KCKidsFun

School has finally started and it’s already time to have a day off!!  I just know that we’ll get into the school routine– by mid-September! Record numbers of folks will be traveling over the long weekend, but if you’re staying in KC, or if you’re visiting our city from another place, here is a rundown of activities to keep you and your families entertained.  Have a safe, wonderful holiday!

These three events occur over multiple dates and are worth checking out!

• Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit at Crown Center – May 29 thru September 6 – FREE!
• Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bonner Springs, KS – September 4 thru October 17
• Zing Zang Zoom! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Sprint Center, September 8 thru 12 – discounted tickets available through our Special Offers page!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

• Animal Tales at Ernie Miller Nature Center, Olathe, KS – 10:30am to 11am – ages 2 to 6 – stories, songs and more
• Storytelling with Priscilla Howe – Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, Overland Park, KS – 10am – FREE
• Funky Mama live in concert at Matt Ross Community Center, Overland Park, KS – 10am – FREE
• Culpepper & Merriweather Great Combined Circus, Weston MO – 5pm and 7:30pm

Thursday, September 2, 2010

• Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!
• FREE Family Science Night at the Kansas City Zoo – 5pm to 7pm – the theme this time: Wicked Weather

Friday, September 3, 2010

• Kansas City Irish Fest – Crown Center, KCMO – great music, dancing, a terrific children’s area and more! – thru September 5
• Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!
• Friday Night Family Fun – Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch – 7pm – this week: Honey Night

Saturday, September 4, 2010

• Kansas City Irish Fest – Crown Center, KCMO – great music, dancing, a terrific children’s area and more! – thru September 5
• Wildlands Wanderings, Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, KCMO -10am to 2pm – reservations req’d by 9/2
• Make Leafy Tees – Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, KCMO – anytime between 10am and 2:30pm
• Barnes & Noble at Oak Park Mall is celebrating ‘American Girl’! Join a storytime marathon in the Children’s Department, where stories will be read throughout the day: 10:00 am, 11:30 am, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm, and 5:30 pm. Enter to win great prizes!
• Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!
• KC Symphony’s annual free “Pops in the Park” concert at The Theatre in the Park, Shawnee Mission Park, Lenexa, KS – a celebration of great American music – from The Sound of Music, to the Music Man, to Star Wars and Superman! Bring your family and friends, plus blankets and lawn chairs to the park. There will also be an Instrument Petting Zoo beginning at 5:00 p.m. so youngsters can experience a pre-concert activity where trained musicians help them try their hands at a variety of orchestral instruments. It will be a night to remember! The parking lot opens at 4:30 p.m.; gates open at 5:00 p.m.; concert starts at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

• Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!
• Kansas City Irish Fest – Crown Center, KCMO – great music, dancing, a terrific children’s area and more! – thru September 5
• First Sunday Family Fun Day at the Kansas City Museum – noon to 4pm – this month’s theme: Record Your Own History

Monday, September 6, 2010 (LABOR DAY)

• Santa-Cali-Gon Days, Independence, MO – September 2 thru September 6 – TONS of fun for kids and adults alike. If you’ve never been, you should definitely try this one!
• Labor Day Parade, Louisburg, KS – 10am, followed by fun activities at American Legion Park

*Renaissance Festival image from NortheastNews.net

Have you considered spending the day in Independence, MO for one of your summer activities? This might sway you to do just that!  Yesterday (July 6, 2010) marked the first operational day of the new Truman Trolley!  This sounds like a totally fun, unique and INEXPENSIVE thing to do this summer. And, the kids might learn a thing or two!

The “Truman Trolley”, a partnership between the Independence Square, Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and  Independence Tourism, is scheduled to operate through October 2 (13 weeks).  There will be no service during the Santa Cali Gon Days Festival (September 3-6). Two trolleys can be boarded Monday through Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Union Station for a nonstop ride to Independence (with advance reservations to 816-512-5555). The trolley will make it possible for families to enjoy a convenient day trip to the shops and restaurants on the Square as well as twelve of the city’s highlight attractions without the need to rent a car, take a taxi or ride the Amtrak train.  A nonstop return trip to Union Station will leave the Independence Square at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

In Independence, the trolley will run continuously from 10:30 to 5:30, Monday through Saturday beginning at Clinton’s Soda Fountain, 100 W. Maple, (corner of Main and Maple) on the Square.  All day tickets cost $ 1 for ages 6 and up for a full circuit. Riders may get on and off at various stops without paying an additional fare. No reservations are necessary for people boarding the trolley at any stop in Independence.

