Exploration Place – Wichita, KS

Where Kids Rule Exhibit, 3 story castle shows pond, river carpet, wagon
by Breanne

June 23, 2024

I just love Exploration Place, we’ve been once before with our Science City membership. One thing about memberships people forget to look at is if they give discounts or reciprocate at other places. If you are in the Wichita area, you have to check out the Exploration Place. One thing I love about this place is kids from five to 18 played all day and had much fun. It’s a great place to take a day trip from Kansas City or Oklahoma too.

Girl in old style station in the square with sign

They are doing construction right now to add more things to Exploration Place. Things such as an amphitheater, playscape in airplane theme, and a water scape area too. They had plenty of parking and shade in the parking lot too.

When you walk into Exploration Place, you will get into line to buy your tickets at counter. This includes buying tickets for any shows you want to see. There is also a gift shop and snack food court area with a few tables. Down the one wing there is the Dome to see the movies like Volcanoes or Sea Life. We saw Sea Life and it was good, kids loved it about whiskers.

giant operation board

Right Side Science

When you are ready to go into the science area, you cross over the Magic Carpet. There are some neat pictures and information about local Wichita areas. The first area you see is the new exhibit Health Inside Out.

whack a virus. pink with purple hammer and virus display

Health Inside Out was the second most spent time between giant Operation, test your voice in decibels, quiz yourself inside the mouth. It was so neat to ask questions and you answer by selection the area inside the mouth for the answer. I had fun trying a round of skee-ball, and whack a virus. Even the 18 year old had never played before. We had fun hitting all the virus balls. Emotional roller coaster that you and another get a virtual ride on a roller coaster and different emotions as your ride. Play inside an EMT helicopter, the eight year old loved the fart chair. We also enjoyed learning about moving and bones too.

emotional rollercoaster orange border around the screen.

Kids Rule Medieval

The next area to the right Where Kids Rule is one of the coolest things I remember from the past is giant castle with play. Pretend to be King and Queen, check out the royal horses with stoking the fire, bending the horseshoes, and then placing the shoes on the horses. Lift and raise the buckets, build a moat bridge, tend vegetables in the garden, or lunch a catapult. Go climb the three story castle and have some fun.

play horses pulling a wagon to the river carpet

Right next to the Where Kids Rule is a location called Kansas Kids Connect. This is an area with soft play for kids under five to play with an adult. It has a fenced area around it so it can keep big kids out and the littles in.

After this area is the Traveling Exhibit Gallery. While we were there it was DC Superheroes. You can find out what type of superhero you are, solve Batman’s problem finding clues, and other superheroes.

cats eye jewelry in the special exhibit.

Left Side Exploration Place

On the other side of the building is Kansas in Miniatures, which of course was Braden’s favorite with miniature model trains, with buildings from 1950s Kansas with buildings, cars, people, and landscaping.

miniature kansas model train display

Next is the outside sensory garden outside, feel an F0 tornado of 79mph, this was wild, also can play in a water table. Across from this area is KEVA to build with wood sticks. In the back area Explore Kansas drive a combine in the field, see buffaloes, learn about water use, and animals.

teepee and fire and turing poop into fuel

The top place we spent the most time was in Design Build Fly where you can try to build an airplane, explore a cockpit, sit in airplane seats and watch some videos, learn about painting an airplane, repairing a plane. We spend so much time trying the different repairing and how fast we could get it completed along with riveting. test landing gear, balancing, and design an airplane seat.

inside airplane cockpit to play inside with controls and seats

After much fun, this was such a joy and all the kids loved it and parents enjoy having fun and playing with the kids.

license plate airplane on display

If you are looking for a quick day trip head here from Oklahoma or Kansas City area. They have family passes, if you already have science passes somewhere see if they work at each other too.

Check out other places in Wichita.

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