Curious minds who love learning about wildlife will appreciate the abundance of indoor nature centers in Kansas. Each one is unique, yet all offer visitors an affordable (sometimes free!) way to explore topics about regional ecosystems and animals year-round.
For families, nature centers are the go-to destinations for bringing kids, as many attractions include tactile exhibits designed for youth. You can scroll to the bottom of this post to learn about Kansas museums featuring exhibits and dioramas about nature.
I’ve visited all of the mentioned nature centers and wholeheartedly recommend them.
Indoor Nature Centers to Explore Year-Round in Kansas
Milford Lake Nature Center – Junction City
Open seven days a week, Milford Nature Center is a draw for its living animals and hands-on interactive exhibits. The indoor center has a main room with educational stations, retail gift shops, and several live animals inside aquariums. During repeated visits, I’ve found myself watching the bunnies and the prairie dogs at play.
In addition, winding hallways with dioramas showcase 300 fish, amphibians, and insects from the state’s marshes, prairies, and woodlands.
PRO TIP: Pack hiking shoes. If weather permits, take a nature walk along the Tallgrass Trail, a scenic 1.5-mile loop with views of a pond and natural prairie. Walkers gain access to an open-air pathway leading to learning stations.
Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center – Olathe
Don’t miss an opportunity to explore Ernie Miller Park & Nature Center in the Northeast corner of the state. Available to visitors seven days a week, with trails open daily from dawn to dusk, the center is a premiere destination for nature lovers.
The center’s hallway includes two enclosed classrooms, one housing an owl and the other a hawk. At the end of the hallways, a 500-gallon aquarium is filled with native stream fish. Visitors of all ages will appreciate an exploratory room devoted to learning about animal lifecycles.
PRO TIP: Sit and relax in the bird-watching room, a space with children’s books worthy of an afternoon read.
Kansas Wetlands Education Center – Great Bend
Kansas Wetlands Education Center is worth the short drive outside Great Bend to the Cheyenne Bottoms. Bring the entire family to enjoy walk-through exhibits highlighting the state’s ecosystems, which illustrate how they’ve evolved from the days of its earliest inhabitants to today. Kids will love the illuminated floor display.
Classrooms located in the rear of the building include dozens of aquariums housing snakes, insects, and waterfowl taxidermy.
PRO TIP: Bring binoculars if you plan on driving designated roads to view waterfowl on a good weather day in the Cheyenne Bottoms.
Dillon Nature Center – Hutchinson
The Dillon Nature Center welcomes nature enthusiasts seeking an outdoor escape via its 100 acres of walking paths and its indoor nature center. Open for self-guided tours seven days a week, indoor exhibits features tactile learning stations designed to engage youth.
If you’re inspired to shop the gift store, you’ll discover educational toys and merchandise ideal for outdoor adventurers.
Great Plains Nature Center – Wichita
Known for hosting educational events, the Great Plains Nature Center is an ideal place to explore on your own or with others any day of the year. I particularly enjoy standing in quiet observation of rehabilitated caged birds located near the welcome desk.
Koch Exhibit Hall includes 3,500 square feet of walk-thru displays with hands-on visual and auditory stations. Birdwatchers will appreciate the Bob Gress Wildlife Observatory for spotting native songbirds, deer, or turkey.
Don’t miss a chance to visit the Owl’s Nest gift shop before departing for home.
PRO TIP: If it’s a nice weather day, walk Chisholm Creek Park’s trails. Look for the Tunnel of Trees.
Bonus Nature Centers Worth Checking Out
I’ve visited all of the above nature centers, but there are a couple more I need to explore including Pratt Education Center and Southeast Kansas Nature Center. Each one is supported by the Department of Wildlife & Parks.
Kansas Museums Featuring Nature Exhibits
Kauffman Museum – Newton
Kauffman Museum sits just off of Interstate 135 across from Bethel College’s campus. While much of the museum is devoted to teaching about the town’s history and the Kansas Mennonite experience, a section of the museum includes animal taxidermy collected by the museum’s namesake.
