Everywhere I visit, I love checking out the local museum of history to learn the regional past…read more Watkins did not disappoint, and highlighted well what a visitor with limited time ought to know about the city's history really well. Perhaps a minor suggestion is the addition of signage that indicates where to start if one wants to explore and learn in chronological order, but I did figure it out and had a really nice time.

We spent at least an hour and a half here and I easily could have stayed longer but we had to move…read moreon. The Watkins Museum is housed in the beautifully restored Watkins bank and mortgage building, itself an important part of Lawrence history. They have some wonderful exhibits about the history of the city and I found the one about Quantrill's raid to be particularly interesting. Lots of fun artifacts and some interactive displays to entice children to take an interest in history too. The price is right--it's free but I would encourage visitors to leave a nice donation.

Really enjoyed this museum and it's free. Take advantage of a nice experience to see some…read moreinteresting things. The staff is friendly and they validate your parking.

small but mighty. for a small college museum i was very impressed with the collection.read more

This is a fantastic place to bring the whole family--fun for all ages! For just $9 per person (kids…read moreand adults), you get access to a huge indoor play space filled with themed areas like a veterinary clinic, grocery store, mechanic garage, painting station, dinosaur zone, and more. There are also sensory stations that encourage imagination and creative exploration. A brand-new indoor water area is set to open on June 10th, which will be an exciting addition. The outdoor space is just as impressive, featuring nature trails, a sandbox, water play area, treehouse, bikes, and more. We especially appreciated the separate toddler-only zones that keep the littlest ones safe while they play. With so much to do, we easily spent around 3 hours exploring. You're welcome to pack a lunch and enjoy it at one of the indoor picnic tables or outside in the peaceful pollinator garden. Highly recommend for a fun, interactive, and affordable family outing!

We had the greatest time here with our Grandson. He is 17 months old and played for 2 1/2 hours…read moreand could have played longer but we needed to go eat lunch. There are many activities that entertain kids and I would say up to ten maybe. Some of the areas included were painting, grocery store, a car repair shop, restaurant, water feature, air flow type activities, small area for toddlers, outdoor activities, blocks, plus many more things. I like that adults have to be with children in order to enter. We decided to go ahead and get a year long membership. With the membership I could put my grandchildren on it and they can even go with their parents if we are not with them at no charge. There are also workers spread throughout the area who are so very kind and do a great job at keeping the place picked up and organized.

*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.

Great place to visit I was surprised they didn't have the Indians they use to have Car show was…read moregreat

We went on national museum day, so admission was free. Very cool museum. Surprisingly, it is full…read moreof conservation information. A beautiful mansion. We also went to a fire-dancing performance in the yard there this summer. Love the community events!

Orginally opened in 1984, the museum was Closed for three years to Completely revamp the Entire…read moremuseum with exhibits designed by award winning Dimensional Innovations (The Amelia Earhart Museum and Atlas9 are two of their amazing designs), the Kansas Museum of History reopened in winter 2025 and it is amazing! The Why Kansas Gallery acts as the crossroads of the 5 other galleries(plus a special events space) with themes of What Is/Was Kansas, Bleeding Kansas, Connecting Kansas, Making Kansas and Changing Kansas. Sit in a traditional teepee, play engineer on a 1880 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe train (which now has several cars open to explore, several airplanes, and look down into a log cabin from a new elevated ramp... don't miss this! It is easy to miss! Lots of fascinating information on the fight for statehood and freedom, women's suffrage,, civil rights, industries and SO much more plus interactive exhibits(actually smelling the stockyards was a highlight..LOL). Such a rich history. Lots of imaginative play areas for kids inside and out, plus an authentic one room school house and restored Indian mission visible on the nature trail with a swinging bridge. They gave us a scavenger hunt at the front desk that takes you through the whole museum and if you finish it you earn a fun souvenir button or snall toy :) Even if history isn't your thing this museum is vibrant colorful fun and informative and is a true gem and a worthy day trip for any and all.

This was actually a disappointing stop. We're RVing around this part of the country learning about…read morethe area, history, etc. There was no mention of industry, agriculture, etc. I have no idea of what crops are grown in the area or what the area produces. No mention of Eisenhower (famous WW2 leader and the only President from Kansas). Lots of displays on racial prejudice, slavery, LGBTQ+/- etc. Really disappointed. This entire building taught me nothing about Kansas.

WOW! There are not words to describe this facility. I am amazed that a facility like this is so…read moreclose to me. For starters, it is a beautiful building. Visually stunning. The giant flag sails above a lovely reflecting pond T the entrance. The walkway to the entrance is simple but allows for reflection. There are many informative and interesting displays. There are permanent displays and temporary exhibits. The permanent displays revolve around the life of Senator Bob Dole and World War II. The temporary displays usually focus on a contemporary issue of interest to the public. Both types of displays are well done and have tremendous visual appeal. I have enjoyed all the displays I've seen at the Dole Center. One of the things I love the most, though, is the impressive guest speakers they host. There have been world leaders, members of Congress, former presidents, world renowned journalists and the like to speak here. They also regularly have study sessions for the public. The events here are free and they encourage public participation. The Dole Center holds events all the time and they change monthly. They have running series of informational activities and I appreciate the variety. Additionally, they have an extensive archive of research documents for the public to use. One of the mate redials can be checked out and you must use gloves to handle the papers. I appreciate the opportunity to use these documents in research. Just recently they had a guest book for the public to sign for President Bush's funeral. They were forwarding the book to his family and I applaud this offering, I got quite emotional on my visit. Great place to learn more about history, politics, and current events. You will not be disappointed.

Being a political junkie; I love visiting presidential libraries and museums and we are fortunate…read moreto have several in the Midwest. Dole was never president but he certainly made his mark on Kansas and the nation, and this center has done an admirable job displaying his life work. It is beautiful inside and out. The highlights are tons of memorabilia, a beam from the world Trade Center and 2 stained glass pieces. This place should be promoted better to get the politically inclined to pull off of I-70 and visit. I was there for 40 minutes on a Sunday and was the only one there.

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!

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.