KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Looking for a really unique holiday gift? Kansas City can help. How about a stone from the outlaw Jesse James' grave, perfume from 1856 or a painting by an elephant? With so many one-of-a-kind museums and attractions in Kansas City, it's easy to find a gift that will surprise and delight this holiday season. Plan your trip to Kansas City at VisitKC.com.

Build your own Connie
Lockheed Super G Constellation Model Kit

Create your own Lockheed Super G Constellation with a model kit from the Airline History Museum. The plane that TWA majority stockholder and filmmaker Howard Hughes requested Lockheed create in the 1940s, had disappeared from the skies by the late 60s. The "Connie," as it was affectionately called, is considered by historians as one of the most graceful and beautiful airliners ever built. In 1986 a group of Kansas City aviation enthusiasts sought to restore a Lockheed Super G Constellation, finding one in a derelict state in a Mesa, Ariz., storage field. After painstakingly restoring it, the group of volunteers brought back to life one of only two flying Lockheed Super G Constellation in the nation. The Connie's permanent home is at the Airline History Museum but makes several appearances at air shows each year. The Connie has also been involved in television shows and movies such as, "Ace Ventura-When Nature Calls" and the 2004 blockbuster about Howard Hughes, "The Aviator." Product: Lockheed Super G Constellation Model Kit
Price: $15
Where to Purchase: Airline History Museum, Hangar 9, 201 NW Lou Holland Drive, Kansas City, Mo., 816-421-3401. Or online at www.airlinehistorymuseum.com

Hot jazz for the cool holiday season
Holiday Jazz CD and Coffee Mug

Heat up the holiday season with fiery jazz from the legendary Jay McShann and several Kansas City musicians in their collaboration, "Warm Christmas," which recaptures the sound that was, and is, Kansas City-style jazz. A portion of the CD's sales benefit Project Warmth, which provides food, clothing, blankets money to Kansas City area residents in need this winter. You'll also want to pick up an American Jazz Museum or Blue Room coffee mug to enjoy a hot drink while listening to Kansas City jazz.
Product: "Warm Christmas" CD and American Jazz Museum or Blue Room Coffee Mug
Price: CD $15.97; Coffee Mug $10.95
Where to Purchase: Swing Shop at the American Jazz Museum, 1616 East 18th Street, Kansas City, Mo., 816-474-8463

Discover a fragrance from a time when the West was young
Perfume from 1856

In 1856, the steamboat Arabia hit a snag in the Missouri River and sank on its way to deliver cargo to a trade post in the West. When excavators recovered the steamboat Arabia in the late 1980s, they found more than 200 tons of cargo, making it the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world. Among the items were precious bottles of French perfume. The perfume traveled half-way around the globe by steamship, locomotive and finally riverboat, only to be lost in one brief moment more than 140 years ago. Thanks to a little help from modern science, anyone can experience the excitement and romance of the western frontier with this replicated fragrance from 1856.
Products: 1856 Perfume, Size: 1/2 fl. oz.
Price: $24.95. Add $7.00 if ordered online.
Where to Purchase: Arabia Steamboat Museum, 400 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo., 816-471-1856. Or online at www.1856.com.

One rockin' gift
Pebble from Jesse James' gravesite

After an assassin killed Jesse James in 1882, Jesse's mother, Zerelda James Samuel, started tours of his childhood home near Kearney, Mo. Knowing that visitors would want a souvenir from their tour, she sold pebbles from his gravesite for a quarter. As her pebble inventory grew low, she replaced them with pebbles from a nearby creek. Today, visitors to Jesse James Farm & Museum can still purchase pebbles from his gravesite for only a quarter. Although these rocks are purchased from local stores and inscribed with his name and date of death by volunteers, they still sit on his gravesite for a while before being sold.
Product: Pebble from Jesse James' Gravesite
Price: $.25
Where to Purchase:Jesse James Farm & Museum, 21216 James Farm Road, Kearney, Mo. 816-736-8500

Find a true animal print
Elephant Painting

Deja Zoo, the gift shop at the Kansas City Zoo, carries paintings by African elephants. Kansas City Zoo elephants create works of art by grasping a brush dipped in paint with her trunk and brushing it across a canvas held by an elephant keeper. The keeper alternates colors, and the result is a modernistic patchwork of color. The keeper then dates the painting in the corner and signs the elephant's name. Interested art aficionados can also order custom works from the painting pachyderm. Most popular sizes are 8x10-$25 and 9x12-$30. Paintings also come in sizes as big as 18x24.
Product: Painting by Kansas City Zoo African Elephants
Price: $25-$125
Where to Purchase:Kansas City Zoo, 6800 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, Mo., (816) 513-5700

Take home art at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Works by American glass artist Dale Chihuly

