My first time to this contemporary museum but not for lack of trying. This museum has wonderful and…read morediverse programming for the family. And it's free. The museum's current exhibit is KC native Jeremy Scott (Moschino) & Katherine Bernhardt show thru aug. 3, 2025. This museum is a Johnson County treasure.

It's a charming museum! We had a great, quick visit for the rotating exhibit. The permanent…read morecollection was also really beautiful. Free, with easy parking - just a bonus. Next time we'll plan to grab a snack in the cafe on the first floor

"Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car." -E.B. White…read more The Kansas City Automotive Museum is one of those places where the experience shifts every time you walk through the door, because the cars on display rotate in and out and each one is a "gift" from an owner who decided to share their automotive "sculpture" with the rest of us. The vehicles are packed in ticket and nearly every one comes with a caption that gives you a little history lesson about the manufacturer, the model and often the personal story of how it ended up in the owner's hands. Most of the displays include QR codes with translations, which is a thoughtful touch especially if English isn't your primary language and you want to dig deeper into the details. On my visit, the standouts were the 1925 Jordan Seven Passenger Sedan, the 1929 Packard Roadster, and the 1959 Chevy El Camino, each one rare, beautiful, and full of character. There were at least a dozen other rare cars plus a great display about the former Leeds factory, complete with memorabilia and artifacts that add a layer of Kansas City history to the experience. If you're a real fan like me, expect to spend two hours, wandering, reading, admiring and appreciating what these owners have chosen to share. Don't miss the posters on the wall with other interesting details and history. It's a tremendous time. [Review 842 of 2026 - 149 in Kansas - 26023 overall]

What a curious creation. This place is an amalgam of the collections of the donors, as most cars in…read morethis facility are temporarily donated by benefactors, supportive of the idea of a collection of vehicle history in one place. The cars were beautiful, though if I'm being honest plainly beautiful. There also weren't too many options to choose from, to catch the wandering eye. It feels like it's less a museum, and more of a person dedicating their life to a car club of sorts. This place is a gussied up garage of shorts. There's a couple of notable pieces in here that capture the mind for a short moment or two, and some displays, thematic in nature, are of interest. But, I could take this or leave it mostly. Maybe I'm not that in the cars is the problem. The most interesting part I think is that the vehicles are all donated on loan from benefactors, and the collection changes all the time. The community of this seems most interesting. I felt almost like I was in the cleanest garage of all time, and not ever like I was in a museum filled with pieces of wonderful human innovation. If you're in the vehicles, you probably would like it more than I did. I thought I did, but in my old age it just seems to be metal and glass not long for this side of the scrap heap.

Beautiful building. The main hall is free and open to anyone. Lots of cool info on dinosaurs,…read morespace, and an interactive section where you take a quiz, make a dinosaur and see it on a big screen next to you. Upstairs is a discovery room that I want to like so much but it's just so poorly run. It seems to me that there's not enough staff or funding maybe to keep everything organized and neat so a lot of it is disheveled or there's stuff missing. Worth a visit on a free day or with a pogo pass but I wouldn't pay for it.

Positives: Beautiful building, nice staff, not too busy, generally clean, affordable, some fun…read morethings in the Discovery Area for kids. Negative: I would say that the main floor really needs to add some more displays or exhibition pieces. I feel like there's a lot of space that could be better utilized. My grandkids weren't that excited about the main floor. The discovery room area primarily for children has some neat displays, but could have a little bit more interactive play areas instead of just viewing displays.

*Missing Review(s)?…read more In my opinion this is one of the best museums in the world. No doubt,pound for pound I would put the Nelson Akins up against any museum anywhere. I love art so, traveling to Kansas City regularly in the early to mid 2000s,I naturally visited the Nelson Adkins. Walking into the building was not particularly interesting as the entrance had been modernized and different from the exterior. However,once you walk into the galleries,you are stunned. The overall building design,galleries and quality of art seems almost out of place in Kansas City. Not that they don't deserve it,every city should be so lucky,it just seems a surprise. One special thing they had, that is just wonderful, is the cafeteria style cafe in a significantly beautiful atrium. I took many pictures and posted them of the entire facility including the marvelous food over several years. I have been trying to come up with a good excuse to go to KC for a Nelson-Adkins fix! Seriously,maybe an UYE! Now for "The"truly significant impact this museum had on my life.On the second floor you could walk out doors, taking you into the large atrium that holds the cafe. Around this walkway were many Rodin sculpture. I must have past these sculpture a dozen times on my walk to the descending stairs in order to eat During one visit as I exited the doors,passed the sculptures,I noticed a large photographic presentation. Stopping to look closer,I learned it was regarding details of Rodin's Hell Gates. If you have the slightest interest in art,look it up, amazing. After lunch,I returned to this exhibit reading all about the Hells Gates. Finding out there are only two bronze cast of this magnificent sculpture,I felt I just had to see one if not both. One is at the Rodin museum in Paris. If I needed a reason to go to Paris( you don't) this was as good as any. I'm proud to report a few months later I was standing in front of the Gates Of Hell at the Rodin museum Paris. All because of a visual display at Nelson Atkins... Go!

My visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was extremely disappointing. While the museum itself…read morewas beautiful the behavior of several staff members completely ruined the experience. Throughout our visit we were repeatedly followed and monitored. At one point, as we were leaving through a doorway a staff member who was entering saw us exiting and immediately turned around after looking directly at us. Another staff member approached us in a very confrontational manner under the guise of "guiding" us and even laughed after I responded with "yikes." The micro-aggressions were impossible to ignore. They didn't even seem "micro." The behavior from staff was excessive, unwelcoming, and deeply uncomfortable. It's unfortunate that such a culturally significant and visually appealing place is staffed by people who ruin the experience. I genuinely hope the museum addresses and provides better training on how staff members interact with guests.

This is one of KCs gems - and thankfully not so hidden. This museum was founded by 2 women - 1 with…read morea love of toys and 1 with a love of miniatures. I've visited several times and am always amazed at the popular toys from each decade and the incredible to scale miniatures. During this visit we were one of the first to attend the grand opening of the Native American miniatures exhibit. It's so cool. I recommend everyone check it out. This museum is a must visit for all ages.

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, despite being one of the bigger museums in KC, is…read morehonestly kind of a hidden gem in town. I never went before they renovated, but once they did I made my way here and immediately wondered what had taken me so long. You might think to yourself that this is for kids or on the flip side you might think that it's just for collectors - both couldn't be more untrue. The first fun thing is just the massive historic building that this place is in - if you like architecture and exploring old buildings you'll enjoy that part of it. The next thing you'll notice is that there is a ton to see here, from the ornate details of dollhouses, to miniatures that will blow your mind, to nostalgic barbies, there really is something for just about anyone. I like how you can come here to be reminded that everyone once was a kid and that toys tell a unique story about humanity in their own way. If you haven't been this is a great thing to do on a rainy day in KC. I would recommend it for older kids - maybe 10+ and for anyone who enjoys history or museums.

I'm so glad this place was preserved! The entire farm is delightful to tour and it's great to just…read morewander and imagine what it was like during the height of migration.

I've been here three times by now, and I can't say enough good things about this place. There's a…read morefull farm with a active stagecoach and driver, and for a nominal fee you can actually ride in a real stagecoach which is an experience that everyone should experience to appreciate modernity. The house is fully restored and owned by the city of Olathe, marked as a national landmark. There's a functional blacksmith and lessons on particulars of blacksmithing. There is a wash station, and goats and chickens and sheep and horses and all the accompanying accoutrement. The house particularly is wonderful. The stagecoach stop was essentially like a gas station of the old world, and one would get off the stagecoach, which was like a bus, and go down into the cellar of that stagecoach house to have supper at this massive table with functioning 1850s kitchen that they use to this day to make samples in the wood fire. It's really something to see, and they even have an ice house that they tried to make functional but couldn't figure it out. Essentially a massive building where you put huge blocks of ice packed with sawdust that keep the ice Frozen for a year nearly. It's such a neat place, and the dedicated staff really commit. I would recommend anybody that lives in Kansas to go here and check it out, because it truly is living history.

How lucky KC is to have such a treasure and amazing museum that is phenomenal. History is hard and…read morewar is even harder to convey the breadth but still message it is a deliverable way for all ages. Our last visit was years ago and the changes & additions are just impressive! Blessed to also see the Freedom Plane exhibit that is only going to 8 cities! Well done !

Three of us decided this would be our destination on the first day of our KC trip. We read online…read morereviews and all of us like history, so we thought this would be a neat place for a "quick" visit. Well it turned into more than just a quick visit. The reviews don't give this place enough justice. It was AWESOME! We spent over four hours here and we could have spent more if we didn't have to leave for lunch and a ballgame. The tower and "original" memorial halls were very neat, but the newly built museum is the main attraction. Three levels of outstanding visuals, interactive displays, multiple movies, and of course tons of WWI artifacts. I am a former U.S. History teacher and I learned a lot of new information!This is a MUST visit if in the area. It ranks as one of the best museums I've ever visited.

Over priced and over rated…read more Too small. Things looked old and touched too much. Wack! Don't waste your time or money.

Unfortunately, this location didn't live up to expectations. Having visited the St. Louis Museum of…read moreIllusions, I found this one to be significantly smaller and lacking the same variety of exhibits. Given the price point, the experience felt a bit underwhelming and short. If you've been to their larger locations, this one might leave you disappointed.