We came here before when passing through. But this time going to Texas was different with the outdoor playground. The museum itself was the same and got to spend more time in the science than children's museum section. However, the outdoor playground newly built is amazing. It has an outdoor water table and splash pad larger than our own in Minnesota tamarack nature center. There are 2 sections of outdoor playground that had staircase for some slides too. Rocketship tower that you can climb. Some swings that are totally different than you are used too. Big spiderweb ropes climbing area was amazing too. Too bad rainstorm happened 30 minutes into our playtime but at least got to enjoy it. read more

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Super fun place! The outdoor area is great and reminds me of a smaller version of Tulsa's the gathering place. There is a whole area. The inside exhibits are great as well. The castle with the catapult was very fun. If we lived here I would definitely buy a pass! read more

It's mainly geared for kids. I'm giving it five stars for that. If you have children, definitely bring them here. There was a small amount that interested me: The aviation section, the small display on Kansas insects, and the huge model train layout. read more

Exploration Place - These moths are significantly bigger than anything back in my home state! - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

A family favorite! We love the traveling exhibits, the play area for small children and the movies in the dome theatre. We also can't wait for all the upcoming additions outside! read more

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With a name like Exploration Place, you know you're in the right place for some explorin'. This is the state of Kansas' biggest science center, and it's a must-visit if you're in the Wichita area, especially if you have children. This is a hands-on museum that features STEM activities for children, but really it's fun for all ages. There's a special area for the youngest of visitors, with a gated-off area so they can't escape. It has lots of activities for babies and toddlers. At this science center, kids can climb aboard an airplane and learn how it functions, marvel at miniatures, play pretend in a medieval castle, get turned around in a tornado tunnel, learn about the body and how it works, and lots more. One of my favorite exhibits was the miniatures, where you can look down at a mini downtown Wichita. Another favorite was the castle area, because there are lots of things for little kids to explore. This castle is a great place for kids to use their imaginations and play pretend. There's even a stage to act out plays, plus a big play area with lots of nooks to play hide and seek. Before I left, I visited the gift shop and got a couple of things (including an astronaut freeze-dried ice cream sandwich). This gift shop is really cool and has lots of unusual gifts and tchotchkes for your shopping pleasure. There are lots of new things to come for Exploration Place, including an outdoor play area. The outdoor area was under construction when I visited. I hope to visit again once they're all done to see all of the new and fun things they have for visitors. read more

"My grandkids and I had an amazing time here. It was a fun, educational, and hands-on experience in a beautiful facility. We thoroughly enjoyed the interactive exhibits and the live science shows. It's a great place to learn and have fun together." read more

Exploration Place - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

Took my grandkids, ages 11 and 8, today. They had a great time. Favorites were the Sea Otter show in the dome, bubble science, airplane exhibits, and the fart chair. Lol read more

Amazing place to take your kids. My son LOVES it here! We have a family membership and go all the time!!

This is an awesome place for all ages. The exhibits are clean and up to date. Parking is simple. If you're looking for an indoor activity this is a must go too. Our party has ages 11 years to 17 months and everyone had a fabulous time. read more

Exceeded my expectations! We took our 3 year old daughter here and she had the best time. So many interesting things to do and learn! Great parking and worth the price. read more

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We had driven down from KC to Wichita to explore the city and make it a day out. My 11- and 9-year boys and I had spent a wonderful time at Exploration Place on Saturday. It's a great play and learning experience. Having been to many across the US this is definitely one of the better ones. The kids loved it. The only issue was at the end of our day we went into the souvenir shop. Being a minority, the instant we stepped into the souvenir shop the store clerked racially profiled us and started following us around. My oldest loves gems and crystals, and that was the first thing he geared towards was the basket of gem. He picked through it and didn't find one he liked. He then went around the store looking at all of the toys just like any other kid would. The whole time the lady followed us, especially my 11-yr old, and at times got within arms-reach just following us throughout the whole store. There were white families that came in, and the store clerk didn't even bother them. I've even tested to see if she was intentionally following us. I announced to my sons that we should go pay for our items and start walking towards the register and she went straight to the register. On the way to the register, I told my son maybe we should take one last look around the store to see if there is anything else and walked back to the other side of the store. Sure, enough the lady quickly walked around the counter and started following us again. I finally decided I had enough of this went to go pay for the items. The lady went behind the counter and as soon as my son handed her the item he picked, she bent forward leveled with my son and asked, "do you have one of those stones in your pocket?" She had accused my son of steeling. Having experience this type of racism my whole life. Growing up in a small town I've experienced this my whole life. I gave her some colorful words and walked out not buying anything. I just glad that they are young and naive enough to not fully understand what had happened. Thank you, lady, for being my sons' first racist experience. read more

