7 Fun Things To Do With Your Family in Wichita Kansas

Looking for fun things to do with your family in Wichita, Kansas?

If you plan a trip to Wichita, Kansas, for the first time, you have arrived at the right place. If you travel with your dog and from out of state, it’s even better. Because that was what we were when visiting Wichita, Kansas, from our home in the south of Dallas, Texas.

Disclaimer: Two Worlds Treasures is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This post may also contain affiliate links. Read my Privacy Policy for more info.

Surprisingly, there are so many fun things to do with your family in Wichita Kansas.

They have pioneer-like museums for the History Buff family. Science center and aviation museum for Science Lovers family. Art museums, bronze sculptures, and murals to find around town for the Artsy family.

For the Outdoor Explorer family, there are Nature Center and Wildlife Park. There is water play and an indoor rock climbing area for the Active Adventurers and Adventure Seeker family. And these are just a few of them.

Wichita was our first stop on our Dallas to Mount Rushmore road trip. And I pinched myself for not going there since years ago. 

I mean, with so many fun things to do with your family in Wichita Kansas and it’s less than a 6-hour drive from where we live in North Texas? How could I miss this city?

Since we only stayed for two nights in Wichita, we had to choose the activities that suited our family. Our dog Snoopy was also coming with us, so that’s another thing to consider. 

After searching around, I finally found what was best for our family when spending two days in Wichita, KS. 

So, here are the fun things to do with the family in Wichita, Kansas.

7 Fun Things To Do With Your Family In Wichita Kansas

1. Hiking at Great Plains Nature Center – FREE

Great Plains Nature Center is an incredible place to learn about wildlife and plant species of the Great Plains Region in Kansas. The trail is 2-½ miles through native and restored prairies, wetlands, ponds, and woodlands. 

When we were there, we did the outer line of the trails, where part of it was shaded. Ducks, herons, and box turtles were plenty in the wetlands. Birds were chirping in the woodlands, and fortunately no snakes during the hike! 

We were also lucky to see blazing stars blooming abundantly in the restored prairie. They were so pretty! 

In the woodlands part of the center, we saw these cool tunnel-looking woods and walked under them. 

All these things made this kid-friendly, easy hike even more fun.

Too bad dogs are not allowed in the Nature Center, so my husband had to stay in the car with Snoopy. 

After the hike, my son and I decided to skip the Koch Habitat Hall. We didn’t want to leave them for more than 2 hours in the car.

Address: 6232 E. 29th Street North, Wichita, KS 67220-2200.

2. Playing while learning at the Exploration Place – FREE to $$ (depending on age)

If your children like everything science and beyond, Exploration Place is for them. They will learn about how things were made and developed in a fun and creative way.

Exploration Place has permanent exhibits, including Explore Kansas – where children discover Kansas from below the ground to the clouds above; Design Build Fly – where children learn why Wichita is called the “Air Capital of the World,” and Sun, Earth, Universe – where children can connect with current NASA science research and take a journey around the universe.

My son and I spent more than half a day at this museum, exploring every exhibit but the toddler’s area. Many interesting hands-on exhibits made him play with them more than once. 

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not was the traveling exhibit we enjoyed in the museum. 

Circus! Science Under the Big Top is the traveling exhibit you can enjoy from May 26 through September 4, 2023. Another special exhibit is Pixel Palace. It will be in the museum from May 26 through October 22, 2023.

Unfortunately, there’s no cafeteria in this place. But a snack bar is available that sells hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, mini buns, chips, and drinks. 

Another thing I noticed after we explored the museum, this place is perfect for 12 years and under.

If a science museum is not your children’s thing, visit one of the other museums in Wichita that suits them. Aviation Museum, Old Cowtown Museum, Museum of World Treasures, and Wichita Art Museum are a few of them.

Address: 300 N. McLean Blvd., Wichita, KS 67203.

3. Visiting Keeper of the Plains – FREE

A visit to Wichita, Kansas, is not complete without a stop at Keeper of the Plains. It is a 44-foot-tall stylized sculpture of an Indian Chief standing at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers. A Native American artist, Blackbear Bosin (1921-1980), created the sculpture.

You can visit the sculpture by crossing pedestrian suspension bridges from the Big or Little Arkansas Rivers. You will find a plaza by the statue with exhibits depicting the Plains Indian’s way of life.

Keeper of the Plains is the pride of Wichita. You can see it at any time of the day. We visited both in the morning and evening, and it’s easy to say our favorite time to visit was in the evening. 

When we arrived slightly before sunset, the view of the sculpture with suspension bridges as the background was just amazing. We waited until 9 p.m. when a ring of fire surrounded the sculpture for 15 minutes. It looked just dramatic! As we walked across the bridge, we could feel the warmth of the fire. 

During fall and winter, they lit the fire at 7 p.m., weather permitting.

Address: Confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, Wichita, KS. (You can park your car at the Exploration Place.)

4. Hunting for Bronze Sculptures – FREE

From the Visit Wichita website, I read that the city has so many bronze sculptures around. However, we only looked at the ones around Douglas Avenue because of the time we had left in the city. 

We parked across from ICT Pop-Up Urban Park on Douglas Avenue and walked around two blocks, looking for them.

Georgia Gerber, an artist from Washington, created the bronze sculptures around this area. There are 31 of them in a four-block area of downtown Wichita.

Some of the sculptures we found are Hopscotch & Cat, Pedal Car, Soda Fountain, Man With Guitar, and Mother & Child.

At the ICT Pop-Up Urban Park, we found the miniature of the Keeper. They were made of fiberglass and painted differently by the local artists.
 
