Oz Museum

Written by Leann Pettit
"You're not in Kansas anymore." Well, actually, you're very much in Kansas, but if you want to be transported to Oz, the only place to go is the Oz Museum in Wamego, KS. The museum is comprised of one man's Wizard of Oz memorabilia collection that has grown and grown over the years.

Expect to spend an hour or so here, as there is a lot to look at and a lot of Wizard of Oz history. The museum begins with re-created scenes from the movie, including the scarecrow and the wicked witch being smooshed by Dorothy's house. Then learn all about the Munchkins and how they were cast and how many of them there were on set.

The museum goes through each of the characters and actors, with memorabilia for each of them.

About three-quarters of the way through the museum, there is a very touching display of these very large stuffed Wizard of Oz toys. The display explains that the toys were ordered from a store that was in the WTC towers on Sept. 9, 2001 and sent out on Sept. 10, 2001. Just past that, sit down and enjoy the movie, which runs on a loop in the museum's theater.

As you exit the museum, there is a display of variations of The Wizard of Oz, including the hit Broadway musical and book by Gregory Maguire, "Wicked."

This museum is perfect for anyone who wants a taste of nostalgia, wants to learn something new about Oz, is a fan of the movie, a fan of pop culture, or, really, anyone.

Make it an Oz-themed afternoon! Just a block away from the museum is the Oz Winery, who does free wines tastings of their fun Oz-themed wines, including Squished Witch, Flying Monkey, Yellow Brick Road and more.

Once - Music, Love and a Bar on Stage

Entering the theater to see "Once" is very unlike any other performance. The stage is open pre-performance for guests to check out the set (no photos allowed, and no touching!) and the Kimmel Center was selling beer, wine and water from the on-stage bar.

The show begins even before the real show begins. As people are milling about on stage, grabbing a drink and checking out the set, the cast come on stage and start singing, dancing and entertaining the crowd. As show time nears, guests are ushered off the stage and back to their seats while the cast continues to sing and dance until the "guy" begins to sing and all the other cast members drift to chairs along the side of the stage. During his song, another character appears on stage from the theater and the show goes from there.

This is a fun musical with a lot of beautiful music filled with heart and soul that you will be humming days afterwards. Find when "Once" is coming to a theater near you (or check the Broadway schedule) here.

The Money Musuem at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Written by Matt Rosenfeld
The Money Museum, located inside the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and due to the large sums of cash on hand at the museum, there is pretty tight security to get inside.

However, once you get past security, you'll learn about the inner workings of how money is printed in the United States, as well as destroyed.  You'll get a good idea about the inner workings of our economy and how it is decided how much of each denomination to print.

There is also a neat exhibit on how the various coins and bills we use have evolved and changed over the history of the United States.  Another neat thing to see is how the money we use today is removed from circulation and destroyed.

A few other not to be missed exhibits include a 23 lb., 99.999 percent pure gold bar, that you can lift, and a display that shows you what a million dollars looks like.

As a free gift upon exiting, you'll also receive a bag of destroyed shredded money (which unfortunately has no value any longer). While this is a small museum, it is definitely enjoyable for adults, and would be a fun place to talk children for an afternoon to learn about money and how currency is made and destroyed.

Boulevard Brewery Tour

Written by Matt Rosenfeld
When in Kansas City and the surrounding area, at all places that serve beer, you'll notice Boulevard on tap. This local brewery has grown leaps and bounds over the years and is a pride of this community.  There are a few free public tours throughout the day on weekends (and some, but more limited tours during the week). These are popular with locals and out of town visitors, so be sure to get there early to ensure your spot on the tour!  We saw a few people get turned away because of all slots being full.

For the tour, you'll be treated to a sample of Boulevard's pale ale to start off the tour, and hear the history of beer and brewing in Kansas City and the US.  You'll then view a video on the history of Boulevard, followed by a tour around the facility seeing where they make the beer, as well as how the bottling process works.  At the end, you'll be given the opportunity to sample a few different Boulevard beers. This is definitely worth the time for any craft beer aficionados.

Arrowhead Stadium Tour

Written by Matt Rosenfeld
Are you a football fan?  If you're in Kansas City, a visit and tour of Arrowhead Stadium is a must. This classic NFL stadium offers 2 tours; the standard Arrowhead Tour and the "Sea of Red" tour.  We decided to go for the more deluxe "Sea of Red" tour and were happy we did.

After watching a welcome video explaining the passion that the region has for their Chiefs, the tour guide shows guests around the various lower level clubs/suites.  Most people would never be able to afford tickets to games in these clubs/suites, so being able to view them on this tour is quite nice. After spending some time in a number of the stadium's clubs you'll be able to get on to the field itself and even throw a few footballs.

Another highlight is getting into the Chiefs' locker room and press room - the perfect opportunity to find your favorite player's locker for a snapshot, and check out the pretty nice locker room bathroom.  One of the final stops is to get up to the Penthouse and Signature Suite. While tours can't actually go into the penthouse, you can peek in and get a good idea of where guests of the team owner will watch the game.

Our tour guide showed us into one of the Signature Suites, which holds 32 guests and includes food and drinks and are mostly occupied by large companies from the Kansas City area.

This is a highly recommended tour by us for any football fan!