I went here recently and it was honestly just disgusting. It smelled and felt so grimy and felt like it hadn't been cleaned in forever. All the hand sanitizers were out of sanitizer. The bathrooms smelled like rotten diapers and a lot of the exhibits in the Weather and Air rooms were out of service or just didn't work. It was really disappointing, especially for $12 a ticket. read more

Kids had a blast. Loved the aviation exhibit. We went on a Wednesday morning hoping to avoid traffic. I spent the entire time nervous because no one was social distancing or making their kids do so. Staff didn't even try. We were the only ones in masks. So disappointed that they didn't require masks. read more

Exploration Place - Monster fish - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

This is the best place I have ever been and when I went there it was so fun and we love this place but the only thing is that is just a little far from y From where we are so hope we come back soon read more

Was having a great time with my family. Went outside to get some sun while waiting for my family to finish looking around and I sat on a bench. Worker came up to me and asked me to leave because he falsely assumed i was homeless. Very rude and I explained to him that I was not in fact a homeless woman sitting on a bench but he continued to insist that I leave. read more

Our kids are 12, 10, and 9. They loved this place and really couldn't get enough. Loved the amount of hands on activities they had and the brain teaser room (as we called it) was fun for all in tow including mom and dad! We ended up getting the membership even though we're just visiting and glad we did as we went 3 times!!! read more

Exploration Place - Brain teaser room at the Exploration Place in Wichita, KS - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

Visited Exploration Place with family in Wichita and others visiting from Texas. Ten people from 19 months to 67 years of age. We were all entertained and spent many hours there. The staff is fantastic -- friendly and well-trained. The woman who checked us in had to wade through a family membership and coupons but got it all sorted out with a smile. read more

A cool place for the kids in Wichita. There is a lot going on there and many little activities for the kiddos. I will say though, that I expected more than what there was. We flew through it fairly fast and I was surprised when we were done that there wasn't anything else. It was decently priced but confusing because it seemed like it was mandatory to buy an IMAX movie. In fact, it wasn't mandatory and we were fortunate enough to have been given a refund when we decided that the girls were too tired to sit through a 30 minute showing. I think it's fun for the kids which is all that matters but confused me just a bit in regards to the layout! read more

Plenty to see and do for all ages. Awesome kid friendly area for infants, toddlers and up. The aviation hall is my favorite, plenty to keep myself and my toddler entertained. read more

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Tremendous place to bring the family, there is something here for all ages and a lot of the exhibits are designed for parents and kids to have fun together. We had to drag our 10 year old out she was having such a good time; our 15 year old really enjoyed it too. We especially enjoyed the flight exhibit, the castle, the tornado simulator and the giant mouth. The giant dome film "Great Bear Rainforest" was one of the best I've ever seen. We are new to Wichita and have joined as family members because we'll definitely be returning many times for the different events and traveling exhibits. read more

Exploration Place - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

Exceptional events, professional hospitality, fabulous exhibits that change regularly, and great family membership pricing. Weddings, meetings, birthdays, prom, and more are hosted at this venue. read more

This place is good for kids and I like the game and everything it a fun place and it snakes so we go there not that often but stil in joy

Easy to get to. Adequate parking. Admissions are reasonable. Free with summer app. Paw Patrol exhibit was a hit with our 5.5yo son. Aviation and nature exhibits were engaging. Overall great experience. We were there for 2.5 hours and could have stayed longer. A bit crowded on a weekend but that's expected. Recommend. Enjoy! read more

This place is AWESOME! Every single member of my family, 25, 23, 3, and 11 months found something we genuinely enjoyed discovering. There is just so much to do, and so many fun things to learn. I wish we lived closer so we could get a pass and come here every weekend. Also, the measurements they took to stay safe during covid-19 were the best I've seen of any business in the state of Kansas. We will be back any time we are in the area. read more

Exploration Place was the perfect location for my daughter's dream wedding! She & her fiancé (now husband) are Wichita elementary school teachers who invited their students to be in the wedding party. They wanted a location that was beautiful & that the children would also love! She was thrilled to say her vows standing in front of floor to ceiling windows in Waterwalk Hall. The architecture is lovely all-around and every photo was made even better by the outdoor view. (And the kids had plenty to look at if their attention span was short.) NBC Nightly News & Inside Edition were there filming the wedding & reception and the EP team was professional, accommodating, & genuinely happy for us. I would give 10 stars if I could! read more

