Locally owned since 1993
The Sedgwick County Zoo’s Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley habitat was the second-place winner in the 2019 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best Zoo Exhibit.
The zoo’s elephant habitat – the country’s third largest – encompasses five acres and a 550,000-gallon pool. For more info, visit scz.org.
Wichita’s Exploration Place won a top award at the recent American Alliance of Museum’s 31st annual Excellence in Exhibition competition.
The seven museums receiving awards included not just Exploration Place but also such notable institutions as the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago; the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; and the art museums of Colonial Williamsburg.
Exploration Place received a special achievement award for Innovative Example of Intentional Practice for its Design Build Fly exhibition. After five years of planning, the 5,100-square-foot aviation exhibit gallery opened at the end of 2017 with dozens of hands-on activities related to Wichita’s aviation industry.
The aviation exhibit is included in regular admission. For more information, visit exploration.org.
Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects: Art with Lego Bricks opened at Botanica May 10 and will be on display until Sept. 19.
The award-winning creations by the New York artist include 18 sculptures composed of 46,000 Lego pieces placed throughout the gardens. Kenney’s philosophy is that Lego pieces interconnect just as “everything in nature is interconnected in a delicate balance.”
Check botanica.org for special events, hours and admission.
The new edition of Travel Kansas magazine offers a sneak peak at the dramatic rock formations known as Little Jerusalem which this year will open to the public for the first time.
You’ll also learn about the country’s second national water trail — the Kansas River — as well as the newly established African American History Trail, the expansion at Eisenhower Museum, and the unearthing of a prehistoric civilization in south-central Kansas.
And if you’ve ever wondered where veteran Kansas journalist and traveler Beccy Tanner most likes to visit, you’ll find it here.
If you’d like a print copy to take along on your travels, the magazines are given away at airports and travel centers or may be purchased at Watermark Books or Barnes & Noble in Wichita.