The Truman Dam Visitor's Center in Warsaw, MO

The Harry S Truman Dam and Reservoir Visitor's Center is a pretty cool day trip. It's a leisurely 2 hours from Kansas City. I've been here a few times and was excited to take my kids this summer. The visitor's center is a free museum located on the bluff above the Truman Dam. The center provides a spectacular view of the dam and lake below as well as the birds flying by who seem oblivious to you looking at them! They have a few prehistoric bone replicas and other exhibits inside. when we went they had a taxidermied bald eagle. There is a theater area where we watched a short film about the history of the area up until the engineering marvel that is the dam. We also happened upon a quilter's guild working away and several locally made quilts on display! It was a lovely bonus for our visit!

Strollers are a breeze here (they have both a ramp and an elevator to get upstairs) and I've never seen the place crowded.  The kids will enjoy the displays and the telescopes upstairs for checking out the surrounding area. My daughter really liked locking in on birds perched in the nearby trees. Outisde there is a nature trail, and a cabin to see. There is no admission fee to the visitor's center.

A short drive away from the visitor's center is the Lost Valley Fish Hatchery. We were unfortunate because we were there on a Monday, and they are closed on Mondays! Boo. The hatchery houses an aquarium with displays of local fish and they have a fishing pool outside. Bait and tackle inside the visitor's center are free to use and there is no charge for your child to fish. If you're interested in learning about how a fish hatchery works, this is a great place to stop!

Last but not least, Warsaw is a great place to visit just for good ol' lake fun on Truman lake, so for a day trip, this one will not disappoint.

Sea Life Aquarium at Crown Center

The Sea Life Aquarium is a new attraction for Kansas City. It is located in the Crown Center at 2475 Grand Boulevard and is open 7 days a week. This place is designed for kids, although who doesn't love a good aquarium??

What I love about this place:
The "under the sea" ambience is really cool. Low lighting and beautifully decorated aquariums make it a really neat walk-thru experience.  It is kid-friendly. They have a touch station where children (and grown-ups!) get to explore a mini sea ecosystem with their hands and glass walls that go all the way to the floor so the little ones get a good view. Other kid-friendly notables is a "just my size" aquarium tunnel, "bubbles" that let kids put their heads inside a few of the tanks, and a colorful play area. You can also get your hand stamped at the end to go through again if you want.

What will you see? Several different tanks featuring sea life from different parts of the ocean as well as some freshwater fish. You'll see a few sharks, although they are small (don't expect to see Jaws!), seahorses, jellyfish, and a turtle exhibit. They have a large variety of brightly colored reef fish and some eels too.

Things to consider before packing up the kids:
Sure, you can bring a stroller. I brought mine and it worked okay, but it wasn't very crowded that day. This is NOT a huge aquarium, and some of the walkways are pretty narrow. On a busy day, strollers would really crowd it up!

The bathrooms are towards the beginning of the aquarium. If you think you'll need to go during your visit don't walk past them. I didn't see any other bathrooms, so you'll have to backtrack.

They do allow photography, but not flash photography, so the low-light makes it difficult to get good pictures. They do an optional "souvenir photo" at the entrance before you enter the aquarium that they will sell to you for $11.

Okay, so this place sounds neat, why wouldn't I want to go?
We went during homeschool week, which is important to note because we got deeply discounted tickets. Tickets are expensive to this attraction. A family of four (assuming your children are between ages 3 and 12) would have a walk up price of $68! The aquarium only takes 1 to 2 hours at most to wander through, so this seems steep to me. They do offer an online discount if you plan ahead, dropping that price to $52. This discounted price is still more expensive than the Kansas City Zoo, which is an all day affair, and is pretty stiff competition now that they have penguins and polar bears! We are also just a couple hours away from the aquarium located in Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, which is larger and houses some much bigger sharks!

A new option they offer is the 1 parent/1 toddler combo ticket for $20. If you have just one child between 3 and 5, this isn't a bad deal. Additional tickets are $10 if parent #2 wants to join you.

Kansas City Saint Andrew's Highland Dance Association

 I have to take a moment to promote the Kansas City Saint Andrew's Highland Dance Association. If you're interested in learning a traditional dance form from the hills of Scotland without leaving the metro, these are the people to get in contact with! Beyond learning the technical skills of dancing, the association offers an opportunity to make friends and learn the value of teamwork. They make time for fun (like our recent tie-dye session!), and perform at several annual events in the area, as well as a few that are a short drive away. If you're already a fan of the KC Highland Games or Renaissance Festival, or you look good in a kilt, then this might be just the thing! Check it out!

Belger Arts Center

The Belger Arts Center is a unique experience for those who picture art museums as sterile white spaces. It is a working warehouse space with an industrial feel to it, and was a really fun experience for me and my kids. It is located in the Crossroads District, so if you've attended a "First Friday" you know what I'm talking about!

We were lucky enough to have a train go by right as we arrived, so my kids were won over before we even got inside. We took a guided tour with several other children, that ended with a hands on project time where the kids got to work with clay in the studio. The tour was well done, with questions directed at the kids that they were eager to answer, and the art pieces on display were very engaging and got the kids excited. Part of the fun was riding in a freight elevator to get to the exhibits. It added to the ambience.

