Best Museums in Kansas City

The gorgeous,1887 Victorian home that houses Strawberry Hill Museum & Cultural Center, was once considered among the most outstanding examples, of Queen Anne-style architecture in the city. It served as an orphanage for decades, beginning with an influenza epidemic during the early 1900s. But by 1988, the Strawberry Hill Cultural Society began its conversion to a museum that would promote and preserve local Slavic heritage and culture. Available from noon to 5 (final tours begin at 4:15), guided weekend tours draw local to international visitors who enjoy seeing exquisite carved wood, massive stained glass windows and formal décor style from another era.

Opened June 10, 2017, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center is the new location of the Johnson County Museum, known for its 1950s All Electric Home. Created by Kansas City Power & Light to demonstrate state-of-the-art technology, the ranch house features wood paneling and wall-to-wall carpeting, remote controlled curtains and a painting that slides over the television. A turquoise 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Aire sits nearby, as does a historic neon sign from the White Haven Motor Lodge. Additional exhibits illustrate county history, from its early days as home of the Shawnee Indian Mission through its time as an agricultural center to its identity as a booming suburb. It's an intriguing look at one of this area's most popular suburbans.

Antique toys and miniatures crowd the rooms of this 33,000-square-foot, recently renovated and refreshed museum, which operates on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Inside an addition to this restored, circa-1911 mansion dozens of rooms displaying antique dolls and dollhouses from various eras, as well as cast-iron toys and trains. Marvel at intricately designed miniatures that include a hand-woven rug and a tiny sewing machine. Admire an old-fashioned firehouse and fire engine or an intricate circa-1900 stove. Contemporary toys, such as G.I. Joe, 1960s Barbies, or agate marbles, are also featured. Boomers especially enjoy tripping down memory lane while sharing a glimpse of their past with family members and friends. Admission is free for active military too.

The work of modern and contemporary artists from across the globe, fill this bright and airy museum. Since its inception, this extraordinary art collection has more than tripled in size too. Early pieces reflect the influence of the 1913 Armory Show, which has had a longstanding and profound impact on modern art. Core permanent exhibits came from the Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, including generous gifts from these museum founders, plus several Kemper Foundations. Browse oil to watercolor paintings, sculptural art or film and video, as well as mixed media, photographs and other works on paper. In addition, 8-12 special exhibitions, annually, showcase the creativity of emerging, midcareer and established artists. The museum offers regularly scheduled conferences, films, lectures, and performances and a gift shop full of unique items.

Jazz enthusiasts will love this highly interactive museum, which chronicles the history of American jazz and its most legendary participants, from Duke Ellington, to Charlie "Bird" Parker. Sure, you'll see jazz photos, sheet music and posters throughout the museum, plus Parker's sax, and a sequined gown owned by ella Fitzgerald. But you can also test your music memory at various listening stations, work with custom mixing boards, and learn more about this quintessential musical style as you engage with a series of touch screens. The American Jazz Museum hosts numerous special events throughout the year too. They include live performances by some of today's hottest jazz stars in The Blue Room, the museum's own cool, onsite music club.

Twelve life-sized bronze sculptures of players – 11 of whom were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame – populate an indoor baseball diamond at this unusual museum. A must-see for serious baseball fans, the museum tracks a remarkable chapter of American sports through film, baseball equipment and other memorabilia. Computers display 3-D information regarding league history and players, and provide opportunities to try out trivia games or learn basic baseball techniques. "Bat" from inside a 44-foot-wide batting cage, with a virtual umpire, against video images of major-league pitchers, and then learn how far your hit has traveled. The museum store features an enormous array of books and videos about the sport, and one-of-a-kind gifts from caps/hats to pennants or baseball cards.

Kitchen spices and farm implements, fine porcelain and French perfume are several artifacts that provide an intriguing glimpse of frontier life during 1856, from the Arabia Steamboat. Inside this privately-owned museum, beautiful exhibits display cargo slated for 16 towns, which sank in the Missouri River when an embedded walnut tree trunk ripped through the steamboat's hull. More than a century after the River changed course Bob Hawley, his sons David and Greg, and family friends, David Luttrell and Jerry unearthed this enormous vessel from a farm field. Learn about the Arabia excavation during a short movie and you perhaps meet one of these modern-day explorers during Q&A. Visitors can also glimpse of real magic, as preservationists in a windowed lab restore additional items to their original beauty.

One of 14 U.S. presidential libraries and museums, this impressive memorial features vast holdings that include historical documents related to the Korean War and NATO, as well as the Berlin Airlift, and the Manhattan Project. In addition, you'll find documents associated with desegregation of the Armed Forces. Permanent museum exhibits include Truman: The Presidential Years, which encompasses 10,500 square feet and features two 'decision rooms' where you'll learn what considerations informed Truman's actions regarding major issues and events of the day. Additional video and audio presentations also illustrate activities on the international stage during his presidency. Inside Harry S. Truman: His Life and Times, this exhibition covers his early years and family to his political career, and return to "Mr. Citizen." It's a comprehensive look at a pivotal presidency.

Considered one of America's premier art institutions, visitors have also named the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art among the nation's best museums. Displaying art pieces that date from antiquity to the present, its collection features items from across the globe and centuries. Marvel at the extensive Asian art collection, which includes a massive Buddha statue, Native American pottery, Monet's original Waterlillies painting, and much more. The 2007 Bloch Building addition is a piece of art, itself, especially at night. Once reviled but now enthusiastically embraced by most locals, enormous whimsical shuttlecocks decorate the front lawn. There's also a lovely 17-acre Sculpture Park, full of bronzes by British sculptor Henry Moore, plus significant pieces from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

The only US museum dedicated solely to World War I, the beautiful National World War I Museum and Memorial recently commemorated the centennial of the Great War. Inside the unique facility, history buffs and curious visitors can learn about this heartbreaking historic time period. Permanent exhibits that explain hundreds of artifacts, and often attach a very human face to this conflict, include the Great Frieze, depicting man's journey from war to peace. An integral part of the monument, the Liberty Memorial tower displays objects that were collected beginning on Armistice Day (November 11, 1918), near the end of the war. And a glass bridge that overlooks 9,000 red poppies – each one representing 1,000 soldier deaths – provides a sobering reminder of this war's human toll.