While some families dream of Disney World, our family has a secret dream destination: Wichita, Kansas! Yes, you heard that right! We absolutely adore Wichita for a fun-filled family getaway, especially while our little ones are still young enough for naps and early bedtimes. With three kids under 6, we’ve visited Wichita multiple times over the past few years and can’t wait to return for more adventures!
Wichita has a rich history and is known for its cattle trade, aircraft manufacturing and businesses like Koch Industries and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. It’s named for the Wichita tribe, which is part of the Sioux family.
Wichita is about a three-hour drive from the Kansas City metro. For a long weekend in Wichita, we recommend a four-day trip — this accounts for the drive time while leaving you plenty of time to explore. On our most recent trip, we had a great time visiting some of Wichita’s best family-friendly attractions!
Thursday
We left early in the morning, made a quick stop at the gas station, then drove to the Stearman Field Bar & Grill, which was the perfect place to stop for lunch and stretch our legs. The atmosphere is busy, so a loud kid is never a problem. We asked to sit outside facing the airstrip so we could watch planes come and go as we enjoyed the nice weather.
While we waited for our food, we walked over to an outdoor playground. It was the perfect spot for our kids to play while we kept an eye out for planes. Our kids absolutely loved the tire swing, and luckily, all three of them could fit in there at once! For lunch, we shared a pizza and sides of chips, broccoli and salad. After lunch, our kids wanted to play a little longer before we got back in the car, which allowed us to see a few more planes come and go.
Our next stop was the PBS Discovery Center, which is inside the PBS Kansas Channel 8 station. It’s a great place to spend a few hours playing, especially after a long morning in the car. Our kids love the robots and the pretend food area. There’s even a section where you can make craft projects, and a section in the back where you can pick out a free book!
After PBS, we checked into our hotel. We love staying at the Hilton Garden Inn because it has all the extra perks for a large family. We booked a suite so we could put our youngest to bed a bit earlier than our other two kids. Besides separate bedrooms, the suite also had a kitchen we could cook in. We even picked up some groceries to stock the fridge with easy snacks for the mornings and evenings.
After we checked into the hotel, we grabbed dinner at B&C Barbeque, where we had the ribs and the brisket along with a few sides to share. We love barbecue, and B&C hit the spot! After dinner, we returned to the hotel to go swimming, which was the perfect end to our long travel day.
Friday
After breakfast at the hotel, our first stop was the Great Plains Nature Center, where our kids enjoyed the interactive learning area and the massive 2,200-gallon aquarium that features local fish.
After about an hour at the nature center, we were ready to head to Exploration Place, Wichita’s family-friendly science museum. There’s so much to see and do there, from the castle to the science show, airplane adventures, Dome theater and rotating exhibit. When you check in, ask the front desk which shows are included with your tickets. (You can’t add the shows on later, but there’s no penalty if you skip them.) We planned to watch the science show in the morning and the Dome theater show in the afternoon.
When we walked into Exploration Place, we headed straight across the bridge and took a left to check out the airplane area, where you can explore inside a life-sized plane. After that, we walked to the Kansas nature-themed area, then the human body exhibit, which lets kids explore the body inside and out. After that loop, it was time for our live science show, which was interactive and engaging for our whole family. Seating is first come, first served, so if your kids want to volunteer to be in the show, try to arrive early and sit toward the front.
After the show, we were hungry. Exploration Place has a concession stand, but after getting a pass to return in the afternoon, we decided to get lunch off-site at Mokas Coffee & Eatery, which was just a short drive away. We loved the simple food at Mokas and got an assortment of sides for our kids to try.
After lunch, we returned to Exploration Place to check out the second half of the loop. We started with the traveling exhibit, then visited the smaller children’s play area and the bigger kids’ play area with the giant castle. In the late afternoon, we took a break and watched one of the shows in the Dome theater.
On our way back to the car, we stopped to see the famous Keeper of the Plains, a 44-foot-tall steel sculpture that stands where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers meet in downtown Wichita. There were plenty of places to explore near the river, and since the weather was nice, we decided to walk around.
Usually we like to go out to eat when we’re traveling, but since we were tired and had skipped the kids’ naps, we ordered takeout from Picasso’s Pizzeria and took it back to our hotel. Picasso’s is a local favorite, and it’s totally worth the hype! After dinner, we took advantage of our hotel’s free mini golf and watched the sunset in the hotel gardens before heading to bed.
Saturday
We spent the early morning learning about the history of flight in Kansas at the Aviation Museum. The museum focuses on STEM education and is a super fun place for kids to explore aviation up close. As an adult, I could have spent more time there, but my kids were ready for more adventure!
Our next stop was the Museum of World Treasures. There’s a local farmers market in the museum parking lot on Saturdays, so we walked around the booths, grabbed lunch from the market and found a spot to listen to live music before entering the museum.
The Museum of World Treasures is a hidden gem that deserves more attention! It has everything from dinosaurs to Egyptian artifacts, and with three full floors, it’s perfect for families to explore. The top floor has a cute, enclosed children’s play area where our kids could safely burn off some energy after an hour of looking at museum displays. Overall, we spent about 2.5 hours at the museum and could have stayed longer, but we were ready for a change of scenery.
To beat the afternoon heat, we went to Scheels. We got ice cream, then checked out the video games, the airplane and the fish tanks. The Wichita Scheels doesn’t have a Ferris wheel, but it makes up for it with all the other fun stuff going on!
That evening, we had dinner at Meddys. We’re big fans of Greek food, so it was a nice change of pace. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and took another swim before calling it a night.
Sunday
Our kids got dressed in their swimsuits, and after our early hotel breakfast, we spent a little time playing mini golf at our hotel while my husband loaded up the car. After checking out, we drove about 20 minutes west to visit Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kan.
We took advantage of the early opening hours and got to the park shortly after 8:00 to make the most of our day! We started at the north end of the park, where we saw tigers, koi, an Albino American Alligator, penguins and a sloth. We then made our way over to the splash park to enjoy the toddler splash time for children 6 and under. This was ideal for our crew and gave the kids a chance to enjoy the water before bigger kids joined in later!
Once everyone was done splashing, we changed and ate a quick snack. Though we didn’t take advantage of it this time, The Thirsty Sloth next to the splash park is a great spot to grab a beer or frozen mixed drink.
We continued our journey to the Children’s Zoo to see bunnies, African Sulcata tortoises, guinea pigs, alpacas, llamas, Dwarf goats and Patagonian Cavies. We grabbed lunch at Luna’s Canteen, where we refueled on sandwiches and iced coffees before heading to the play area to get some wiggles out. In the afternoon we saw many more animals, including a gibbon, Indian rhino and mandrills.
We could have easily spent hours more at Tanganyika. We didn’t try any of the additional animal experiences, such as feeding a rhino or swimming with penguins, but we will be back and plan to take advantage of their weekend package to spend more time at the park!
As we left Wichita, we stopped at Freddy’s for dinner on the go. Since Freddy’s started in Wichita, it just seemed right!
Wichita is an amazing place to give your family a break from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. It’s worth the drive. We never seem to have enough time in Wichita, and we’re already planning our next visit!
Janelle Cumro-Sultzer lives with her husband and three young children in Manhattan, Kan. Janelle is a hybrid-homeschool mama who loves to help her kids learn through play and getting messy with crafts. Janelle has been writing for Family Media Group since 2019.