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Kansas provides a multitude of opportunities for recreation and entertainment. For art lovers, the
Wichita Art Museum offers over 6,000
works of art. The Mid-America All-Indian
Center & Museum, also in Wichita, showcases and preserves the heritage of Native American Tribes
of North America, and includes a museum and a kiva. The Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby offers a cultural center for the High
Plains of Kansas, and showcases the Kuska Collection of over 28,000 pieces.
Other interesting cultural must-sees include the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene, which houses materials and
objects related to Eisenhower’s life. Aviation buffs will not want to miss the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, which showcases 40 planes such as a Boeing B-52
Stratofortress and a 1927 Swallow, and displays numerous other aircraft and engines from various eras.
More aeronautic fun can be had at the Kansas Cosmosphere
and Space Center in Hutchinson, which houses actual former spy planes and an impressive U.S. and
Russian space artifact collection. Family fun awaits at the Children’s Museum of Kansas City, which provides children with child-sized
environments for hands-on learning and play with the whole family. The Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego showcases over 2,000 items in its collection
dedicated to L. Frank Baum’s beloved Oz novels. Fans of greyhound dogs will enjoy the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, dedicated to greyhounds of the ancient past as
well as famed dogs in recent times.
Entertaining festivals add to the unique Kansas culture, such as Dodge City Days, celebrating 47 years of events commemorating Western heritage
with rodeos, barbecues, and other fun activities. Cowboy history is also celebrated at the
Great American Cattle Drive and
Festival in Ellsworth. The Kansas City
Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs extends from Labor Day to Columbus Day and celebrates a
bygone era of lords, ladies, jesters, and minstrels, with a different theme each weekend.
The sweeping beauty of the Kansas landscape can be enjoyed at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This 10,894 acre (44.1 square kilometers or
4,409 hectares) preserve protects a significant representation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem,
which is but a remnant of its former glory. The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 3,487 hectare (5.4 square miles or 14.1
square kilometres) area of native tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, and is
the primary site for most tallgrass prairie ecosystem research; 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) of hiking
trails can be enjoyed by visitors. Additionally, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks manages 24 state parks across the state,
many of which offer camping, hiking, horseback riding, or water-based activities in reservoirs.
History buffs will appreciate many important sites in Kansas. At Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned, visitors can experience a glimpse of
military life on the famed Santa Fe Trail, and learn how troops stationed there protected mail
coaches, freighters, and other traffic on the Trail. Fort
Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, which commemorates and preserves resources related to
the opening of the West, the Permanent Indian Frontier, the Mexican-American War, Bleeding Kansas, the
Civil War, and railroad expansion. At Nicodemus National
Historic Site in Nicodemus, visitors can witness a living community that was settled by former
slaves fleeing the South in 1877 after Reconstruction had ended following the Civil War.
While no major league professional teams operate from Kansas, sports fans can appreciate minor
league teams in the Sunflower State. Baseball fans can enjoy the Wichita Wranglers; basketball fans have the Dodge City Legend and Kansas
Cagerz to cheer on; and hockey fans can revel in the Wichita Thunder.
With its numerous options for recreation and entertainment, Kansas offers something for everyone to
enjoy.
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