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Kids Korner |
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Did You Know?
- There are actually two Kansas Cities? One in Missouri and one in Kansas!"
- Until the 1960s, African Americans had their own baseball league? Kansas City is home to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, www.nlbm.com, which covers the entire history of the Negro National League from its inception after the Civil War through its demise in the 1960s. This is a part of history you won't find in your school text books!
- Kansas City has the country's first outdoor suburban shopping mall? Country Club Plaza, www.countryclubplaza.com, was designed in 1922 and is still popular today with shops, restaurants, outdoor cafes, and more!
- J.C. Hall started Hallmark Cards when he was just 18—starting with just two boxes of postcards to sell? After his brother joined the business and a fire destroyed their inventory, they started selling Valentines and Christmas Cards. Today, Hallmark Cards is a huge company. It's still headquartered in Kansas City and members of the Hall family still run the company. Visit Crown Center, www.crowncenter.com, the home to Hallmark Cards. It offers Kaleidoscope, an attraction that features free sessions on art, problem-solving, and creativity. Professional artists often demonstrate their work as well.
- Jesse James was from near here? Relive the life of famous outlaw at the Jesse James Farm and Museum and the Jesse James Bank Museum in Liberty (www.jessejamesmuseum.org).
- The City Market – Kansas City's oldest continuously-operating business – started as a trading post for those heading west? It's been in the same place since 1857. Today it is home to restaurants, shops, and the region's largest farmers' market Saturdays with additional markets on Sundays and Wednesdays through the month of November. Also check out the Arabia Steamboat Museum (www.kc-citymarket.com).
- Kansas City's location on the Missouri River made it a natural for the beginning of the exploration of the American West for a lot of families heading west? Beginning with the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806, four national trails pass through Kansas City, including the Santa Fe, the California, and the Oregon Trails. Visit the National Frontier Trails Center in Independence
- Harley Davidson motorcycles are made in Kansas City? If you are at least 12 years old you can visit the big factory.
- You can visit Tanzania, the Congo, and Kenya—right in Kansas City at the Kansas City Zoo? Local Kids give it a big thumbs-up! The Kansas City Zoo (www.kansascityzoo.org) in sprawling Swope Park has more than 200 acres devoted to your favorite animals and species. Don't miss the new children's barn while you're there.
- Kansas City is a great sports town? Check out Royals baseball, Chiefs football, or NASCAR action at the Kansas Speedway. You can also catch indoor and outdoor professional soccer. From April through September, major league soccer's Kansas City Wizards take to the field.
What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Kansas City . . .
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Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .
Kansas City offers many free or affordable attractions. Go to www.VisitKC.com for more information. If you visit during the summer, order your free DiscoverKC Pass in advance to receive discounts on attractions at www.VistiKC.com (The promotion won't be available on the site until late April 2008).
For dinner, try:
- Crayola Café , Crown Center 2450 Grand Blvd., Second Floor, Kansas City, MO 64108 (816-398-4820) www.hyattkc.com/crayola
Crayola Café is a tribute to Hallmark's Crayola brand, offering a fun atmosphere for kids of all ages. Kids can choose from an array of dishes including chicken fingers and fries, macaroni and cheese, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Crayola Café also serves appetizers, desserts, and specialty drinks that were designed with kids in mind, though the menu will be sure to please more discerning diners.
- Fritz's Railroad Restaurant, Crown Center 2450 Grand Blvd., First Floor, Kansas City, MO 64108 (816.474-4004) www.fritzsrailroadrestaurant.com
Fritz and Virginia Kropf started their restaurant in 1954. Fritz used his engineering skills to help design a food delivery system that was primarily meant to make serving easier for his wait staff. Once the system, nicknamed the “Skat Kat”, was installed in the 1970s, it looked a lot like a train. When Fritz's son purchased the restaurant in the 1980s, he expanded the train theme. Now when you visit the restaurant, kids are given little conductor hats, model trains are on display, and photos of old railroad tracks, cars and engines adorn the walls.