After seeing works by American glass artist Dale Chihuly, visitors may add a stunning work of art to their own collection by purchasing one of Chihuly's 2008 Studio Editions, available in the Museum Shop at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. This year's editions are colorful, playful and a delight to see first-hand. The Museum Shop specializes in handcrafted items from artists from around the country, making any gift from the shop a great addition to your collection. All sales benefit the museum and its programming and are tax free.
Product: Works by American glass artist Dale Chihuly
Price: $4,000 to $8,000
Where to Purchase: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo., 816-753-5784

Give a brick of honor
National World War I Museum's Walk of Honor Brick

The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, the nation's official World War I museum, honors those who served in defense of liberty and our country by remembering the sights and sounds of what those dedicated soldiers experienced. You, too, can honor a friend or relative who served in the Great War, pay tribute to someone who has served since the war or recognize an individual dedicated to liberty by buying a brick on the Walk of Honor. Located on the grounds of the museum, the Walk of Honor includes sections for veterans, civilians and organizations. A purchase of a brick includes a choice of three sizes and a special message. Walk of Honor supporters also receive a certificate suitable for framing, featuring the inscription on the brick.
Product: National World War I Museum's Walk of Honor Brick
Price: $125, $250 or $1,000
Where to Purchase: National World War I Museum, 100 W. 26th Street, Kansas City, Mo., 816-784-1912. Or online at www.theworldwar.org

Build a piece of transportation history
Do It Yourself Wooden Covered Wagon Kit

The story of overland migration across the western American wilderness during the mid-nineteenth century remains a fascinating chapter in U.S. history. Nearby Independence, Mo. was the principal "jumping off" point for the three trails heading West-the Santa Fe, Oregon and California. Thousands of wagon trains slowly snaked their way along rugged trails, crossing wind-swept prairies, barren deserts and formidable mountain ranges. Children can learn about this adventure on a miniature scale by building their own covered wagon with a kit from the National Frontier Trails Museum.
Product: Do It Yourself Wooden Covered Wagon Kit
Price: $4.99, plus shipping if ordered online
Where to Purchase: National Frontier Trails Museum, 318 W Pacific Ave. Independence, Mo., 816-325-7575. Or online at www.frontiertrailsmuseum.org

Wear a part of baseball's past
Kansas City Monarchs 1942 Replica Cap

The Negro Leagues were established Kansas City in 1920, bringing the thrill and innovative play of black baseball, as well as some of the sport's greatest players, to major urban centers and rural countrysides in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The Kansas City Monarchs, arguably the Negro Leagues' all-time greatest team, won five consecutive Negro National League championships during the 1920s, with six more titles between 1937 and 1950 as members of the Negro American League. Monarch greats included Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil, Hilton Smith and Jackie Robinson. Keep the legacy of the Monarchs and this historic league alive by sporting a replica 1942 Monarchs wool cap from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Product: Kansas City Monarchs 1942 Replica Cap
Price: $14.95, plus shipping if ordered online
Where to Purchase: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 1616 East 18th Street
Kansas City, Mo., 816-221-1920. Or online at www.nlbm.com

Let the buck stop on your desk
"Buck Stops Here" desk sign

The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, made the words, "The Buck Stops Here," famous when he placed a sign with these words on his oval office desk. A replica of the famous "Buck Stops Here" desk sign is available for purchase at the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum, in his hometown of Independence, Mo. Each sign is individually handcrafted in the United States with an inscription on the back that reads, "I'm From Missouri."
Product: "Buck Stops Here" desk sign
Price: $55
Where to Purchase: Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. 500 W. US Hwy. 24. Independence Mo., 816-268-8200. Or online at www.trumanlibrary.org.

For more information, go to VisitKC.com or call 877-523-5286.

Download Related Images

Photo Credit:  Photos Courtesy of the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association

	Arabia Steamboat Museum, exhibits Caption: The Arabia Steamboat Museum is home to the world's largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts. This image is not available for download. Download:  Click here to request image.
	Jesse James Farm Home, home exterior Caption: The home outside of Kearney, Mo., where Jesse James was born features the world's largest collection of James family artifacts. Download:  Low-Res; High-Res
	Kansas City Zoo Caption: Children can get upclose with lemurs in the Kansas City Zoo's Discovery Barn. This image is not available for download. Download:  Click here to request image.
	Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Spider Caption: "The Spider" and its offspring greet visitors at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Download:  Low-Res; High-Res
	Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, exhibits Caption: The first professional Negro Leagues were founded in Kansas City in 1920, just two blocks from the museum. Download:  Low-Res; High-Res
	Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Field of Legends Caption: The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum chronicles the history and heroes of the Negro Leagues from their founding after the Civil War to their demise in the 1960s. Download:  Low-Res; High-Res