LIST OF MUSEUMS IN KANSAS CITY AND WHAT TO SEE IN THEM.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum
Tracing its history, the Arabian Steamboat was built in 1853, transporting cargo and passengers down the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. After serving for three years, the boat sank en route to Kansas City carrying tons of precious cargo. The boat sank deep into the mad and was recovered in 1987. An extracting team recovered part of the ship and its shipment. After the extraction, thousands of artifact were recovered intact and stored in cool little Museum in Kansas City, now called The Arabia Steamboat Museum. The Museum stores many artifacts such as:
• Over 4,000 shoes and boots discovered crated in shipping boxes. The display of the leather foot wear made for men, women, and children is an impressive exhibit to behold. • The ship had several imported French perfumes. The perfumes were stored in stylish bottles displayed at the museum, creating an impressive view point for visitors. • Inside the museum are varieties of medicines, mostly unidentified. They include several bottles of Dr. J. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters. • The wreckage of the ship is also on display with several parts including the steam engine. The wreckage gives viewers an idea of how the ancient ships were built. • A Keg ale from 1856, the only barrel of alcohol that found in the wreckage is also on display at the Museum. • Inside the museum are also bottles of assorted pie fruits that recovered from the wreckage. The fruits are said to have been fresh at the time the wreckage was extracted, 150 years later. • Bottles of sweet pickle are also displayed in the Museum.
With all these findings, the Arabia Steamboat Museum has remained to be a major tourist attraction center as thousands of visitors from within and outside the city trickle into the Museum to have a glimpse of the Museum. As a visitor or rather tourist in Kansas City, the museum is an ideal place to visit.
The Toy and Miniature Museum
This Museum is located at the University of Missouri, Kansas City Campus. Inside the Museum are rooms, about 24 of them, filled with an array of antique toys. The museum is an ideal place to visit especially when you have kids as they get to enjoy viewing a wide variety of ancient toys. The following items are stored in the museum:
• Cast iron toys and trains. • Dolls and dollhouses from various eras. • Designed Miniatures including hand-woven rug and a tiny sewing machine. • Old –fashioned firehouse and fire engine. • Contemporary toys such as 1960’s Barbies and agate marbles.
The Museum is open from Wednesday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm.
NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM
The museum explores the roots of African-American baseball players through a series of interactive documents, display, photographs and other artifacts. It mainly focuses on the players from the late 1800s until the 1960s. The museum is housed in the same complex as the American Jazz Museum in 18th and Vine district. The facility is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm and on Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm.
For visitors in the city especially baseball fans, the Museum is a remarkable place to visit as it contains the following to see:
• Twelve bronze sculptures of players who featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. • An indoor baseball diamond. • Remarkable chapters of American sports via film, baseball equipment and attires and other Memorabilia. • 3-D information display on computers regarding league history and players.
AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM
For Jazz enthusiasts, the American jazz museum is the place to be. This highly interactive museum takes us back to the history of jazz and its most legendary artists Charlie “Bird” Parker to Ellington Duke. In the museum, the following artifacts are displayed:
• Jazz photos, sheet music, and posters he throughout the museum. • Parker’s saxophone. • A sequined gown owned by Ella Fitzgerald.
The American Jazz Museum hosts numerous live performances by some of the renowned today’s hottest jazz artists.
Airline History Museum
Located in the historic down town Airport, the museum elaborates about the evolution of aircraft and flights through a range of displays. Inside the Museum are artifacts such as photographs, log books, uniforms and personal effects of pilots during the olden days.
The museum also has exhibits of aircraft for visitors to see. Over the years, rapid growth and changes have taken place as many of the aviation items are donated to the museum.
The National World War I Museum and Memorial
It is the only museum in the US solely dedicated to the World War I. The beautiful museum is a constant reminder of the World War I human toll in the past centuries. Inside this beautiful and unique facility, visitors can learn about the heartbreaking events that transpired during the First World War. Permanent exhibits elaborate hundreds of artifacts that are usually attached to the very human face that faced the conflict. Available are also objects and weapons that were collected towards the end of the war. Other museums include The Kansas City Museum that hosts permanent exhibits features that explain and interprets the history of the City. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art displays art work of artists such as Johns, Stella, and Helen Frankenthaler among others.
