Hands-on Fun At Museum at Prairiefire

We consider ourselves blessed to reside in a city with many diverse attractions. Museums are one of our favorite destinations, and the Museum at Prairiefire fits a specific niche in this category. The museum is inside the Prairiefire neighborhood at 5801 W. 135th Street in Overland Park, Kansas. The building is the first in North America to utilize dichroic glass on the exterior. It is designed to absorb the light on the outside as one color, but it becomes a different color on the interior. It was a fun addition to our visit filled with hands-on fun.

Dino Life

Stepping through the entrance we found ourselves in the huge Great Hall. After paying the $5 admission fee, we jumped in to exploring the museum. Our first stop was in the front gallery where their T-Rex resides. This full-sized replica of the King of the Dinosaurs towered over us, as it appears to be keeping an eye on the museum entrance.

A Kansas Explorer

The skeleton of the T-Rex was discovered by Barnum Brown, the famous Kansas paleontologist. This graduate from Kansas University uncovered the original pieces in the mountains of Montana. A series of informational placards tell about Barnum, and how the processes he put into place are still being used by scientists today.

Digital Dinosaurs

Across the Great Hall from the T-Rex is an area where visitors can create their own “digital” dinosaur. Crystal and I took turns selecting the region where we would dig for fossils, and then designed what our specimen would look like. You get to name your “pet”, before releasing it into the wild of the digital monitor in the Great Hall. It would be the start of our hands-on fun.

Stepping Out

Once released, it will wander periodically across the screen, and appear to be right alongside of you. This was especially interesting when one of the creatures would stop and make sounds. I was able to capture this Velociraptor as it let me know who was boss. During our visit, we passed back through this area a few times. We would find ourselves viewing the big screen, to see what creatures had been created by others. This exhibit is addictive for visitors of all ages.

Discovery Room

The second floor, at the Museum at Prairiefire, holds The Discovery Room. This hands-on area is designed for kids 3 to 12. To be honest, it was fun for us kids, who are a little beyond those numbers. The main area contains five different scientific fields, as well as a separate room for astronomy. The layout of the room makes it easy to quickly assess which areas are the most busy, so visitors can pace their visit around the room.

Meet My Little Friend

The invertebrate area is filled with plenty of creepy-crawlers, with which we share the planet. Visitors are given a chance to hold one of the hissing cockroaches, which is a new kind of hands-on fun. Once it was resting in my hand it didn’t want to leave. Obviously, I am blessed with a little insect magnetism versus Crystal’s same skill with animals. In the Field Biology section we were introduced to some of the larger creatures that call the museum home. A Pygmy Hedgehog, Bearded Dragons, and even Poison Dart Frogs can be viewed.

Virtual Traveling

The Museum at Prairiefire offers Virtual Reality journeys in their admission price. We’ve had the opportunity to experience VR in other cities and know that it usually comes with an additional cost. We popped in, when we saw the door open, and soon we were geared up and ready to go. On a previous visit we explored Stonehenge. Another time we traveled into space on a rocket. This visit our experience focused on nature. It’s worth the admission price just to visit the VR room.

Hands-on Fun Galore

The Museum at Prairiefire is proof that smaller venues can provide just as much value. While the museum is smaller than many we’ve visited, it is just as interesting. They’ve streamlined their exhibits to be more interactive and educational. By including an assortment of hands-on experiences, it draws in visitors for a better connection with the exhibits. We expect to see more of this type of science museums popping up over the coming years. You can bet we’ll be watching for them and we’ll share them with all of you.