KC Insider

Hallmark Visitors Center

Travel from humble beginnings in 1910 with  founder "Mr. J.C." Hall to the creation of our world-famous Hallmark greeting cards and Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments to the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame television series. It's all here! Get your passport to fun when you walk in the door.

Interactive displays and fascinating exhibits make your tour fun for the entire family.

Best of all, your trip to the Hallmark Visitors Center requires no reservations, no tickets, and it's FREE!

* Step inside the creative minds of our artists and writers as they journey through a five-day retreat captured in the film, Coming from the Heart.

* Take a walk through history in our showcase of historical artifacts from more than nine decades of Hallmark history.

* Pause a moment to enjoy (or shed a tear at!) our famous Hallmark television commercials.

* See one of the more than 75 Emmy awards the Hallmark Hall of Fame has won since its debut in 1951.

* Talk with our skilled press operator as he produces real Hallmark cards.

* Press a button and watch a machine create a star bow you can take home as a souvenir.

2501 McGee Tfwy., M.D. #132   Kansas City, MO 64108
816-274-3613

Click here to visit official website

Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway hosts NASCAR’s premier series, the NEXTEL Cup Series. It also brings the superstars of the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar Series, the NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA’s RE/MAX Series to Kansas City, Kan., for an exciting season of heart-pounding motorsports action.

Each race weekend, some 82,000 people sit in the speedway’s distinct purple and yellow grandstand to watch their favorite drivers compete. Another 10,000 or more people watch from the comfort of their motorcoaches parked in the track’s massive infield. The newest of all the country’s race tracks, Kansas Speedway boasts superior sightlines, convenient traffic ingress and egress and a streamlined flow from parking lots to the open and airy grandstand and its 68 suites. The concentration of season ticket holders to Kansas Speedway come from a six-state area with a population of 42.1 million. The average fan travels about three to six hours to reach Kansas City, KS.

400 Speedway Blvd.   Kansas City, KS 66111

Click here to visit the official website

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Belton Grandview and Kansas City Railroad Co.

Come, take a step back in time to the first half of the last century and ride a train like your grandparents may have ridden. Board our 1920's era passenger coach, or our open air excursion car and take a ride behind our 1950's diesel locomotive through Old Towne Belton, Missouri and the surrounding area. You could even ride in the caboose with the conductor or in the cab of the locomotive with the engineer.

The Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad Co. is a short line passenger railroad and demonstration museum in Belton, Missouri, just south on US Hwy. 71 from the Kansas City Metro Area. The BG&KC offers excursions on our line running south from Belton on a 5 mile, 45 minute round trip. We are an all volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving rail travel and railroading.

Belton Grandview and Kansas City Railroad Co.
502 E. Walnut St. - Belton, MO 64012
(816) 331-0630

Click here to visit the official website

Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations Factory Tour

The 358,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations in Kansas City, Mo. was built in 1998 to increase production of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles.

More than 900 Kansas City employees produce the Sportster®, Dyna® and
VRSC™ families of motorcycles from fabrication and finishing through final assembly. The plant also has the unique distinction of being the only Harley-Davidson facility to produce an entire motorcycle, the groundbreaking VRSCA V-Rod®. From assembly of the liquid-cooled Revolution® powertrain and hydroformed frame to painting and final testing, people and process converge in Kansas City to transform raw materials into custom American muscle.

Click here to visit the official website - Follow links to "Company tab" to "Factory Tour" link.

Vehicle & Powertrain Operations,
11401 N. Congress, Kansas City, MO 64153

Call 1-877-883-1450 (toll free) or 414-343-7850 prior to your visit for up-to-date tour information. Tell them KC Insider sent you!

Tour Schedule
Tours are free and last approximately one hour.

Tours begin at regular intervals between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. It is recommended that you arrive early in the day for best availability.

* Children under the age of 12 are welcome in the Tour Center, but are not allowed on the factory tour. Visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library is a library and museum dedicated to preserve the papers, books, and other historical materials relating to former President Harry S. Truman.

It was the first presidential library to be created under the provisions of the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act and is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. It was dedicated in July 1957 in a ceremony which included the Masonic Rites of Dedication; those attending included Herbert Hoover, Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt, and William F. Knowland.

The museum includes an introductory film tribute to President Truman, which leads to the two floors of exhibits, including photos, film clips, news clippings, and memorabilia, covering Truman's life and career.

