Pack the bags, air up the stroller tires, and get the snack cups filled because there is plenty of kid-friendly fun waiting for you in Overland Park! Overland Park loves kids and kids love Overland Park. Explore all the fun, kid-friendly places that Overland Park has to offer.
Got a dino-lover? Every parent does. The Museum at Prairiefire is a kid-centric museum that welcomes you inside with a full-scale Tyrannosaurus Rex. The kids will enjoy the Discovery Room with hands-on activities such as holding a hissing cockroach, smelling what the moon smells like, and digging for dinosaur bones. Make sure to take some pictures in front of the building, too! Also at Prairiefire you'll find Fat Brain Toys and Chicken N Pickle, an entertainment complex for kids and parents.
From April to October, bring the kids to must-see Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead is a travel back in time to experience life on a turn-of-the-century Kansas farm. It's home to nearly 200 animals (including livestock and birds of prey), vegetable and flower gardens, a Blacksmith Shop, Mining Camp, a Kanza Village, and a fishing pond. It's also home to Overland Park's baby goats! The kids can feed the baby goats or pet a calf in the dairy barn.
Overland Park lives up to its name when you explore Indian Creek Bike and Hike Trail. If you're a family that loves the outdoors this is one spot you want to park the car at a trailhead and just go. The streets of Overland Park are well known but the real adventure is in the trails that weave in and out of Overland Park. Go under streets, over creeks, and through waterfalls. Feel free to bring your (leashed) dog too!
Nested inside Oak Park Mall, bring a bear to life at Build-A-Bear Workshop! With a wide variety of furry friends updated regularly with popular looks and fun movie favorites, and hundreds of outfits and accessories to choose from, each Build-A-Bear experience is a new one. Your child's creation is genuinely one-of-a-kind — right down to a recorded Build-A-Sound special message. After Build-A-Bear be sure to stop by other areas inside Oak Park Mall such as the carousel and large indoor play area. Don't forget to stop by a the food court to grab a cookie from Mrs. Fields too!
Overland Park is home to over 80 parks and this one is a don't-miss. Located on the main drag of Downtown Overland Park, the park features two open-air shelters, restrooms, grills and picnic areas, outdoor working space with wi-fi, a play ground area, including a crawl tunnel, climbing structure, spinner, swings, and water play. You can't miss it -- there's also a performance stage in the park that looks like a giant paper airplane.
Welcome to the newly-renovated Strang Park — Overland Park’s first inclusive playground! Strang Park features a 30-foot tower and slide, a sensory tunnel, climbing cargo nets, and in-ground trampolines. You’ll also find a separate toddler playground featuring a Farmers’ Market-themed play area, a gaming promenade with cornhole, checkerboard tables and oversized lawn chess. Located at 88th and Farley.
Scheels is a mega-sports store in Overland Park’s Corbin Park. There much more to do than shopping. The kids will have fun playing on the sports simulators, selfie stations, and fully animated talking Presidents. It's also home to a 65-foot Ferris Wheel. The rides are cheap (only $1!) and every Ferris Wheels car gives you a birds-eye view of Scheels. If you're lucky, you can watch one of the Scheels' employees scuba dive into the 16,000 overhead aquarium to feed the exotic fish. Is it snack time yet? You'll find Ginna's Cafe in the back with coffee, gelato, snacks, and fudge.
The Arboretum is nearly five miles of a picturesque arboretum and gardens. To kids, it's a 300-acre playground. Let the kids loose on a real railroad caboose and a full-size railroad crossing gate. Model trains run through miniature mountains, bluffs, streams, and a model of Downtown Overland Park. Then bring the kids to visit the frog pond, climb the top of a spiraling walkway, explore a shrinking tunnel, and study fossil and animal footprints.
iFly is freefalling without the freefall. iFLY is Overland Park's indoor skydiving experience. The instructors help first time flyers maximize the fun as you feel the sensation of free fall in the two story wind tunnel. No butterflies in your stomach, we promise! Flyers can be between the ages of three and 103.
TopGolf is an outdoor, three-tiered golf range where the weather is always perfect for a round of golf, even in the rain and snow. Kids can play with the adults and there's even a virtual "Angry Birds" game that will get the whole family cheering. TopGolf is also a full-service restaurant. We recommend the injectable donuts holes for the kids!
Burn off some pent-up energy racing around one of the region's largest arcades. Whether your kids prefer classics like Skee-Ball and Pop-A-Shot or new-age games like Star Wars Battle Pod and Candy Crush Saga, there’s an adventure to fit every type of gamer. And plenty of fuel is on hand at the in-house restaurant – we suggest the pepperoni pretzel pull-apart for kids!
Bring the kids to a day of classic bowling at one of Pinstripes eight bowling lanes. Then head upstairs to the rooftop to play a little bocce. Bring the kids hungry! Pinstripes has a full menu and will deliver to where you're playing. The menu is extensive and always changing. The chef always has some sort of sweet treat on the menu for kids too!
It's the ultimate indoor playground for your entire family! It's more than a trampoline park -- Urban Air Adventure Park has been voted Best Gym In America for Kids by Shape Magazine. If the weather isn't the best -- or even if it is -- Urban Air is the place to let the kids bounce off energy.
If your family are serious game-nighters, take the kids to Cardboard Corner Cafe. With (literally) hundreds of board games to select from, this is a fun spot to gather with kids. And their waffle selection is almost as expansive, with everything from standard, to chicken and waffles to pizza waffles.
Kids and cookies go hand-in-hand. Twisted Sugar offers fresh-baked cookies large enough for the little ones share. Be sure to check out the cookies of the month too! The monthly cookie flavors are always changing so bring on the picky eaters! Twisted Sugar also has an extensive soda list, as well.
Bring your undecisive family to Strang Hall. Strang Hall is home to six chef-driven restaurants under one roof. And each kitchen has its own menu for kids. After the kids are full, let them loose on the Strang Hall lawn filled with yard games and Adirondack chairs. And Thompson Park isn't a far walk either.
Waffle PB&J!? Heck yeah! Chicken N Pickle has an awesome kids menu. But Chicken N Pickle is also pretty awesome at letting the kids run around with yard games, an ice rink in the winter, and pickleball, of course.
Rock on, kids! Rock N Brews is kid-friendly, dog-friendly, and rocker-friendly. You'll find a kids menu, a dog menu, and a patio that is perfect to accommodate all -- even with a small kids play area.
Kaleidoscope, Sea Life Kansas City, and Legoland Discover Center at Crown Center
The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve
Or just ride the (FREE!) Kansas City Streetcar and explore everything downtown! Psst...check out the outside of the KC Library parking garage!
To lean more about things to do in the greater Kansas City metro with your family head over to Visit KC.