- Kansas City's world-famous barbecue. The city's signature dish is served at more than 100 barbecue joints throughout the city. Each dish is slow cooked, sometimes up to 18 hours, over hickory wood. And in KC, it's all about the sauce. Each restaurant boasts their special recipe, and some you can buy right from the front counter. For example, Gates Bar-B-Q, opened in 1946, offers five locations, each greeting customers with their signature, "Hi, may I help you.” www.gatesbbq.com.
Also, don't miss:
- Worlds of Fun, www.worldsoffun.com, and Oceans of Fun, side by side theme parks. Modeled after the tale Around the World in Eighty Days, Worlds of Fun features more than 50 rides, shows, and attractions. At Oceans of Fun, the midwest's largest tropical-themed water park, catch more than 60 acres of surf, sand, and fun.
- Union Station's theater and museum district (www.unionstation.org). The KC Rail Experience tells the story of how railroads shaped a city, a region, and a nation. Visitors will see historic rail cars and artifacts – tickets, bells, whistles and signs -- and hear stories from ghosts of Kansas City's railroading past.
- The American Jazz Museum, www.americanjazzmusuem.com, the first museum in the nation devoted exclusively to the history of jazz. At story telling sessions, Jazz artists read to children, and The museum's interactive exhibits tell the story of “America's classical music” in an entertaining and educational format.
- The Toy and Miniature Museum, www.umkc.edu/tmm, adjacent to the University of Missouri–Kansas City campus, grabs their attention. Adults, too, love this amazing collection that includes antique dolls, cast-iron toys, trains and fantastically detailed miniatures.
- Paul Mesner Puppets, www.paulmesnerpuppets.org, presents shows during the year at Unity on the Plaza. Or head to the Puppetry Arts Institute in Independence, where kids can enjoy shows and workshops and create their own puppets.
- Science City at Union Station www.sciencecity.com. Here families can explore a kid-friendly crime lab, a dinosaur-bone dig site and a real helicopter—and that's just for starters. The Station's new KC Rail Experience is a winner. You can even take your turn as conductor on a train simulator.
- A T-Bones baseball game! The T-Bones (www.tbonesbaseball.com) is fun and affordable, and they offer special promotions all summer.
- College Basketball Experience (CBE). Connected to the new Sprint Center arena via a common lobby, the 41,500-square-foot entertainment facility contains hands-on, interactive basketball exhibits and houses the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. www.collegebballexperience.com
- Segway Tour: Segway Experience of Kansas City offers two tours that allow visitors to see Kansas City in a unique way -- on Segway Personal Transporters. www.segwayexperience.com
- Anita Gorman Discovery Center, Located in near the Country Club Plaza, the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center focuses its educational programs., www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/kcmetro/discovery
- Lakeside Nature Center. Experience the wild world of nature in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri. Lakeside Nature Center, located in Swope Park, exhibits wildlife native to the area, offers educational programs, coordinates community conservation projects, and is one of Missouri's largest wildlife rehabilitation facilities. http://www.lakesidenaturecenter.org/
- North American debut of Bodies Revealed (Feb. 29- Sept. 1)
Union Station will host the U.S. debut of Bodies Revealed in its new, 15,000-square-foot gallery space. Bodies Revealed takes visitors on a journey through 20 human bodies to explore the complexities that lie just below the skin. www.unionstation.org
- Truman Presidental Museum and Library Learn about the tumultuous events of Harry Truman's presidency at his museum in Independence, Mo. www.trumanlibrary.org While you are in Independence, stop in at the National Frontier Trails Museum. http://www.ci.independence.mo.us/nftm/Visit.aspx
- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, one of the Midwest's finest general art museums is celebrating its 75th anniversary with its Bloch Building expansion, herald by The New Yorker as “one of the best [expansions] of the last generation.” www.nelson-atkins.org
- Hallmark Cards Visitors Center, with 90 years of Hallmark Cards' history presented through interactive exhibits, displays and videos at Hallmark's international headquarters in Crown Center, a shopping and entertainment complex developed by the company. www.hallmarkvisitorscenter.com
See Past Editions of Kids Korner.
By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™