The collection includes birds, wild animals, and Kansas native species. His collection of owls is particularly amazing, especially when in contrasted with big cats in close proximity.
Museum hours and admission fees
Sternberg Museum of Natural History – Hays
I can vouch first-hand that Sternberg Museum of Natural History is no ordinary attraction. The collections are impressive in size and quality focusing on evolutionary science emphasizing the Great Plains.
Fossils, rocks, minerals, dinosaur bones, and aquariums with snacks, frogs, and bugs make touring the museum an immersive experience for all ages. A native Kansan, I loved the artifacts found in the Sunflower State, including massive geodes and crystals.
PRO TIP: Animatronic dinosaurs and life-size taxidermy may frighten the museum’s youngest visitors, so prepare your self-guided tour accordingly.
Museum hours and admission fees
KU Natural History Museum – Lawrence
Situated on the University of Kansas campus, I’ve visited the KU Natural History Museum multiple times to view an array of exhibits focuses on planet, specifically the Great Plains. One of my favorite exhibits is the Bee Tree display behind glass and the reptiles section of the museum.
Ignite your curiosity on a self-guided tour of mammal skulls and taxidermy ranging from Arctic animals and the Rocky Mountains to the rain forest and the Kansas prairie.
Museum hours and admission fees
PRO TIP: Parking is available in a nearby public garage. It is a short walk to the museum.
Open year-round, Kansas nature centers offer visitors an opportunity to learn about native plants and animal species.
Is there a Kansas nature center that I left off this list that you’d recommend? Please leave your suggestion in the comments to add to my travel bucket list.
Amanda’s is more than just another small town coffee shop. It’s also a retail store that sells antiques, gifts, greeting cards, and farmhouse decor. It was as if we were sitting inside someone’s beautiful home but everything was for sale. We watched as residents came into Amanda’s for their usual morning coffee.
The Seelye Mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is considered one of the finest homes in Kansas. Built in 1905, it has 11 bedrooms, a bowling alley, a grand piano, and many of its finishes are painted with gold. The cost at the time to build the 11,000 square foot home? $55,000.
Who was the Seeyle family and why did they build a mansion in Abilene? The father, Dr. A. B. Seelye was a wealthy entrepreneur who made his family’s fortune by pedaling patented medicines.
In the dining room, I sat at the head of the table where the Seelye’s once hosted presidents and state governors. We were surrounded by luxury. The Seeyle’s spared no expense to outfit their home with the best money could buy.
The grounds of the mansion are equally stunning. The gardens feature a goldfish pond, a pedestrian bridge, and water fountain. Open year-round to visitors, it’s transformed during the holidays. At Christmas time, the home is decorated with 80 trees and over 700 nutcrackers. That’s a party I want to attend!
Our train ride, although bumpy and a bit noisy, was worthwhile because it gave us a chance to relive what it must have been like to ride the rails. Operated by volunteers, we listened to the sounds of the excursion train as it traveled about 1o-15 mph. The view of Kansas farm fields was breathtaking.
Then, you’re free to explore the museum’s displays covering the highlights of the racing sport from ancient times to the present. Notable greyhounds made history for their agility and fast running times. Inductees of the Hall of Fame date back to 1963.
Don’t be surprised if you’re approached by a retired racer! During our visit, we met three rehabilitated greyhounds who happened to be visiting the museum with their owner. I had never met greyhounds in person and found them to be quite friendly. Once bred to be hunting dogs to chase hare, fox, and deer, they are graceful and make loving companions. One of the dogs (pictured below) nuzzled up to me to let me know that it was fond of me – such a sweetheart!
The grounds are open to the public to explore on any given day. However, I recommend checking their Facebook page to plan your visit around one of the many events they host from simulated gunfighter shootouts to concerts. Chisholm Trail Days includes pioneer impersonators, a draft horse pull, vendors, and artisans.
While downtown, I encourage you to visit 
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