounter we fed Monica fresh lettuce and pet her nose. Her skin is rough and leathery. Weighing 4,500 pounds this herbivore eats 50 pounds of food per day. Her mate weighs 6,500 pounds. Marjon was born on Feb. 20, we met him on April 20 and he was playful and adorable – and very well loved!

Giraffes:


The giraffe feeding station is open to guests. The girls enjoyed feeding lettuce to these long-necked friends.

Kangaroos


Our family loved petting the kangaroos. A knowledgeable zookeeper taught us how to pet and approach the animals safely before we entered the exhibit. This is a fun experience that all visitors are able to enjoy. We especially enjoyed seeing mothers with joeys in their pouches. 

In addition to animal encounters and feeding stations, the zoo is also home to many more animals to see and meet.

My girls loved the Koi pond.

This beautiful zoo in the heart of Kansas is a truly unforgettable experience. Thank you for the memories Tanganyika Team! We highly recommend this to KC Parent readers as a must-do for their family bucket lists!

Tip: Enter to win FREE Tickets to Tanganyika in our latest giveaway!

Book the getaway of your WILDEST dreams today!

More fun in Wichita:

  • Tanganyika Wildlife Park

  • Kansas Aviation Museum

  • Riverfront Stadium

  • Old Cowtown Museum

  • Botanical Garden

  • Museum of World Treasures

  • Keeper of the Plains

  • Wichita Art Museum

  • The Ulrich Museum of Art

  • The Pizza Hut Museum

  • Sedgwick County Park

  • Sedgwick County Zoo

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