2 new KC spots gain national attention. How do they change museum rankings?
The openings of two much-ballyhooed museums in the past 15 months have enhanced Kansas City’s cultural landscape immeasurably: The Rabbit hOle in North Kansas City and the Museum of BBQ in Crown Center.
But it wasn’t as if Kansas City was a museum wasteland before those additions, offering plenty of activities for the summer and year-round.
We already had attractions that ranked among the nation’s best art, military, sports, music, toy and aviation museums. And that’s not even counting one of the top six presidential libraries (although there are only 16) and what might be the nation’s best museum that isn’t a museum.
All of this according to the experts — if you consider people who put together lists on the internet to be experts. In any case, their rankings (along with the public’s ratings from Yelp, Tripadvisor and similar sites) were helpful in sifting through Kansas City’s cornucopia of museums to determine a top 10 for your summer consideration.
The top two spots are pretty clear, but which should be No. 1 is not. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the National WWI Museum and Memorial sit atop virtually all rankings of Kansas City’s museums. Yelp has Nelson-Atkins No. 1 and National WWI No. 2; Tripadvisor has it the other way around. But the national rankings like the National WWI Museum and Memorial better, so it claims our top spot.
At No. 3 we’ve got The Rabbit hOle. With loads of interactive activities for children and adults, it is a template for what modern museums are becoming.
The rest of the top 10, determined from the most popular choices in national and public rankings, reflects the wide spectrum of interests in Kansas City — from baseball and toys to history and food. A few have free or discounted admission.
But first, we’ll note a museum that isn’t a museum.
In January, Condé Nast Traveler listed “The 51 Best Museums in the United States,” allotting one for each state and Washington, D.C. It included our historic Union Station — a Missouri landmark, but not a museum — as the top selection in Kansas.
OK, these internet rankings aren’t without their flaws.
1. National WWI Museum and Memorial
Liberty Memorial, 100 W. 26th St.
theworldwar.org, 816-888-8100
Tripadvisor rates it the No. 3 military museum in the nation. The National WWI Museum recently completed the final phase of three years of construction and debuted a cutting-edge exhibit called “Encounters.” The museum will offer special $10 combo tickets to residents of Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Jackson, Clay and Platte counties from June 1 to Sept. 1.
2. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (free)
4525 Oak St.
nelson-atkins.org, 816-751-1278
Kansas City’s iconic Nelson-Atkins (the only free attraction in our top 10) doesn’t rank all that high among the nation’s art galleries — No. 36 by Time Out — but it is No. 18 on Ranker among all museums in the United States. It is planning a $170 expansion that will add exhibition space, a restaurant, a theater and more.
3. The Rabbit hOle
919 E. 14th Ave., North Kansas City
rabbitholekc.org, 816-492-7915
The interactive children’s literature museum, which opened in March 2024, was named to People Magazine’s “25 Things to Eat, See and Do This Summer” in 2024 and listed among the 100 world’s greatest places by Time magazine. Midwest Living magazine honored it with a 2025 Best of the Midwest Award.
4. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
1616 E. 18th St.
nlbm.com, 816-221-1920
For baseball fans, this 18th & Vine District attraction is a must-see destination. It rates a mention as one of the nation’s top six baseball museums by AARP, is among 10 Must-See Baseball Museums by USA Today and is No. 3 on the National Education Association’s list of “Baseball Museums That Knock It Out of the Park.”
5. National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
5235 Oak St.
toyandminiaturemuseum.org, 816-235-8000
In its 2019 rankings of “The 10 Best Toy Museums In The World,” The Travel put the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures at No. 4. In ratings of local museums, it’s No. 1 on Wanderlog, No. 3 on Yelp and No. 4 on Tripadvisor. Good news: The museum will offer free days July 13 and Aug. 10.
6. American Jazz Museum
1616 E. 18th St.
americanjazzmuseum.org, 816-474-8463
So many honors: 2024 runner-up for Best Music Museum by usatoday.com, as well as one of “8 Great Museums in North America for Music Fans” by Afar in 2024, “6 Museums That Hit the Right Note for Jazz Lovers” by AAA in 2023 and “9 museums for music lovers across the US” by Lonely Planet in 2019.
7. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
500 W. U.S. 24, Independence
trumanlibrary.gov, 816-268-8200
The Truman Library, which completed a major renovation in 2021, was included in “6 star-spangled presidential libraries to visit” by theweek.com and “The Best Presidential Libraries History Buffs Should Visit” by Reader’s Digest, both last year.
8. Arabia Steamboat Museum
City Market, 400 Grand Blvd.
1856.com, 816-471-1856
See it while you can. This collection of artifacts from an 1856 shipwreck is consistently rated among the top Kansas City attractions, including No. 3 on Tripadvisor, but its owner said last fall it will leave its current home (and probably the area) when its lease expires in 2026.
9. Museum of BBQ
Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd., Suite 231
museumofbbq.co, 816-607-4227
The world’s first museum dedicated to the world of barbecue opened in April and has quickly gained major national attention. The Smithsonian wrote a glowing piece, and National Geographic listed it among seven of the best new museums to visit — worldwide.
10. TWA Museum
Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, 10 Richards Road
twamuseum.org, 816-234-1011
This is something of an under-the-radar attraction, but last year Travel and Leisure called it No. 2 among the “10 Best Aviation Museums Around the U.S.,” behind only the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The TWA Museum is not to be confused with the Airline History Museum, which also is located at the Wheeler Airport but is closed because of a lease dispute.
Honorable mention
Money Museum: Federal Reserve Bank, 1 Memorial Drive. kansascityfed.org (free)
Museum of Kansas City (formerly Kansas City Museum): 3218 Gladstone. museumofkansascity.org, 816-513-0720 (free)
Strawberry Hill Museum and Cultural Center: 720 N. Fourth St., Kansas City, Kan. strawberryhillmuseum.org, 913-371-3264 (free)
Museum of Illusions: Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Rd., No. 620. moikansascity.com, 816-216-7387 (free)
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art: 4420 Warwick Blvd. kemperart.org, 816-753-5784 (free)
Johnson County Museum: Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park. jcprd.com/1836/museum, 913-826-2787
Hallmark Visitors Center: Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd. hallmarkvisitorscenter.com, 816-274-3613 (free)
Note: Popular interactive attractions such as Kaleidoscope, Science City and The College Basketball Experience do not call themselves museums and are not included.