April showers bring May flowers, sure—but it’s still April, and we don’t let rain ruin our good time in Kansas City. Fun is waterproof.
Keep this list of rainy day activities in Kansas City handy for when your outdoor plans get washed away.
Creative Culture
Creative Culture, which has locations in Westport and Leawood, is a DIY art studio with a whole lot to do. You can paint pottery, work with wood, customize a terra cotta plant pot, and choose from a variety of crafts. As we wrote last summer, the Splatter Studios at the Westport location are a blast. In the time since we visited, they’ve added a glow-in-the-dark option.
You can also grab gigantic milkshakes similar to the (fantastic) specialty shakes at The Yard Milkshake Bar in Power & Light. They’re a little more affordable here.
Lakeside Nature Center
On a rainy day, there are few better places for animal lovers in KC than Lakeside Nature Center.
This Swope Park gem—which also rehabs sick and insured wildlife found in Kansas City—houses rabbits, reptiles, and even squirrels and moles. Just beyond the back windows, you’ll see Cody, the rescued coyote, and a birds of prey aplenty. They accept donations (and empty cardboard egg cartons for food storage and enrichment), but entry is free.
We said it in the article on animal experiences in Kansas City, and we’ll say it again here: Say hi to Wilma the ornate box turtle. She’s 86 and divine.
DoubleTap KC
DoubleTap KC, a slick virtual-reality bar in the River Market, is great for one-on-one dates and group outings alike. It’s like a futuristic bowling alley; you just rent a “lane,” throw on some VR headsets, and play VR games ranging from zombie shooters to Viking-themed drum-offs.
There’s leveled-up bar food, cocktails, and a good local beer list. And speaking of beer, we highly recommend stopping in Strange Days Brewing Co. next door.
World of Racing
Let’s stay in the gaming space for a bit. World of Racing in Leawood—one of three locations in the country—has racing simulators with full motion immersion. This ain’t Cruis’n USA (though you can play that at Up-Down in the Crossroads).
Races start at $35 for a half hour. For beginners, World of Racing has eSports simulators play closer to a (much more immersive) video game; more experienced drivers will want to drive the pro simulators, which are much more intense.
Museums
We love museums on rainy days. You can slip into an expansive interior world when the larger world is gloomy and gray. In a city full of world-class museums, these two stand out:
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Talk about slipping into an expansive interior world. The miniatures floor at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures is full of fully realized homes the size of your doormat. Paintings the size of your fingernail. Bite-size instruments, furniture, and more. We can’t get enough of it.
Upstairs, it’s wall-to-wall nostalgia. You’ll see toys you played with, toys your grandparents played with, and maybe toys their grandparents played with.
Arabia Steamboat Museum
The Arabia Steamboat Museum in the City Market tells the story—and displays the treasure—of a steamboat that sank in the nearby Missouri River in 1856. The Arabia’s passengers escaped, but its 200 tons of cargo found the muddy bottom. Over the next century plus, the river changed its course—and in 1988, a group of first-time Kansas City treasure hunters dug up the Arabia in a Kansas cornfield.
The museum’s artifacts, from shoes and china to tools and guns, are unbelievably well reserved. You can see them—and massive parts of the ship—for an entry fee of $16.50. Seniors get a dollar off, and kids get $10 off.
RoKC Underground
Want to really escape the rain? Ride the inconspicuous elevator at 3130 Mercier Street down to RoKC Underground, a subterranean bouldering gym. Despite being a 31-second elevator ride below Kansas City, it’s a bright, inviting place for a physically active date. Day passes are $18, and shoe rental is extra. Read more about it here.