Kansas City is famous for its mouthwatering barbecue, celebrated jazz history and shimmering fountains, but its best kept secret? The acclaimed museums that call Kansas City home. History, sports, art, food — KC’s museums cover it all. 

And each year, these cultural institutions find new ways for visitors to engage, explore and educate with major expansions, special exhibits and unique events. Here are the latest updates from Kansas City’s museums.

National WWI Museum and Memorial

This summer, the National WWI Museum and Memorial wrapped up three-year project to reinvigorate its galleries, lower level and open storage. The newest exhibit, “Encounters,” uses cutting-edge visual storytelling to share personal narratives from the Great War. The museum has also recently created a replica field hospital and added new interactive screens, films, special effects and more.

To celebrate, the musuem is offering a discount this summer for local residents. From June 1 to Sept. 1, 2025, residents in the six counties surrounding Kansas City can save with a special $10 all-acess ticket. Proof of residency is required.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

New this summer, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s latest exhibit celebrates the league’s greates managers and executives who are often overlooked. It coincides with the 50th anniversary of Frank Robinson becoming the first fulltime African American manager in MLB history in 1975. Great managers like Vic Harris, Rube Foster, KC’s own Buck O’Neil, Candy Jim Taylor, C.I. Taylor and a host of others are featured in the museum’s new exhibition.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is also planning a $30 million expansion in the 18th & Vine District. The 30,000-square-foot museum expansion will allow room for new collections and expanded exhibits, plus a sports science center, research library, technology center, event spaces and more.  

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is showcasing two special exhibits this year. For the first time since 1965, the Nelson is displaying the largest collection in the world of John Smart’s portrait miniatures. “John Smart: Virtuoso in Miniature” includes signed and dated pieces from nearly every year the artist worked from 1760-1811.

“Survival of the Fittest” is the museum’s first-ever exhibit of wildlife and wilderness art. Visitors can grab a Field Guide to explore the exhibit and complete activities. Take that completed guide to the Museum Store for a limited-edition patch to mark your adventures.

Looking to the future, museum leaders are planning an impressive $170 million expansion. Over 180 architecture firms from across six continents applied to lead the project, and museum officials, with input from Kansas City-area art enthusiasts, selected the winning design this spring. The plan centers the museum’s campus around the 22-acre sculpture park, with new spaces for education, performance, events and dining.

Museum of BBQ

The world’s first Museum of BBQ just opened its doors at Kansas City’s Crown Center this spring and is already garnering international headlines. Visitors can get lost in the sauce as they explore the different elements and regions of barbecue. And a visit wouldn’t be complete without raising the Mustard Belt and jumping in the Bean Pit. Before leaving, guests can grab some museum swag and barbecue supplies for their next smoky creation.

National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

Kansas City is home to one of the most extensive “Star Wars” collections, now on exhibit at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. Local collector Duncann Jenkins’s memorabilia is usually housed in a private building; now he’s bringing some of it to the museum for a “The Nostalgia Awakens” exhibit and three public events.

This summer, the museum also won an Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History for a previous exhibit. “Portraits of Childhood: Black Dolls from the Collection of Deborah Neff” featured 135 handmade Black dolls from 1850-1940, as well as almost 60 photographs and paintings.

Museum of Kansas City

The Kansas City Museum celebrated its 85th anniversary with a subtle but poignant change. The city museum is now known as the Museum of Kansas City, embracing a broader vision of the past, present and future.

The museum is also continuing its restoration and rehabilitation of the entire campus, which was once the estate of lumber baron Robert A. Long. Up next in the renovation are the Carriage House, Lodge, Carpenter’s Shed and Conservatory. The work will include a new weathervane, a SkySpace and the JewelHouse.

Union Station

It’s a moment in history that has captivated and fascinated generations, inspiring books, films and museums. Now the world-class exhibit “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” is coming to Kansas City’s Union Station this fall.

Visitors will be able to board the luxurious ship via a recreation of maiden voyage dock in England and then set sail while exploring recreated Titanic rooms. The exhibit will include more than 200 artifacts and even allows visitors to board a lifeboat as they witness the Titanic’s final moments. In the final room, with an additional ticket, guests can journey to the Titanic wreck site via virtual reality.

Kemper Musuem of Contemporary Art

Exploring music through modern art appears to be a major theme of the latest exhibits at the Kemper Museum. “Riffs on Real Time” explores the possibilities of riffing and the power of music. Meanwhile, “Stan Douglas: Metronome” looks at the three of the artist’s major video works each focused on music as a metaphor for social and political conditions.

Don’t forget to stop at Oil on Linen, the museum’s rejuvenated cafe that just reopened last fall with a new chef, a new menu and a new aesthetic.

The Rabbit hOle

The Rabbit hOle, North Kansas City’s new children’s literature museum, continues to expand. New this summer, visitors will find a cover-to-cover immersive experience based on Tomi Ungerer’s “The Three Robbers.” The museum also opened an exhibit exploring Kevin Henkes’ “My Garden” and “Kittens First Full Moon” and is working on one for “Beautiful Blackbird” by Ashley Bryan. 

Regnier Family Wonderscope Children’s Museum

There’s a new exhibit to explore outside at Wonderscope in south Kansas City! The children’s museum recently opened a new Pollination Station meant to help everyone learn more about some of the beneficial bugs in the environment. Kids can dress up as bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects, move fuzzy “pollen” to oversized sunflowers and see how the pollination process works.

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

What happens when a fashion designer and contemporary artist team up? It’s “A Match Made in Heaven.” That’s the name of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art’s extravagent exhibit showcasing the work of KC native and designer Jeremy Scott and St. Louis native and artist Katherine Bernhardt. 

The Overland Park art museum is also featuring a unique installation meant to inspire curiosity and conversation. “Amy Kligman: The Salon for Possible Futures” might look like a living room, but it’s also an art exhibit, a think tank and more. There are themes and prompts embedded throughout the room’s design, and visitors are encouraged to immerse themselves in the space — open drawers, read and write, discover secrets, sit with your thoughts. 

Shawnee Town 1929 Museum

Shawnee Town 1929 is now home to a new chapel and event space. The 1,800-square-foot chapel opened this spring at the historic site, which is a living timecapsule of Johnson County life nearly a century ago. Although the chapel, available to rent for weddings and small events, is new to the area, many of its contents date back to the 1920s, including stained glass and pews from other churches of the time period.