ICT Pop-Up Urban Park is also a food truck park, but it was hours before lunchtime when we were there. So we can’t tell you anything about the food trucks.

Other places to find sculptures are the riverfront and old town area. Further north, you will find an outdoor sculpture collection at Wichita State University.

5. Searching for Murals – FREE

Just like bronze sculptures, colorful murals are also covering the city. But most murals are not on the front side of the buildings.

Local artists created the murals, inspired by the everyday life of Wichita or Kansas people.

Again, Douglas Avenue is the place for searching the murals, especially between Washington and Oliver Streets. We found just a few of them, and some of the murals we found need fresh new paints, in my opinion.

The weekend is the best time to search for murals when people don’t park their cars around the buildings. Or, do it in the late afternoon of the last Friday of the month, when the city conducts the Final Friday art crawls.

This link is a good source for finding murals and bronze statues around the city.

6. Eating at Stearman Field Bar & Grill – $-$$

As the “Air Capital of the World,” I think it is right to enjoy your meal while watching planes take off and land by the landing strip nearby. That’s what Stearman Field Bar & Grill offers to its customers.

Our family had supper there, and we were not disappointed! Both by the food and the view while we were eating. Our picky eater son gave a thumbs-up to his meat lovers pizza, and my husband and I both liked the burger and the fish sandwich we ordered. And their spinach dip was amazing!

One other thing I like about this place, it’s a dog-friendly restaurant. But you must sit on the patio for your dog to join you.

The server brought Snoopy a big bowl of cool water since it was hot when we were there. A Big Ass Fan is hanging on the ceiling to keep the patio cool. Just like its name, the ceiling fan is gigantic! 

If you want to see part of the city from above, you can always book a flight with Stearman Sky Tours.

Address: 14789 SW 30th St., Benton, KS 67017. 

You might try to stop at The Donut Whole while in the city. They have classic donuts to fancy ones, and both donuts we tried were delicious. (We had them at 5 p.m.!) I heard their signature coffee blends are locals’ favorite, too!

7. Digging into Pizza Hut history – FREE

One or two stops at Pizza Hut during a road trip are typical for us. Everyone likes it, and you can almost find them everywhere in the U.S.

During our trip to Wichita, we discovered that Pizza Hut was born in Wichita, and there’s a Pizza Hut Museum in the city! Of course, we had to make a stop!

The Pizza Hut Museum location is at Wichita State University, where the two brothers who started the business in 1958 – Dan and Frank Carney – were students there. The museum is small, honoring the original building of the first Pizza Hut.

You’ll find memorabilia from the original Pizza Hut and the history of this world-famous pizza chain here. My favorite is the history behind the name. Bev Carney suggested Pizza Hut because the sign could only hold eight letters, and the first five had to be pizza.

The museum opened on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. And docent at the museum told me that the founders are still alive and live in Wichita. Cool!

Address: 2090 Innovation Blvd. at Wichita State University. Park near the Eck Stadium (baseball stadium on the WSU campus.)

Where to Stay in Wichita Kansas

There are many hotels in and around Wichita to choose from. When spending two nights in the city, Visit Wichita and Aloft Wichita Northeast hosted our stay. And we loved our stay there.  

At that time, Aloft Wichita Northeast was one of the newest hotels in the city with comfortable loft-inspired rooms. The room is clean, and I like its spacious shower in the bathroom. Our housekeeper was friendly, as well as the people in the lobby.

Aloft Wichita Northeast is a super dog-friendly hotel. They provided a bowl of water and a bag of surprise treats for Snoopy in the room. Snoopy also enjoyed sleeping on his new thick bed during the night.

And when we walked into the lobby the next day, we realized that there were bowls of water and treat by the entrance and the door to the pool. How nice! Snoopy loved his stay in this hotel!

I recommend this hotel when traveling to Wichita, even without your dog.

Distance from Wichita Kansas to neighboring major cities by road

Wichita – Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas 5-6 hours

to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2,5 hours

Wichita – Tulsa, Oklahoma 2,5 hours

to Denver, Colorado 7,5 hours

Wichita – Kansas City, Missouri 3 hours

to St. Louis, Missouri 6,5 hours

Wichita – Lincoln, Nebraska 4 hours

Wichita – Omaha, Nebraska 4,5 hours

Other Things To Do With Your Family in Wichita Kansas

When you have extra time to stay in Wichita, check out some of these attractions or museums in the city. Some have cheap admission, and some are free things for you to enjoy.

Sedgwick County Zoo. It is the seventh-largest zoo in the United States and the most visited outdoor attraction in Kansas. It’s Free to $$.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park. $$.

Kansas Aviation Museum. It’s a place to learn about the growth and development of general aviation in Kansas while looking at the collection of aircraft & aviation-related artifacts. It’s Free to $$.

Wichita Sedgwick County Historical Museum. It is a place to dig into Sedgwick County’s rich history and cultural heritage. Free to $. Admission is free on Sundays.

Strataca. The Underground Salt Museum. $$.   

PBS Kansas’ Children’s Education & Discovery Center. Free.

Old Cowtown Museum. A living history museum where you can experience Wichita like it’s 1865. Free admission on Sundays.

It was hard to leave the city on our last day in Wichita, but we had to continue to our next destinations.

Do we want to go back to Wichita? Of course!

There are so many fun things to do with your family in Wichita, Kansas, that two two-day stay was not enough. Fortunately, it’s not too far from North Texas. So we can always come back!

Have you been to Wichita, Kansas? What are your favorite things to do there? Let me know by leaving your comment below.

Visit Wichita and Aloft Wichita Northeast hosted our stay in the city, but all opinions are ours and unbiased.