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.
You’ll quickly be impressed by the high-quality selections as you peruse the bookcases. Of course, my eyes darted right to the cookbooks and travel guides, but I also found myself gazing at the rest of the gently-used books. The backend of the story is dedicated to the littlest shoppers, while the rest of the store stocks books for all ages.
The store is organized and managed by a small group of volunteers who are eager to help you find your next read. Open six days a week, book lovers can peruse well-stocked shelves for every genre from non-fiction to true romance. They make searching out a new book easy, too. The volunteer workers have painstakingly categorized the books and created thoughtful displays.
Open since 2015, the store is operated as a non-profit with the hope of connecting people with the resources they need. Within moments of my visit, I spotted books and supplies for every age. Parents with children in tow will appreciate the kids’ section devoted to their reading needs.
A haven for college students, the upstairs tables are typically occupied by college-aged scholars seated behind laptops. Downstairs, the register area doubles as a cafe.
Decorative ravens cut from paper dangle from string overhead as shoppers choose their next read. Like any good indie bookstore, a couple of curious cats are known to greet customers.
Shoppers can expect fiction and non-fiction titles, and I was impressed to see several best-selling titles in stock. Are you on the hunt for a good read during a road trip? Do you have a young adult reader interested in a new book? You’ll find multiple genres at Seven Stories.
You’ll notice that they don’t carry just best-selling titles but also curate new books that might not find elsewhere. For example, they stock a sizable selection of books by Indigenous authors, and the children’s book inventory is sizable.
But you’ll find more than books at Red Fern Booksellers. I was impressed to discover hand-made gift wrap, stationary for sale, puzzles, stickers, and handcrafted greeting cards. My visit ended perfectly when a butterfly greeted me as I exited the store, a delightful experience.
The café offers patrons a place to sit back and relax with a book or meet as a small group. During my visit, several locals met friends and colleagues at oversized tables with access to free Wi-Fi. Other areas of the coffee house were dedicated to families with kids, and the back patio offered a quiet, more secluded place to unwind.
I particularly appreciate their local interest and Kansas history books, a modest section located on the second floor. In 2021, I was proud to see they stocked my first book and encouraged me to sign them when visiting.
In business since 1977, the store regularly hosts author signing events and book talks.
At lunchtime, stepping into 
At lunchtime, stepping into 
One wouldn’t expect to discover authentic Cajun and Creole food served in Missouri, but then they haven’t dined at 
Start the day at 
At dinnertime, 
BONUS: Read the rest of my list of favorite spots in Olathe 
Get your steps in by shopping downtown before heading back to Mill Properties, where 
At dinnertime, bring friends to 
BONUS: Uncover endless adventures in Bonner Springs 
Cocktail enthusiasts should make a reservation at 
BONUS: While you’re in town, use this 
For lunch, soup and sandwiches like the Gobble-Gobble or the Roast Beef Explosion are popular choices at 
Pasta fans will feel at home dinging at 
BONUS: Discover more things to do and see in historic Leavenworth 
There is a reason they refer to the town as “Manhappening,” a sensibility you come to understand quickly.
From dining and cocktail lounges to exploring the outdoors and touring museums, there is more than enough to do. Choose your fun using my 
I typically order a Combo Plate (Pick 2) for lunch or dinner; however, the Wood-Fired Grilled Salmon Salad and Smoked Brisket Nachos are calling my name. If you have room for dessert, a mega-sized slice of carrot cake is a shareable treat.
BONUS: I haven’t written a travel post about Overland Park yet. In the meantime, enjoy 
Kids of all ages will appreciate watching oy trains overhead deliver food to each table at 
BONUS: Spending the weekend in Shawnee? Use my 
Are you looking for a Kansas City suburb that didn’t make this list? It’s on my dining bucket list. Stay tuned for more foodie adventures on my 
A group of locals chatted about the weekends happenings as conversation turned to coin collecting as I savored a breakfast burrito and hot coffee.
The café’s menu features espresso drinks, smoothies, frappes, and teas. Ask about the selection of freshly baked bierocks, ham and cheese pockets, and fruit scones.
Since 2008, it’s served as a community gathering place for small groups chatting up about the day’s happenings and remote workers who make use of the Wi-Fi to get projects done.
The cafe is where locals meet to catch up about the latest happenings in town. Where travelers like me enjoy quiet time and peruse the internet using free Wi-Fi. And where you can shop for gift items from kitchen towels to home decor.
My hot Lavender Fog tea drink prepared with lavender flavoring tasted spot on as I chatted with locals about the historic building turned coffee house.
It was easy to see why the coffee shop remains steadily busy after sipping my toffee nut coffee with a breakfast croissant sandwich.
I was warmly greeted by a college-aged employee as Ed Sheeran played over the speaker in the background. I chose a house roast coffee and the Breakfast Croissant sandwich prepared with scambled eggs, diced onion, and bell pepper. The spread, a pepper fruit jam, added sweetness.
I ordered from the specialty coffee and tea menu featuring a new-to-me chai latté recipe prepared with cookie butter. Expect the unexpected at Greater Ground Coffee & Co, a delightful downtown meeting place for the community.
This This list of coffee shops is just a handful of the ones I’ve visited across the state but worthy nonetheless to share with others. What coffee destination should I add to my travel bucket list?
The hotel is considered haunted. Hotel employees have seen Colonel Eldridge’s ghost sitting in an original hotel chair in storage. A photograph taken in the lobby shows a ghostly spirit standing in the lobby’s elevator.
Room 506 is considered to be the most haunted guest room in the hotel, and it is considered the colonel’s favorite spot. Of course, I requested room 506 for my overnight stay. Lights flickered. Phone power drained. Would you stay there?
Once home to the Union National Bank and Dockum Drug Store in 1926, it opened as Ambassador Hotel Wichita eight decades later. Fourteen stories tall, it was considered the tallest building in Kansas when it was completed.
In addition to its architectural significance, the building also has historical value. It was the site of a in 1958 at the Dockum Drug Store led by African Americans to end segregation. Ask about the on-site speakeasy, Dockum.
Owned by George Siedhoff, The Broadview Hotel’s grand opening took place on May 15, 1922. Originally built to give railway passengers added convenience when traveling, it was the premier hotel in the Midwest. In fact, you can still see the train depot’s stone archway entrance on the east side of the building.
Since 1879, 
