On a budget this summer? Check out these 10 child-friendly KC area attractions

Yahoo6 days ago

Families looking to get out over the summer have plenty of low budget options to stay entertained in Kansas City. Whether they're older or younger, there's something for kids of all ages to enjoy, and the good news is you don't have to break the bank to do it.
Here's a few unique and affordable kid-friendly attractions in and around Kansas City for your summer on a budget:
With over 250 animals and birds, Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead has a variety of fun and educational activities for guests to enjoy. Whether its playing on one of three playgrounds, petting goats, watching a live cow milking, scouring shops or something else, there's something for everyone. Visitors can bottle feed goats, fish in the pond, go on a wagon ride and mine for gems for an additional cost. If you want to skip the line, order tickets online here.
Location: 13800 Switzer, Overland Park, KS 66221
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 7 days a week
Admission: $5 per person, children 2 and under get in free; free admission Monday-Thursday after 2 p.m.
Located inside the Johnson County Museum at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center, KidScape offers children a 'learn through play' experience with three immersive play communities. Targeted toward younger ages, children can explore 1870s farmstead living, 1900s city life and 1950s suburbia as they engage in activities like farmstead chores, selling food at the city market and flipping burgers at Huey's Diner. For children with sensory needs, the museum offers a monthly sensory-friendly Monday from 9 a.m. to noon. Pre-registration for sensory-friendly Monday is required. The museum will have a free admission day on June 7.
Location: 8788 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66212
Hours: Monday — Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed for cleaning from noon to 12:30 p.m.
Admission: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, veterans and students; $4 for children 1-17 with free admission for children under 1; $23 family maximum daily fee
The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm is a Santa Fe Trail historic site and the trail's only remaining functional stagecoach stop. Mahaffie offers a variety of activities throughout the week, whether you are visiting on a normal day or on 1860s Living History Days. Visitors can explore Mahaffie grounds, exhibits and the livestock barn daily and engage in special activities on living history days, including tours of the Mahaffie house, visiting blacksmiths and stagecoach rides.
Location: 1200 Kansas City Road, Olathe, KS 66061
Hours: Monday — Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: Varies by day; Olathe residents receive $2 off of admission price
Monday and Tuesday, daily activities only: $3 for adults; $2 for children 5-11 with free admission for children 4 and under
Wednesday — Saturday, 1860s Living History Days activities : $9 for adults; $7 for children 5-11 with free admission for children 4 and under.
The Museum at Prairie Fire is an immersive combination of natural history, art and science exhibits that engage children with artifacts in ways that are fun and exciting, yet educational. Children can visit the Discovery Room on the second floor for hands-on activities centered around anthropology, paleontology, zoology, astronomy, biology and geology.
Location: 5801 W. 135th Street, Overland Park, KS 66223
Hours: Monday — Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $5 per guest; free for veterans, active military and children under 3
Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket and enjoy a free movie on The Lawn at Legends Outlets every Saturday through October. The Lawn is located on the west end of the Legends complex and there's plenty of space for little ones to run and play. Find the full movie showing list here.
Location: The Lawn, 1843 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66111
Showings: Saturdays at 7 p.m.
Admission: Free
This free attraction offered by Crown Center's Hallmark allows children to explore their creativity during 50-minute studio sessions. Groups of 15 or more should reserve ahead of time, otherwise no reservations are necessary.
Location: Crown Center, 2500 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Hours: Find session times here.
Admission: Free
Take a train ride with this miniature train attraction. The Kansas City Northern Railroad operates three miniature trains, interestingly purchased from zoos across the country, on a nearly half-mile train track. A single ride is two times around the track for this attraction.
Location: 6060 NW Waukomis Drive, Kansas City, MO 64151
Hours: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday and holidays, noon to 6 p.m.
Admission: $1 per ride around the track; 10 rides for $9 or 20 rides for $16
With over 25 mid-1800s buildings and live history interpreters dressed for the period, Missouri Town Living History Museum provides children with a self-guided historical educational experience. The history museum, located in Lees Summit, includes heritage livestock and crops raised on-site.
Location: 8010 E Park Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64086
Hours: Tuesday — Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission: $8 for adults, $4 for seniors; $4 for children 5-13; children under 5 free
This dinosaur-themed mini golf course offers three different courses at an affordable rate as well as an arcade. All visitors can enjoy an 18-hole and 36-hole course and visitors 13 and up can enjoy a 9 hole course with games. Prehistoric Putt offers a Monday special of a $6 round of golf priced per person.
Location: 13907 Hwy 40, Independence, MO 64055
Hours: Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday — Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Admission: Children 2-12 $6 for 18 holes, $9 for 36; prices vary for adults (13 and up) based on time of day
Enjoy mini golf, batting cages, arcade games, Go Karts and a kids gym at Cool Crest Family Fun Center. Most single attraction purchases are no more than $13 and children under 3 play free mini golf with the purchase of an adult ticket. Cool Crest also offers attraction passes for 3 and 5 attractions for $24.99 and $34.99 respectively. Go Karts are open on weekends only from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Location: 10735 E US Hwy 40, Independence, MO 64055
Hours: Monday — Thursday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Admission: Varies based on activity. View the pricing list here.

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Misty Copeland Changed Ballet. Now She's Ready to Move On.

New York Times

21 minutes ago

New York Times

Misty Copeland Changed Ballet. Now She's Ready to Move On.

After 25 years with the company, Misty Copeland is retiring from American Ballet Theater. While the departure of ballet's biggest crossover star is certainly a momentous occasion, it's also not exactly a surprise. The 42-year-old has been away from the Lincoln Center stage for five years, spending that time raising a son with her attorney husband, Olu Evans, and working with her namesake foundation, which aims to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion to the dance world — at a time when that mission is newly fraught. Copeland will give a farewell performance with A.B.T. this fall, putting a cap on a career that was both groundbreaking and improbable. She grew up in near poverty in Southern California and was frequently homeless, her mother struggling to make ends meet for Misty and her five siblings. Eventually, she found solace and stability in dance, though she didn't seriously pursue the art form till she was 13 — late for a budding ballerina. Despite that, and the historical struggles for people of color to break into the often hidebound world of classical dance, she eventually joined A.B.T. in 2001, and after a 15-year climb, she became the first Black woman ever to be named a principal dancer with the company. Speaking with me last month, Copeland explained that although she was personally at peace with the decision, she also knows that she is stepping away at a difficult cultural moment. The whole idea of D.E.I., the value of which she came to both embody and now works to promote, is under political attack, and arts institutions are being forced to reckon with partisan antagonism. So there was a lot for her to wrestle with as she looked back on the legacy she will leave behind and ahead to the rest of her life. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio App You've been ramping down dancing for a while. Why does now feel like the time to make an official retirement announcement? In all honesty, I've wanted to fade away into the background, which is not really possible. The legacy of what I've created, the way that I'm carrying so many stories of Black dancers who have come before me — I can't just disappear. There has to be an official closing to my time at American Ballet Theater, this company that has meant everything to me. It was in 2019 that I was processing that I think this is the end of this chapter, and though I wasn't saying it out loud to the world, I've already moved on to that next place of what I want to be doing. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.