*Missing Review(s)?…read more In my opinion this is one of the best museums in the world. No doubt,pound for pound I would put the Nelson Akins up against any museum anywhere. I love art so, traveling to Kansas City regularly in the early to mid 2000s,I naturally visited the Nelson Adkins. Walking into the building was not particularly interesting as the entrance had been modernized and different from the exterior. However,once you walk into the galleries,you are stunned. The overall building design,galleries and quality of art seems almost out of place in Kansas City. Not that they don't deserve it,every city should be so lucky,it just seems a surprise. One special thing they had, that is just wonderful, is the cafeteria style cafe in a significantly beautiful atrium. I took many pictures and posted them of the entire facility including the marvelous food over several years. I have been trying to come up with a good excuse to go to KC for a Nelson-Adkins fix! Seriously,maybe an UYE! Now for "The"truly significant impact this museum had on my life.On the second floor you could walk out doors, taking you into the large atrium that holds the cafe. Around this walkway were many Rodin sculpture. I must have past these sculpture a dozen times on my walk to the descending stairs in order to eat During one visit as I exited the doors,passed the sculptures,I noticed a large photographic presentation. Stopping to look closer,I learned it was regarding details of Rodin's Hell Gates. If you have the slightest interest in art,look it up, amazing. After lunch,I returned to this exhibit reading all about the Hells Gates. Finding out there are only two bronze cast of this magnificent sculpture,I felt I just had to see one if not both. One is at the Rodin museum in Paris. If I needed a reason to go to Paris( you don't) this was as good as any. I'm proud to report a few months later I was standing in front of the Gates Of Hell at the Rodin museum Paris. All because of a visual display at Nelson Atkins... Go!

My visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was extremely disappointing. While the museum itself…read morewas beautiful the behavior of several staff members completely ruined the experience. Throughout our visit we were repeatedly followed and monitored. At one point, as we were leaving through a doorway a staff member who was entering saw us exiting and immediately turned around after looking directly at us. Another staff member approached us in a very confrontational manner under the guise of "guiding" us and even laughed after I responded with "yikes." The micro-aggressions were impossible to ignore. They didn't even seem "micro." The behavior from staff was excessive, unwelcoming, and deeply uncomfortable. It's unfortunate that such a culturally significant and visually appealing place is staffed by people who ruin the experience. I genuinely hope the museum addresses and provides better training on how staff members interact with guests.

There are 6 interior galleries with an exterior sculptures around the building. The Kemper is…read morefree. There is small parking lot around the building as well as street parking. I am counting the restaurant ( Oil on Linen ) as a gallery because it features The History of Art by Frederick James Brown. It's a huge series that highlights major artists over the past couple centuries. The atrium is the second gallery that has rotating works and permanent installations. There are four other galleries as well. There are two on each sides of the center. Each of the galleries rotates and has a theme or single artist.

Lovely museum set with a stunning view of the city. Free and I would recommend 1-2 hours. Suggest…read moregetting on their mailing list to attend upcoming special events.

If you are looking for an underrated gem, this unassuming museum is an absolute must-visit. Our…read moregroup spent about 1.5 hours exploring, and it was worth every minute. Tip: Start on the 2nd floor as the museum is split across two floors. The 2nd floor is Toys and a complete walk down memory lane. It's packed with nostalgia, featuring games and classic items from the last century--everything from vintage Mouse Trap to Chinese Checkers. The 1st floor is Fine Miniatures. Do yourself a favor and save this for last. The first floor houses fine scale miniatures that are plain mind-blowing. The level of craftsmanship and architectural detail in these tiny masterpieces is unbelievable. Before you leave, make sure to pop into the nifty little gift shop. They have some super fun items, including mini tabletop versions of games like Mini Monopoly. Highly recommended!

A group of us spent part of our weekend exploring this incredible museum in the heart of Kansas…read moreCity, and it was pure magic from start to finish. ​The fine-scale miniatures are an absolute marvel of patience, precision, and artistry. Having recently visited the Truman Library, seeing a miniature replica of Truman's Oval Office shrunk down with microscopic accuracy--right down to the tiniest nitty-gritty details on the desk--was amazing to see up close. There are far too many highlights to squeeze into one miniature review, but the massive 1,000-pound dollhouse from the late 1800s completely stopped us in our tracks. ​On the toy side of the aisle, wandering through generations of playthings was a blast--even if realizing I'm officially old enough to be part of vintage museum nostalgia was a funny, slightly bittersweet pill to swallow. They also have three hypnotic rolling-ball kinetic sculptures where you just zone out watching the spheres navigate intricate winding tracks. It's oddly calming, very zen, and almost impossible to pull your eyes away from. ​To top off the visit, I nearly committed accidental petty crime on the way out. I picked up an adorable tiny Monopoly game in the gift shop, got distracted, and walked right out the front door before realizing I hadn't paid. When I hurried back inside to confess, the cashier laughed and pointed out the irony of accidentally playing a real-life Get Out of Jail Free card with Monopoly. ​Definitely check this place out, whether you appreciate mind-boggling micro-craftsmanship or just want to let your inner kid run loose for an afternoon.