After leaving Clinton’s, the trolley will stop at the following attractions in this order:

• National Frontier Trails Museum and Chicago and Alton 1879 Depot (both at 318 W. Pacific), as well as the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, (across the street at 313 W. Pacific).
• Mormon heritage sites at River and Walnut (Community of Christ Temple and Auditorium, and Mormon Visitors Center, Church of Christ Temple Lot )
• Truman sites (Truman Home at 219 N. Delaware and Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, 500 W. U. S. 24 Highway)
• Vaile Victorian Mansion, 1500 N. Liberty.
• Truman Home Ticket and Visitor Center, 223 N. Main (see an orientation film here and buy tickets for Truman Home Tour) and 1859 Jail and Marshal’s Home, 217 N. Main. This is also the pick-up point for narrated tours with Pioneer Trails Adventures, a covered wagon ride.

Residents and tourists who ride the trolley will be able to listen to a narration by the driver about city highlights and watch tourism videos which feature a number of the sites and attractions along the route.

For more information, call the Truman Trolley information line at (816) 512-5555. For a complete list of all tourism attractions and summer events, go towww.visitindependence.com.

June 26, 2010 marks the date of something that could be a unique, educational activity for your entire family!  There will be events that day in St. Joseph, MO tying in with the National Pony Express Association Re-Ride.  The Re-Ride marks the 150th Anniversary of the Pony Express ride!  Did you know that the route covered 1966 miles and twisted from Sacramento, California through Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas and ended in St. Joseph, Missouri???

Riders will partake in a river crossing, and there will be a parade through downtown St. Joseph.  Don’t forget about the Pony Express Monument and the Patee House Museum/Pony Express Headquarters, either!

In conjunction with the Pony Express anniversary activities, The St Joseph Museums, Inc.  has self-published Bustin’ at the Seams, a children’s view of St Joseph in 1860. It is written and illustrated by Amy Grier.  The book’s main character is Amelia, age 8, the daughter of one of St Joseph’s blacksmiths. Her brother, Andrew, age 14, wants to ride for the Pony Express, and he happens to be a friend of  Johnny Fry. We learn details of the Express through their friendship. The chapter book is written to appeal to both girls and boys in grades second through fifth. It is available for $8 from the St Joseph Museums.

There’s an interesting back-story here.  The Museum has a doll club that formed a couple of years ago. The girls in the club, generally ages 6-12, use the American Girl doll stories as inspiration to learn more about history. Amy Grier is the education coordinator at the musuem and she puts together enriching programs for the club, which meets about once a month. Last summer the girls had a camp where they studied the depression era doll, Kit. In the American Girl books Kit is a huge fan of Amelia Earhart. Wanting to incorporate some local history, they studied Earhart and ended the camp with a field trip to Atchison for the Amelia Earhart festival. Back at the museum that evening, relaxing over milk shakes, a book concept emerged!

The girls wanted to know why the museum couldn’t create a unique doll, based on St Joseph history, and write stories for her. So the girls began writing and drawing ideas for a book. They determined time frame, characters, items that would accesorize the stories, what crafts and recipes were needed, etc.  Knowing the 150th anniversay of the Pony Express was only nine months away, the girls picked that time frame.

There are plans for more books to follow.  The Museum also hopes to have a resource book to go along with the set. The resource book would explain what is happening in St Joseph during the late 1850’s and early ’60’s in more depth than a chapter book can.

You can call Amy at the museum for more info, 816-232-8471.  Currently the museum is hosting a special display, “Riders of the Pony Express”, running through Dec 15, 2010.  Make it a day in St. Joseph and brush up on your Pony Express history!  Sounds like lots of fun.