Family-Friendly Kansas City

Kansas City is more than just tasty barbecue and beautiful fountains. In addition to a 200-acre zoo, a LEGOLAND Discovery Center and one of the largest urban parks in the country, Swope Park, the city has some of the nation’s best art, history and specialty museums for families.

Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art isn’t your average city art museum. For starters, it houses a massive collection of more than 35,000 works of art, including works by the European masters. Watch for African masks, an Egyptian coffin, Native American pottery and an entire room from a Revolutionary War-era home.

What makes it even better, though, is the museum is free. Pop in for 30 minutes without feeling guilty, or visit on multiple days. At the very least, explore the sculpture garden on the museum’s lawn where you’ll find one of the museum’s most photographed works, “Shuttlecocks.”

Kansas City WWI Museum. Photo: Terea Bitler

If the kids are inspired to make art of their own, take them to the Hallmark Kaleidoscope, where they can get creative with materials leftover from the card company’s manufacturing process. Tickets are available for the free, 50-minute sessions on a first-come, first-served basis.

History

As soon as World War I ended, Kansas City citizens began collecting memorabilia for a museum. Today, the National World War I Museum displays more than 330,000 objects and documents from all nations involved in the conflict. Highlights include a Renault FT-17 tank, life-sized trenches and interactive tables allowing kids to create their own patriotic poster and see the inner workings of a Lewis machine gun.

One famous doughboy, former President Harry S. Truman, lived in Independence, a suburb of Kansas City. You can visit the 33^rd president’s home at the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site and usually tour his presidential library. Unfortunately, though, the Truman Presidential Library is closed for renovations until summer 2020.

Harry S. Truman NHS, Kansas City. Photo: Terea Bitler

If you’d rather stay closer to downtown and get a glimpse at what life was like in the 1880s, check out the Arabia Steamboat Museum. It displays fine china, children’s toys, tools, boots and the other frontier necessities the Arabia was carrying when she sank in the Missouri River in 1856.

More KC Fun

Kansas City has several specialty museums, too. The city is home to one of the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks and has an affiliated museum dedicated to money. At the Money Museum, you can lift a gold bar, see coins minted under each U.S. President, watch millions of dollars in currency being processed and leave with a free souvenir bag of shredded U.S. currency.

Arabia Museum, Kansas City. Photo: Terea Bitler

In the Historic 18^th and Vine Jazz District, your family can learn about jazz through interactive exhibits as well as see the instruments and costumes of famous jazz musicians at the American Jazz Museum. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum next door celebrates players’ contributions to the sport and society at large.

For something more lighthearted, rediscover the games, dolls, Hot Wheels cars and other toys of your youth at the National Museum of Toys through the Decades. Best for kids ages 5 and up, the museum has limited hours, so double check it’s open before you go.