Old Cowtown Museum

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For the next visit in the Family Fun Series, my brother and I took our families to Old Cowtown Museum. It’s been a few decades since I last stopped by and actually toured the place. When the suggestion came up to check it out, I was game. For those unfamiliar with it, Old Cowtown Museum is a mixture of historic buildings and artifacts representing 1870s life.

We thought maybe this would be a fun way to teach a few kids under the age of six to appreciate the standard of living they’ve become accustomed to. Nope. Instead, it turned out to be a day of walking in and out of buildings, purchasing toys and candy and running around all over the place. The end result was a few tired kids who took long naps.

The beauty of Cowtown is it goes beyond your typical museum. It’s essentially a lifelike setup of how life was back in the 1800’s. Cowtown’s unique programming tells the story of Wichita’s transformation from a frontier settlement to a cattle town to an agricultural and manufacturing area. It essentially shows people what life was like back then with real buildings, furnishings, artifacts and actors who help tell the story. There truly is nothing like it in Wichita.

Entry was very affordable at $9 per adult and free for kids 4 and under.

Once you enter, you’re taken right to life in the 1800’s. Here’s a visual look at our travels around Cowtown.

As we walked from building to building, there would occasionally be actors inside who would tell stories of when a house was built or what life was like. The kid’s two favorite actors included one gentleman who talked about horseshoes and even gave the kids a horseshoe to take home. Then there was another man with two whips making snap noises the kids enjoyed.

Our daughter loves “horseys” as she calls them and couldn’t help but follow it around. It had a name too…. Gus… the horsey.

There was a little snack shop inside that had baked goods, but the kids were more enamored with the hand knit animals. Yes, there was a hand knit “horsey” that my daughter just had to have. Seven dollars later and it’s somewhere lying around the house, forgotten about. Keep in mind, it’s cash only in the shop.

The kids had a fantastic time. It was a great way for them to walk around and roam wherever their heart desired. They walked in and out of so many buildings and did not complain once about it. I think they enjoyed being out of the house and the freedom of a big open space to explore.

The Old Cowtown Museum is located at 1865 W. Museum Blvd. For more information, visit their webpage or Facebook.

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Have something fun to do in Wichita that would be worth us coming out to write about? Let us know simply by e-mailing us with your information. We are always open to suggestions.