Kaleidoscope in Kansas City-Kansas City MO-Children's Museum Kaleidoscop e Hallmark

The Kaleidoscope Children's Museum in Kansas City was the brainchild of Don Hall at Hallmark, who used the company's clout to set up a new children's play and imagination station in the Crown Center complex. Built as an accompaniment to the Hallmark Crown Center, Kaleidoscope focuses exclusively on children and, like the other Hallmark offerings at Crown Center, Kaleidoscope is completely free.

Parents or an adult must accompany a child at Kaleidoscope, but instructors are on hand to lead families and children through creative art projects. All the materials are provided free of charge by the Kaleidoscope staff through the sponsorship of the Hallmark Corporation. More than 100 volunteers staff the center and do special events. Summer and school time programs are offered, so before a visit it may be wise to check and see if there are special sessions scheduled that a child would be thrilled to attend.

Most children seem thrilled to even be at Kaleidoscope. The area was designed with children's creative process at the center, and staff just try to provide guidance while staying out of the way. All children are welcome, even if they have special needs, and accommodation can also be made for school groups, scout troops and home school meet-ups. Birthday party groups are welcome although there are no food or drink products allowed at Kaleidoscope.

Parking validation is available for 3 hours by bringing the ticket into the Kaleidoscope center for a stamp. In peak times, like weekends and rainy summer days, it may be wise to think twice if crowds would be a problem for children as the center is very, very popular. Most visitors stay for 1 - 2 hours, depending how long it takes to complete a project and tour the different activity centers. Theme day programs may last longer so plan accordingly when scheduling visits.