Exploring at Exploration Place
Wichita, Kansas
Jean Jacques Rousseau said, “We should not teach children the sciences; but give them a taste for them.” Exploration Place does just that. Everyone, toddlers to adults, leaves Exploration Place having learned something, but probably not even knowing it.
Over spring break, I visited Exploration Place with a good friend and her kids. The museum has traveling exhibits as well as permanent exhibits. The traveling exhibit that was taking place when we visited was “Survival: Are your prepared?” My friend and I learned new things while walking through the exhibit and her daughter who is a toddler had a great time doing a variety of hands on activities as we walked through the exhibit. The survival exhibit will be ending soon, but there are other exhibits coming soon. The upcoming exhibits are “Dogs! A Science Tail” (May 27th-September 5th) and “Thomas and Friends: Explore the Rails” (September 23rd- January 8th).
Resources
Exploration Place You Tube Channel- Exploration Place has their own You Tube channel with a variety of different science activities.
STEM Lesson Plans- Exploration Place has provided STEM lesson plans for teachers and parents.
Activities
The majority of exhibits at Exploration Place are hands on activities. The following activities are highlights from my trip with my friend and her kids.
The first room that visitors will see is a room with tasks and puzzles for kids to complete.
Kansas Kids Connect- This area is for kids 5 years old and younger. There is a closed in circular area for kids who are crawling. In this area, kids can plant a garden, fix a tractor, run through wheat, and go to a farmer’s market.
The Design Build Fly area was my favorite part of the museum. One section of this area showed what is behind the walls of the inside of the plane. Another section was set up so kids could practice putting rivets on one of the wings. There are also several other hands on activities connected to aviation in this area.
The Where Kids Rule section seemed to be a hit with elementary age kids. I mean who doesn’t love running around a castle. Just saying.
The Kansas in Miniature section is one of the exhibits that is more watch and be amazed then hands on activity. It’s pretty impressive with the train going through 1950’s Kansas.
Tips From Someone Who Has Been There
Tip 1: There is a room behind the museum store for moms who are breastfeeding. That being said, there were also moms breastfeeding in the Kansas Kids Connect area,
Tip 2: Outside of the museum there is a playground and picnic tables. A great place for kids to have lunch and run around before heading home.
Tip 3: Not far from Exploration Place is The Keeper of the Plains statue. This could be a cool thing to check out if you are staying in Wichita for a weekend and the weather is nice out.
Tip 4: Last, but not least, between Exploration Place and Keeper of the Plains, there is a place to rent bikes. Again, I think this would be good if a family or person were staying in Wichita for a weekend. There is so much to do at Exploration Place that I think most kids would be tired after visiting it, but it is a good idea for possibly the day before or the day after visiting the museum.