We made a trip this past weekend to KC and had a blast. This was our first stop! I had seen clips…read moreon social media and knew my little book worms would love it. We bought our tickets ahead of time, so we could secure our time slot. However, it looked like you can get tickets there the day of. Tickets are fairly priced, $16/person. This place is a lot bigger than I thought. Once you go down the rabbit hole, there are little burrows to crawl through, stop by and check out the rabbits little house before making your way through. It took us about 2 hours to go through, my kids loved all the interactive pieces to it. They could climb in nearly everything, there was a slide, a fire pole, etc. If you aren't familiar with the books, don't worry, they keep them stocked at each section so you can read it! Once we were done, we made our way to the bookstore. They had a wonderful large staircase that people could just relax and read books which I thought was wonderful little touch. They had a great selection of books and had a section of all the books from the displays. They have a coffee shop but unfortunately it was closed when we were there. The staff was wonderful, the volunteers are all scattered throughout to help customers. The volunteers and staff truly love books and children. We will absolutely be back again!

Well put together museum where all the books you grew up comes alive…read more Brought my kids and their cousins here. They loved it. Got to sit on a story time and caught the bus. Make reading great again!

Checked out this art museum with my boyfriend! We love contemporary art, some really amazing pieces…read moreto enjoy and ponder about. We went on a Saturday so it was not busy at all, and had plenty of time to just hangout!

My first time to this contemporary museum but not for lack of trying. This museum has wonderful and…read morediverse programming for the family. And it's free. The museum's current exhibit is KC native Jeremy Scott (Moschino) & Katherine Bernhardt show thru aug. 3, 2025. This museum is a Johnson County treasure.

Visited the National WWI Museum and Memorial with my family and had a great time, 5 stars all…read morearound. The exhibits were really informative and engaging for all ages, and the whole place was in great condition and super clean. Definitely worth the visit if you're in Kansas City. 10/10, would recommend!

Three of us decided this would be our destination on the first day of our KC trip. We read online…read morereviews and all of us like history, so we thought this would be a neat place for a "quick" visit. Well it turned into more than just a quick visit. The reviews don't give this place enough justice. It was AWESOME! We spent over four hours here and we could have spent more if we didn't have to leave for lunch and a ballgame. The tower and "original" memorial halls were very neat, but the newly built museum is the main attraction. Three levels of outstanding visuals, interactive displays, multiple movies, and of course tons of WWI artifacts. I am a former U.S. History teacher and I learned a lot of new information!This is a MUST visit if in the area. It ranks as one of the best museums I've ever visited.

Over priced and over rated…read more Too small. Things looked old and touched too much. Wack! Don't waste your time or money.

Unfortunately, this location didn't live up to expectations. Having visited the St. Louis Museum of…read moreIllusions, I found this one to be significantly smaller and lacking the same variety of exhibits. Given the price point, the experience felt a bit underwhelming and short. If you've been to their larger locations, this one might leave you disappointed.

We stumbled across the BBQ Museum while hanging out at Crown Center before driving up to…read moreChillicothe, and I'm so glad we decided to go in! Being from Texas, my husband and I love BBQ, so obviously a museum dedicated to BBQ caught our attention. The admission price was very reasonable, and we loved how interactive the entire experience was. The activities were genuinely fun, and we actually learned quite a bit along the way. One of the highlights was meeting the owner, Jonathan. He was incredibly friendly and an absolute wealth of BBQ knowledge. He was also very gracious when I accidentally broke one of the interactive handles! I immediately told him what happened, and instead of being upset, he thanked me for being honest and was able to fix it. We ended up chatting with him for quite a while before we left, which made the experience even more memorable. The gift shop also had a lot of fun and unique items. We picked up a commemorative pin as a souvenir. We spent about an hour here, which felt like the perfect amount of time. I would absolutely recommend stopping in if you're visiting Crown Center or looking for something a little different to do in Kansas City. It's unique, interactive, educational without feeling like a history lesson, and would be just as much fun for adults as it would be for kids. Definitely one of those unexpected stops that ended up being a highlight of our day!

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this Museum, but I was definitely not disappointed! It…read moreis both a fun BBQ store, and a museum that is worth the short visit! My family and I went to the Museum of BBQ one afternoon, and we weren't sure what to expect. We bought our tickets for the museum and were given two tokens which are used to get goodies during your time in the museum. The museum has a ton of hands-on activities to think about meat, preparations of meat, and BBQ from a lot of different perspectives (the museum discusses different locations and how their BBQ differs from others!). If you're at all interested in BBQ and learning some facts (and even some recipes and recommendations), then you should definitely check out this place! And on the way out, you can pick up your favorite sauces and rubs (along with very fun merchandise!). So glad we decided to make this stop on a whim!

Great tour guide, we were able to tour the house and studio. The guide provided insight to the…read moreartist and family. House has most of the original furnishings. Enjoyed it very much.

The outside of the house was nice. The art studio where Thomas Hart painted his artwork was even…read moremore special. The inside felt like an actual lived-in historic home even including an early-1970s TV set, paintings, and cozy spaces to complete. Although there is a small $5 admission fee per person, it was worth it.

Took grand niece there were kids from Leawood Ks bussed in 2 years older…read moreThan my niece they instruct adults to let the kids decide what to make and what to do the helicopter parents couldn't abide by that and made the stuff for the kids our grand niece did it all her self and she was 2'years younger Not enough time to complete everything Hours are really screwy one place says one Thing another place says different

This is a super fun activity center for kids. It is free to enter. They have a session every 45…read moreminutes which allows smaller group of kids to enjoy the activities. The area is full of different types of hands on activities like glueing shapes, painting, coloring, solving puzzles, arts and crafts. Each table had its own accessories like stickers, papers, accessories for kids to use their imagination to create different things. The passageway goes to a separate room where kids can act out puppet shows and interact with movie making process. Lots of associates constantly walk around the floor refilling the tables and making sure kids are enjoying their time. When the session is about to end, they notify all the parents to head toward the exit.