We absolutely love Excelsiors community center - especially because our town doesn't have one. It's…read morea short 10 minute drive and we're thankful that you don't have to be local to get the same great pricing as everyone else! There's plenty to do and the included child care is amazing and ran by a great staff of ladies! My only wish is for a sauna!Everything is kept clean and nice - it's a wonderful addition to Excelsior!

The community center was a great addition to the city and surrounding areas as well! It is kept up…read morevery nicely, and there are plenty of employees around to help you whenever it is needed. My only complaints are not about the center, exactly. Rather, the operations. One issue is that the hours suck. Some of us work crazy hours and need a 5:00am option SEVEN DAYS A WEEK and we are also the same people who need a 9:00 closing option seven days a week as well. I understand the chances of this becoming 24 hours are extremely slim, but, in a perfect world, that would happen. Also, maybe more class instructors? I love yoga and barre, but as I mentioned, my hours vary and only offering barre once a week at 10:00 isn't fair to the many members who would like to see this offered at other days/times. All around, I love being a member and enjoy my time each day. I just wish the hours were better (seriously, extend the weekend hours!!) and the class options were a little more understanding.

The Noland House serves as an annex to the Truman Home located across the street…read more Owned by Harry's relatives, it is free to enter and look at the exhibits on Harry and Bess's courtship and early life in Independence. A good starting point before touring the Truman Home or an alternative if you couldn't get tickets. I enjoyed the short film of daughter Margaret interviewing her parents. There are public restrooms and it's the perfect place to get out of the weather prior to crossing the street for a tour.

Nothing but an old house that had slaves. Independence wants to hide their past. Don't let this…read moretown fool you. I can see this house from my house.

Beautiful memorial to those who gave their lives during WWI. This is a hidden gem in Kansas City…read more Although the Liberty Memorial is KC's most popular war memorial, this one shouldn't be overlooked. The memorial was inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was constructed in the 1920s for members of the Rosedale community that died overseas. It was refurbished in the 1980s, and a few years later another memorial plaque was added with names of veterans from later wars. The memorial also offers a nice view of the downtown skyline. Also, there's a trail near the arch that looks pretty neat. It's not paved or really even a very clear path, but that makes it fun. A nice piece of nature right near downtown. I visited the memorial arch the day after the 2015 terrorist attacks in France. It was amazing to see the memorial and realize that it is a symbol of the US, and Kansas City, supporting our friends overseas when they need it the most.

I've passed by the "Memorial Arch" sign a billion times while visiting my dad at KU Medical for the…read morelast 6 months. I finally decided to stop for a visit and boy is it ever worth it! Gorgeous war memorial in a most unexpected location. What I didn't like was the lack of directions to once you turn off Southwest or Rainbow. I had to do a turnaround to find the park entrance.

The event schedule is tops and the activities are endless! So much to see and do from the…read morecomputers, the movie rentals, the box of free books at the entrance, the book sales, the book readings, the game nights, the trivia, the puzzle races, and such a great selection of reads! The NEXT app book search is super simple and book holds get to booner in just a matter of days. Very clean, very lovely staff and an overall gem in Bonner Springs!

I stopped into this library with my grandson and we went to the children's section. I really liked…read morethis library because it has a homey small town feel to it with a lovely children's section. For a city library, they had a great selection of books. My grandson really enjoyed all the play/learning areas they had set up. They have a cute room dedicated for story time and it was going on already when we arrived so we did not join it. But the residents of Bonner Springs have a gem in their midst with their local library.

Special attachment to this community center since we threw a huge reception dinner here for our…read morewedding. Due to time constraints and a lack of available facilities in KC at the time, we really didn't have much of a choice but to pick a gym, clean the heck out of it, and do some extremely creative decorating. The rental was very reasonable and the staff was totally amazing. My only negative thought is that the place is showing it's age and can use some renovations.

I've never been here before and was only here for about an hour, but the staff was very friendly…read moreand helpful.

I haven't been to this library for many years and it's an older library but I love that the kids…read moresection it downstairs and it's large. The library is clean, quiet and relaxing and has a good selection of items to check out. The staff was pleasant also.

The only reason I'm not going 5 stars is because this library branch is a bit old and dated looking…read moreand is in desperate need of a facelift. Its not dirty though- in fact it's very clean and well-maintained, it's just old. It has everything you could possibly want in a library. Super nice, helpful staff, easy to navigate, huge children's area, 3 easy self-checkout areas, and 2 return areas. I do wish there was a drive thru return, though, for bad weather days or when the parking lot is at capacity. The parking lot is pretty small. I love using the JoCoLibrary app on my phone and requesting/holding books/audiobooks/DVDs, etc. Most items arrive shockingly quickly, and the app lets you know when they've arrived, how long they'll be held, etc. DVDs, even brand new releases, have at least a week for checkout time- so much nicer than going to Redbox and paying per day, or waiting for stuff to be added to Netflix.

This house always gets attention from people who drive by. I grew up across the street from it and…read morepeople would always drive by really slowly when they caught sight of it. This ultra mod house doesn't really fit into our turn of the century neighborhood...but it defiantly adds interest. The view from Valentine is not so spectacular. It stands out because of its Yellow color and bubble dome. (The dome area is awesome containing nothing but a circular couch and build-in speakers...this is such a party house.) The really shocking view is from the park, 30 or 40 feet below. Anyway, its an interesting house in an interesting neighborhood. One could spend a day checking out this whole midtown area with the Frank Lloyd wright house and Thomas Hart Benton home down the street and 39th street shops and restaurants close by too.

Pampered from the libraries of bigger cities, the small-town library of Liberty was a bit of…read moredisappointed. They are working in an older building with limited funding, so I will give them credit for holding workshops on new technology and internet advancements such as Pinterest. I like that it is part of the mid-continental library system, so a wealth of material is available through inter-library loans (a god-sent with the limited selected of this small branch). Overall, the atmosphere is not particularly conducive to reading, but the hold department does a great job of getting material quickly and the staff is friendly and helpful. Though still jealous of the amazing renovations Lawrence, KS library is undertaking, the library and inter-library loan system are fine for this small town.

They do a great Homeschool program. The kids area is completely separate from the adult area, which…read moreis nice. My little boy wanted a large Lego book that had come completely separated from spine. I did the self check out (great feature!) then got worried they would think we did the damage. I called and they said, "Oh no problem. Can't wait for our first time back this school year!