Cotillion Ballroom

11120 W. Kellogg

Wichita, KS 

316-722-4201

Opened January 1, 1887 as the Carey House, this early landmark was considered to be the finest, most luxurious hotel between Kansas City and Denver, Colorado.

One of  the hotel's most famous visitors was prohibition crusader Carrie Nation, who on December 27, 1900, smashed the hotel's swank basement level Carey Annex bar. The bar was removed during later year renovations.. The six story hotel is located near the newly restored Old Town area of shops and restaurants and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.    

Old Town

Douglas &Washington Streets

Wichita KS  67212

316-262-3555

Free parking. Trolley service. Store and restaurant hours vary.   

This revitalized historic warehouse district features the charm of turn-of-the-century buildings, brick streets, street lights and boardwalks. Over 200 businesses concentrated in a one-block area create a shopping, dining and entertainment center. Old Town features antique shops, specialty retail shops, restaurants, night clubs and dinner theatres.

Great Plains Nature Center

6232 E 29th St North

Wichita , KS  67220

316-683-5499

Monday to Saturday, 9 - 5  Closed Sundays and Holidays.

Chisholm Creek Park is open every day from dawn to dusk.

Learn about the beauty and diversity of the North American prairie at the Great Plains Nature Center. Conveniently located at the corner of 29th Street north and Woodlawn in northeast Wichita - just 1/2 mile south of the K-96 bypass.

Kansas has woodlands, wetlands, rivers, streams and lakes.  these environments are featured in the Koch Habitat Hall. State-of-the-art interactive displays and a 2,000 gallon aquarium featuring native fish are highlights of the exhibits.

Just outside the front door is a paved trail system over 2 miles long that allows you to explore the 200+ acres of Chisholm Creek Park

Botanica, The Wichita Garden

701 Amidon

Wichita, KS 

316-264-0448

www.botanica.org

The Wichita Botanical Gardens is a beautiful and peaceful place. There are fountains, gazebos, ponds and thousands of flowering plants. The garden is divided into several areas, including the Shakespearean Garden, the Rose Garden, the Aquatic Collection, etc. Recently a butterfly house was opened which operates seasonally.

Omnisphere and Science Center

220 S. Main

Wichita, KS  67202

Admission charged.

316-337-9174

The Omnisphere & Science Center is a delight.  Choose from a variety of hands on experiences, from live science shows to the science museum. The Science Museum has exhibits dealing with perception, electricity, chemistry, astronomy, and physics to help students discover the magic of science.         

Wichita Air Heritage Tour

Wichita, KS  67202

800-288-9424

The Past, Present and Future of Aviation in Wichita, Kansas "The Air Capital of the World!"  Visit Boeing Wichita, and go inside Bombardier-Learjet or Raytheon Aircraft factories! See the building of the finest commercial and general aviation aircraft in the world!

Old Cowtown Museum

1871 Sim Park Drive

Wichita , KS  67203

316-264-6398

daily March - October. Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday, noon - 5

Experience the Old West at Old Cowtown, a seventeen-acre living history museum near downtown Wichita. See how nineteenth-century residents lived and worked in early Sedgwick County. Stroll wooden sidewalks and visit over thirty exhibit areas including Wichita's first jail, a one room school, six historic homes, a pioneer church, railroad depot, working blacksmith shop, 1870's newspaper office, saddlery and harness shop, general store, grain elevator, saloon, drug store, law office, and numerous other nineteenth century businesses. Texas Longhorn cattle, horses, and chickens add to the frontier atmosphere.

Lake Afton Public Observatory

MacArthur Road at 247th Street West

across from Lake Afton Park

Wichita , KS 

316-WSU-STAR

Telescopes and micro teaching tools provide a means of exploring the galaxies and the mysteries beyond.

The huge silver dome opens up to 13 degrees above the horizon and up.

Also located behind the Observatory building are stands where amateurs can set up their own telescopes.

Indian Center

Museum open Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm; Sunday 1 - 5pm

Closed Monday, January - March

Special rates for ages 6-12, Children under 6 free

Distant drums still call Native Americans to this special meeting place. Located in the Mid-America -Indian Center, this museum preserves and showcases the heritage of the many native tribes of North America.

Permanent and rotating exhibits of art and artifacts depict the joy, hardship and determination of Native Americans before, during and after the coming of the European settlers. Also located in the building is a unique and colorful display of Native American tribal flags called the "Gallery of Nations". Gift shop features authentic Native American arts and crafts.

A Prairie Garden

Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm; Sunday, 12 noon to 5pm.

Lunch served Tuesday - Friday, 11:30am - 1:30pm.

Sunday brunch, 12 noon - 2pm.

Free admission, except to selected traveling shows.

A total of 26 original paintings, watercolors, drawings and bronzes by the frontier's most famous artist are included in the outstanding M.C. Naftzger collection. In an era before photography was common this "old master of the old west" captured both the romance and the detail of his time.

The museum also contains the famous Frederic Remington "Bronco Buster" bronze. Prints and related books available in the museum gift store.

Chisholm Trail Exhibit

Open Tuesday - Friday, 11am - 4pm

Saturday & Sunday, 1 - 5pm

Children under 6 free

Jesse Chisholm was the very embodiment of the collision of two great societies. Born in 1805 as the son of a Scottish father and Cherokee Indian mother, Jesse was an in-law of Sam Houston and ancestor of Will Rogers. He established a trading post near present day downtown Wichita. His ancestry enabled him to blaze a trail south to Mexico through the Indian Territory of what is now Oklahoma. The "Chisholm Trail" would make possible the great longhorn cattle drives from Texas to the railroads in Kansas. ( A marker on the grounds of the Metropolitan Baptist Church at Douglas and McLean Boulevard indicates where the trail crossed the Arkansas River).

Buffalo Bill Monument and Gravesite

His home, at the time of his death, is located at 1047 North Market. (The home is a private residence and is not open to the public)

An impressive monument, on the high ground of this pioneer cemetery, marks the final resting place of William Mathewson, the original Buffalo Bill and last of the old scouts.

Born January 1, 1830 in Broome County, New York, Mathewson was an adventurer, entrepreneur, sharpshooter, linguist (he spoke 14 Indian languages) Indian fighter, hero and ultimately Indian peacemaker. (A marker at 61st N. & Seneca streets commemorates the Little River Peace Treaty, one of his peacemaking efforts.)

Chisholm Trail Historical Marker

Douglas & McLean Blvd

Wichita, KS 67202

Marker indicates where the trail crossed the Arkansas River.

This weathered limestone monument marks the spot on the Chisholm Trail where the "walking river" of Texas Longhorn cattle met the Arkansas River, the final natural barrier on their epic journey. The inscription notes that between the years 1865 and 1874 over 3,000,000 Texas Longhorns were driven up the trail. For the saddle weary drovers, many 100 days and 1,000 miles from home, crossing the river signaled that the end of the trail was near. At trails end lay payday and the legendary cow towns.

Keeper of the Plains Statue

Created by Wichita artist Blackbear Bosin this 44 foot tall, 50 ton metal sculpture stands in silent tribute to the native Americans who lived and hunted here. Symbolically located at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, the "Keeper" reminds us all that history, like the flow of the waters, is never ending.

Exploration Place

300 North McLean Boulevard

Wichita , KS  67203

1-877-904-1444

Exploration Place, located on the scenic banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita, stimulates exploration in people of all ages and interests in an informal, enjoyable environment. unique sweeping architecture with its indoor and outdoor interactive exhibits and theaters, all contained in a 20-acre park setting.