The major issues and events of Harry Truman's Presidency are highlighted in this new 10,500-square-foot core exhibition. Featuring two decision theaters, enhanced audio and video programs, and new interactive elements, this exhibition forms the centerpiece of the Truman Library's ambitious museum renovation.

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
500 West U.S. Highway 24-Independence, MO 64050-1798

24-hour information line: (800) 833-1225
Administrative offices: (816) 268-8200

Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Open Sundays, Noon to 5:00 p.m.

Click here to visit the official website

Cave Spring

Cave Spring is a 36-acre urban nature center and historic area.

Cave Spring is growing!

Their nature center includes an interpretive center building, picnic area, and scenic walking trails and is available for family reunions, office parties, birthday parties and educational programs.The easily traveled hiking trails combined with the natural features of a cave and wildlife habitat pond allow many opportunities to pursue ecological studies. Enjoy the beauty of the natural surroundings while taking a trip along the Sante Fe Trail.

October - be sure to check their schedule for the Haunted Forest.

8701 E. Gregory Blvd - Kansas City, Missouri 64133-6351
816.358.2283

Nature Center Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm

Park & Trail Hours
Trails are open daily, year round.
9am - sunset

Hours as of this posting - check website for any updates.

Click here to visit the official website

Nelson-Atkins Museum

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is internationally recognized for its outstanding collection of more than 33,500 objects. From ancient times to modern day, this encyclopedic museum is one of the best in the country, offering visitors the opportunity to explore civilization through the eyes of painters, sculptors, craftsmen, and many other artists. The Nelson-Atkins is FREE to all visitors, everyday... come discover the best of Kansas City.

4525 Oak Street - Kansas City, MO. 64111
816.751.1ART (816.751.1278)

Admission to the Museum is FREE for all visitors.
There may be a charge for special exhibitions.

Hours
Tues, Wed, Sun, 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
Thurs, Fri, Sat, 10 a.m.—9 p.m.

Click here to visit the official website

Crown Center - Shopping in the Heart of Kansas City

Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Crown Center is often called a city within a city. Three levels of great shopping and dining compliment two of the city’s most luxurious hotels, exquisite office buildings, a residential community and several entertainment attractions. It all surrounds the worldwide headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc. Bring your family and your imagination for an unforgettable visit to Crown Center.

More than 60 shops and restaurants make their home at the Crown Center Shops. They have several national chains, dozens of locally-owned shops and the colorful Crayola Store.

Regular Shopping Hours:
Monday - Wednesday & Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday - Friday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday, Noon – 5 p.m.

Contact them or view their website for holiday hours.

Video of  Crown Center Fountain- Holiday Water Show

Free 3-hour parking with validation & Free weekend parking (At the time of this posting)

Crown Center is located in the heart of Kansas City at 2450 Grand Blvd. Information Line at (816) 274-8444.

Click here to visit the official website

Arabia Steamboat Museum

A visit to the museum is a glimpse into the past. The Arabia's collection reveals details of frontier life seen nowhere else. A museum tour is partially guided, introducing visitors to the Arabia's history and sinking, with a short video presentation of the remarkable excavation.

The 6-ton stern section of the boat is on display, carefully preserved, with draft marks and some original white paint still visible. A full-sized reproduction of the boat's main deck shows visitors the grand scale of a steamboat, with the Arabia's huge boilers and steam engine in place. A 28-foot paddlewheel turns in a pool of water, alongside the final resting place of the mule skeleton - the only life lost in the Arabia's sinking.

Arabia Steamboat Museum - 400 Grand Blvd - Kansas City, Mo. 64106 - (816) 471-1856

Click here to visit the official website

American Jazz Museum

Kansas City Jazz is a style of jazz that developed and flourished in Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding Kansas City Metropolitan Area during the 1930s and marked the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition style is bracketed by Count Basie who in 1929 signed with the Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra and Kansas City native Charlie Parker who was to usher in the Bebop style in the 1940s. According to a Kansas City website, "While New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz, America's music grew up in Kansas City".

The sights and sounds of a uniquely American art form come alive at the American Jazz Museum. The Museum includes interactive exhibits and educational programs as well as the Blue Room, a working jazz club, and the Gem Theater, a modern 500-seat performing arts center.

Located in the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz District in Kansas City, MO., this is the place where jazz masters such as Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, and hundreds of others defined the sounds of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.

Tuesday – Saturday: 9:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday: 12:00 Noon to 6:00pm
Monday: Closed

1616 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108
816 474 8463

Click here to visit official website