Exploration Place - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

Loved the place for its price. If you have a toddler, it is a good place to take them to run their energy on a cold day. I like it that they let the kids have fun running around freely. Definitely will come here again. read more

Exploration Place - Overlooking the river - Museums Near Me - Wichita, Kansas

The thing I like about Exploration Place is it's hands-on. It has a great balance of knowledge for the kids and hands-on opportunities. They'll learn, but they won't get bored. read more

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This place reminds me so much of the Exploratorium in San Francisco or a simplified City Museum in St. Louis. The kids love the castle and all its crazy doors, floors, and musical elements. My 1-year-old loves EVERYTHING. I love the wind and flight area, my wife loves the prairie installation, and the traveling exhibit space always has something new coming through. It feels like it is just shy of being something awesome though...it always feels like it is missing 1 space or exhibit. I think it is the catch 22 of Wichita needs to support it more with patronage so it can afford to get new stuff and expand...but Wichita doesn't want to keep going back till it gets new stuff. I want new stuff, so I'm going to keep going back and support this wonderful place. read more

This place is so endlessly fun for our toddler and preschooler. Great interactive airplane exhibit, lots of fun Kansas stuff, cool medieval castle area (with catapult) and cheery tots zone. Great place to spend a few hours or whole day, with nice views of the river and Keeper of the Plains. read more

Nice facility that the kids really enjoyed. There were several interactive exhibits that were out of supplies so we weren't able to many. The facility could use an update, lots of the exhibits showed the use of lots of children. Unique exhibits like the Miniature Kansas train and the tornado shute were a big hit for our kids along with the shark show at the dome theatre. No major complaints, just could use with more staff and better upkeep of the exhibits. read more

Fun place with hands on exhibits for kids of all ages! My 10YO and his cousin had a great time. read more

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Always very crowded. Kids and parents alike push and shove their way in front of others to get closer to exhibits. It's a neat place to check out but gets boring rather quickly. read more

They have a play area that little kids find particularly fun. This area contains toys and a water play area for the kids. There is also a castle area where kids can dress up in mid evil garb. My daughter (3yo) also particularly loves the mini-town with the model train. We love to go here when the weather is bad (or hot or whatever) for a good leg stretching and change of pace. read more

Fun place to visit with kids. They even have a military discount. Awesome!

Went here for Rock the Dome. I'm a big Pink floyd fan, and the show was pretty good. The graphics were late 90's type computer animation, but very well done. It sounded great, except for one speaker that was crackling. Looking at the dome definitely took a little getting used to, but provided great immersion. read more

This is for kids and if you seek having "family time" with them, then you may have found a spot. Some of the kids looked bored too though.

I was here with my adult son and his nine-year-old boy and the displays were impressive, easy to understand and fun. The demonstration of explosive compounds amazing. The nine-year-old really enjoyed the life-like dinosaurs and the Castle area with the hydraulic launch tube that he used quite a bit. My son really got a kick out of the flight simulator. read more

Two stars because my daughter had fun, but doesn't really deserve it. The Ewwwee! What's Eating You exhibit was repetitive and pretty boring. Got hungry, so decided to have a snack. Found a hair in my hot dog after two bites. All I got in response from management... "Sorry" No refund of my money. Just an offer of another hot dog. I don't think so. This place is just old and tired. read more

I have been to Exploration Place before, but this visit was kind of disappointing. My first couple visits are the reason this is not rated lower. This time around me and my girlfriend decided to give the Dome a whirl. We watched Animalopolis. At first sight the dome is very impressive, and I could imagine how it'd be great for a planetarium exhibition or "rock the dome", but it was absolutely terrible for this documentary. Now, a documentary meant to be viewed on a television, being projected onto a ceiling dome does not seem to work in my opinion. The documentary was also lacking any real educational learning. After the dome we headed into the museum. The museum has a permanent section which is always nice, but gets a tad boring after going a few times. Another section of the museum is a traveling exhibit that changes throughout the year. The exhibit today was fear. While the exhibits were nicely laid out and informative, the experience was ruined by lots of kids running around with no supervision. We could not take a look at any exhibits without having kids and parents swarm around us. This is not the museums fault, but I felt as if the exhibits could've been made bigger to accommodate the large crowd they had today. Overall I think this would be funner if I had kids. For me and my girlfriend taking a date on a busy day, it was rushed and crowded. read more

Overall, this place is a real value with many hands-on exhibits. The Kansas in Miniature display is a especially exciting. They keep things running well even though the exhibits get a lot of use. read more