Kansas in 1776

If you were to time-travel to 1776, you'd find that when America declared independence, Kansas, like most states, wasn't part of the original 13 colonies. In fact, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, Kansas was under the dominion of the Spanish Empire. Yet the story of

Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area includes the sites of extraordinary events that forever changed America. In the nineteenth century, the nation was focused on the Missouri-Kansas border, where peoples with different definitions of freedom collided, inciting and fueling a Civil War. The

Ready to grab your kiddos and hit the road? Below is a list of 10 family-friendly Kansas destinations:

Kansas City Metro

Kansas City Metro is a great spare-of-the-moment vacation. Throw some overnight bags in the car and enjoy a stay at Great Wolf Lodge, Kansas City’s premiere indoor waterpark

Opportunity to explore the buried past of Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site

History Underground

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People from all over visit the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic

The Kansas motto Ad Astra Per Aspera (to the stars through difficulties) aptly describes the trajectory Black Kansans have followed over centuries of oppression and hardship. As the Kansas Territory was being settled in the 1850s, a deeply unsettling era known as Bleeding Kansas began. Proslavery

Nothing feels very far in the past at these portals to another era. Engage all your senses as you see planes, a powwow, basketball’s founding documents and a subterranean world.

1. Trace the Fight for Rights

Reflect on a milestone in the civil rights movement with a visit to a historic Topeka

Kansas links political, social, racial and cultural issues that continue to define and shape today’s social landscape. From “Bleeding Kansas” to Brown v. Board of Education, Kansas offers unique pieces of Black History. Each historic site unveils history in a way never seen before. Travel the state