museums/galleries

These offbeat Kansas City museums and attractions offer interactive experiences for adults and families to explore.

The discovery of an ancient Kansas settlement named Etzanoa is challenging long-held views that all Indigenous people on the Great Plains were nomadic. Plus: Kansas boasts its own version of the Liberty Bell at a small town in Marion County.

Residents and visitors can get in the World Cup spirit with these six soccer-themed exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across the area.

Gloria Jackson-Leathers launched the Kansas City Civic Engagement Initiative, which provided after-school programs and funded many museums, helped created the Maker Faire at Union Station and led the development of the KC STEM Alliance.

More than 200 students across Kansas City worked with artists and fabricators from the children’s literary museum to create models of what their own exhibits could look like based on a book of their choosing.

As the United States’ first federal highway system, Route 66 connected people and places across the country. It was a symbol of adventure but also independence, especially for Black travelers through Missouri.

Don't miss these six art exhibitions at museums and galleries around the Kansas City metro, spanning Indigenous artists from the Midwest and aspiring students ready to embrace a wider world.

A new exhibit at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art through August 9 highlights the global roots of artists with ties to Kansas City, and the worldwide connections that have shaped the city's artistic community and culture.

The National Museum of Natural History commissioned Missouri artist Gary Staab for a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Staab sculpted three bison on a heroic scale.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is moving closer to a major expansion, with renovations underway and plans to break ground on a new wing in 2028. Director and CEO Julian Zugazagoitia breaks down the construction timeline and discusses how the museum aims to become more transparent, accessible and community-centered ahead of its 100th anniversary.

Maybe you have a pink Care Bear with a rainbow belly, a blue Smurfette with long blonde hair, or one of those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures in an old box somewhere. A national museum in Kansas City could include it in a future exhibit.

St. Louis Public Radio spoke to Lyah LeFlore-Ituen about her plans for the African American History Initiative, the importance of preserving Black history and what makes St. Louis' Black history so remarkable.