Strollers are a no go here. There are stairs and it just isn't the right type of space for that. There was no admission charge. They do offer art classes, focusing on pottery, in the attached studio. You can pick up a pamphlet with more information while there. I recommend scheduling a tour or stopping by on a "First Friday" art crawl to visit. Their website isn't super informative about visiting, and I'm not sure about walk-ins.

I highly recommend this place for sparking some imagination in your child!

Alldredge Orchards

We've discovered a gem in Platte City, MO. Alldredge Orchards is now our go to place for getting our annual fall pumpkins. My husband and I struggled each year after our first child was born to find a great place to get pumpkins that wasn't an overly commercialized, paid admission "experience." Some of these pumpkin "amusement parks" are expensive and take away from the agricultural opportunity we wanted to have with our kids.

Alldredge Orchards is a bit out of town, but that's part of the allure for us. It is a small farm, with an apple orchard and pumpkin patch. They offer a simple hayride back to the pumpkins where you can pick your own. It's a legitimate pumpkin patch--not pumpkins strewn in decorative piles. It's a short walk if you're not interested in the hay ride.

You purchase your pumpkins in a nearby barn. They have pre-picked pumpkins there if you don't want to go out to the patch, and apples from the orchard for sale. Sometimes they have u-pick apples, but not always. They also sell mums, which look so pretty lined up beside the barn! Outside there are chickens wandering around and a few other penned animals to look at. They have a small play area for the kids, but the real draw is the simplicity of it all. There is no admission fee to pick out a pumpkin. There are bathrooms available and a small gravel parking lot with plenty of room to park.

Big Cedar Lodge (near Branson MO)

Big Cedar Lodge is a resort vacation destination south of Branson, MO. Plan on a 4 hour drive from Kansas City. We found ourselves here for a family event, so I have to confess that we didn't have to pay for our lodging, which might alter my opinions a bit.

This place is set in the beauty of the Ozarks, so nature abounds, although the actual resort has a feeling of "manufactured" nature. It's like camping for people who like the idea of camping but don't want to actually rough it in any way. There are several pretty swimming pools and a lake beach, canoes and paddle boats, mini-golf, and other activities like horseback riding, for an extra fee. We thoroughly enjoyed the lazy river, but who doesn't like lounging on an inner tube, winding through beautifully landscaped man-made water features?

The cabin we stayed in was designed to look rustic and had a few taxidermied animals for decor, so be prepared for that, and it had a nice view of the lake in the back. There are two restaurants, but our cabin had a kitchenette, so we ate there.

One thing that I didn't really like was that everything was spaced out just far enough that you had to use a shuttle service to get from place to place. I prefer walking, and we did a lot of that, opting for a good hike to riding the shuttle a few times. We also hiked the nature trail the lodge provided, which was a pleasantly deceptive 7 miles. This isn't to say that the shuttle service was bad. The shuttles were prompt and the drivers were very courteous.

Kids? Sure, if they like swimming (this is 90% of what you'll do here). Also, you'll have to clench your teeth as you are repeatedly whisked away on shuttles winding through hilly narrow alleys without your beloved car seats!

Okay, so here's the real deal. This isn't a spot for those who are economically minded (which is why I note that we didn't pay for our stay there). Without a discount of some sort the absolute cheapest you're going to get for a weekend night is around $200. During the week, maybe $130. The plus side is that you won't be spending anything on entertainment (unless you choose to) because you can spend all day lazing around their swimming pools. I prefer road trip style vacations, so this destination resort thing seems a little monotonous to me, and man-made streams, waterfalls, etc... are pretty, but it's all fake, and I just couldn't get that out of my mind as I took it all in.

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival is an annual tradition for a lot of people. It takes place over several weekends in September and October at a permanent location in Bonner Springs, KS. I've been several times over the years. I remember going as a little girl and being enthralled with the people and costumes. There is a lot to see and do so there are no worries that your kids will be entertained.

Parking: Parking is free. There are gravel lots nearby, although some people are directed to park on grass.

Strollers: Strollers are allowed, and since there is so much walking, I recommend bringing one, BUT this doesn't mean it's a great place for one. The festival is not paved at all. In most areas the ground has been worn flat from years of tromping feet, but there are places where it is really difficult to maneuver a stroller. Strollers with big wheels are definitely preferable, and even then, there are places where you just can't take them.

Admission: Tickets are $16.95 for adults and $9.95 for kids ages 5-12. It's pricey, but this is a place you can easily spend all day. Usually there are promotions or discount tickets available. One year we got discounted tickets for bringing canned goods to donate to Harvesters (a local food bank).

Will my kids enjoy it? Definitely. It's a fun place. A word of warning though--check out the different acts before plopping your kids down for a show. Some of them might be considered a wee bit bawdy and inappropriate. There are tons of things for kids to do besides the shows though. There is a Children's Realm with play areas, rides, fairies, and your kids can get knighted or be declared ladies in waiting...etc... The queen even hosts a special tea with the kiddos. It's good fun.

Things don't change much from year to year, so for us, going once every two or three years is sufficient. Tons of people come dressed in costume--both those working there and the spectators. I am a seamstress so I thoroughly enjoyed dressing my kids up in costume to attend. This is a great chance to get an extra wear out of Halloween costumes!


Location: 
633 N. 130th St.
Bonner Springs, KS 66012

If you like this, you'll probably also enjoy KC's Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.