Must-dos for family in Wichita

Hi,

We are going to Wichita for couple of days, with two kids (2, 5) what are the attractions that we shouldn%26#39;t miss?

Is the zoo any different/special than the other zoo around the country?

Any special family friendly resturants?

Must-dos for family in Wichita

The Sedgwick County Zoo zoo is one of the best in the country. Second best of the more than 40 zoos around the world which I have visited.

The Museum is World Treasures is real cool for young people. It has things like dinosaurs and mummies.

After dusk, go down to the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers for the hourly ';Ring of Fire'; at the Keeper of the Plains. www.kansastravel.org/keeperoftheplains.htm

Stroud%26#39;s Restaurant is in a 1930s barn that was once part of a working ranch. It has wonderful family style meals, particularly fried chicken, pork chops, and catfish.

Nu-Way Cafe, 1416 W Douglas Avenue was the very first Nu-Way and opened on July 4, 1930. Nu-ways are loose meat hamburgers, but really everything there is great. They make their own rootbeer.

Must-dos for family in Wichita

** The Zoo isn%26#39;t much different or more special than any other zoo, but it%26#39;s a pretty nice one for kids that age. It%26#39;s small enough to get around with being totally exhausted, there is a fun boat ride, and they have an excellent petting zoo area. My kids always had a great time at this zoo when they were little like yours.

** Also not much different than other ones is the Wichita version of a children%26#39;s museum, which is located on the west bank of the river downtown and is called Exploration Place. They have lots of hands-on exhibits and activities for little ones, and the park outside is free (or pay to play mini-golf). One note here: Exploration Place is hosting one of the exhibits with real (live?) dead bodies, all skinned and plasticized and whatever they do. You may think that is wonderful and educational, and could go to it; or, like me, you might think it is an immoral, degrading, and should-be-illegal exploitation of human beings -- solely for the profit, not the education -- and would want to keep your little ones as far away from it as possible. That%26#39;s what we%26#39;ll be doing this summer. Even so, the park outside is a good place to play, walk along the river, feed the birds (bring a bag of cheap popcorn from WalMart, or some bread to tear up and throw around ... favorite activities for kids.

** Eating with the kids ... hmmm ... Wichita has most all of the usual chain places. Nu-Way is kind of interesting for oldsters, but not so much for youngsters, I think. For the most part, with kids at that age, we sunk into the doom of any fast food place with a ';play place'; to climb, slide, play in the ball pit, etc. I don%26#39;t really remember too many kid-cuisine spots in Wichita. I%26#39;ll be in Wichita tomorrow and again at the end of the week, and I%26#39;ll come back and update this if I hear of or spot something new and notable. Probably your best bet, eating-wise, is to get carry out and find fun places to picnic.

foot cream