Guide
to things to do in Topeka, Kansas
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Our Topeka, Kansas attractions and museum guide has
21 great things to see and do in Wichita. Eleven are marked Free
and do not charge, although some of those request donations.
| The Belshe Fire
Hydrant Garden was started in his yard by Claude Belshe in 2005
and has grown to around 100 fire hydrants. He has purchased some of them,
but many have been donated. If the hydrant was a gift, the donor may select
the colors it is painted. Claude's stepson, Jeffrey Ard. Free
The oldest fire hydrants in the collection are over 100
years old.
720 SW 5th Street, Topeka, Kansas 66603 |
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| The newest public sunflower farm in northeast Kansas
is Berry Hill UPick Farm in
Berryton,
Kansas, just south of Topeka. The owners of Berry Hill UPick decided
to plant sunflowers to help draw attention to their strawberry farm. The
farm was new in 2017 and with the popularity of the Grinter's
Sunflower Farm in Leavenworth County, this seemed like a great way
to gain visibility. Free
5950 Southeast Croco Road, Berryton, Kansas 66409 (785)
633-7374 |
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| The Brown v. Board of
Education National Historic Site opened on May 17, 2004, 50 years
to the day after the announcement of the United States Supreme Court decision
that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown
v. Board of Education Historic Site was the former Monroe Elementary School,
one of the four segregated elementary schools for African American children
in Topeka in 1954. Free
1515 SE Monroe, Topeka, Kansas 66612 (785) 354-4273 |
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| 2022 is the 40th year for the Cider
Days Fall Festival at the Stormont Vail Event Center in Topeka.
The festival was originally held at Lake Perry, 30 miles away, and later
at Lake Shawnee near Topeka. The festival has two elements. Inside the
Expocentre, there are two large halls of arts and crafts exhibits. Although
some vendors sell their own work, it appears that many of the craft booths
had mass produced items.
Outside there are pioneer demonstrations, animal rides,
food and entertainment.
Kansas Expocentre, 1 Expocentre Drive, Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 230-5226 |
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| The Combat Air
Museum was organized in the Fall of 1976 as a wing of David Tallichet's
Yesterday's Air Force. In 1979 the group reorganized under the name of
Combat Air Museum and relocated to hangar #602 at Forbes Field, a World
War II Liberator airfield. Today the Combat Air Museum has 36 aircraft
representing WW1 to the present day, as well as a variety of aircraft engines,
military vehicles, a simulated field kitchen, a field chapel, a German
POW barracks, and military aviation art.
7016 SE Forbes Avenue, Forbes Field, Topeka, KS 66619
(785) 862-3303 |
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| The 13,000 sq ft Evel
Knievel Museum is one of Kansas's newest major tourist attractions,
having opened in June 2017. A large part of the museum is devoted to the
motorcycle jumps he made, with displays devoted to many of the jumps he
attempted. The first floor of the museum is actually built around his iconic
Mack Truck, "Big Red," which was restored here.
2047 SW Topeka Boulevard, Topeka, Kansas 66612 (785)
215-6205 |
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| The First Presbyterian
Church in was organized in 1859. The present (1884) building is
very handsome, with hand carved furnishings which were installed in 1935.
The best known features of the building are the 100 year old Tiffany Windows.
Louis Tiffany visited Topeka and planned the windows which were installed
in 1911 at a cost of $14,000. Free
817 Southwest Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas 66612
(785) 233-9601 |
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| Great Overland Station
began as a Union Pacific railroad passenger station on January 27, 1927.
Along the way, it survived floods, was remodeled for railroad offices,
abandoned in 1988, and damaged by fire in 1992. Eventually Union Pacific
Corporation donated the station to Topeka Railroad Days, Inc, and the Great
Overland Station Project Team was established to direct efforts to preserve
the station and transform it into a railroad heritage museum. In June 2004,
The Great Overland Station opened its doors.
701 N. Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66608 (785) 232-5533 |
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| The Historic Ritchie
House in Topeka, Kansas was built by John and Mary Jane
Ritchie in 1857 and was a stop on the underground railroad. The Shawnee
County Historical Society acquired the Ritchie House in 1995 and has worked
to restore and preserve the building. It was placed on the National Historic
Registry in 2015. The Historic Ritchie House is part of Topeka's "Freedom's
Pathway," which includes Brown v. Board National
Historic Site and the Kansas State
Capitol Building.
1116 SE Madison Street, Topeka, Kansas 66601 (785)
234-6097 |
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| The Holley Museum of Military
History is a free museum housed in the Topeka Ramada Inn. The Holley
Museum fills five small galleries and features dioramas, photographs, many
models of air craft & vehicles and a few artifacts. Most of the museum
is devoted to World War II. Free
420 Southeast 6th Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66607 (785)
272-6204 |
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| The mission of the Kansas
Children's Discovery Center is to enhance the lives of children;
inspire creativity and a lifelong love of learning; enrich the health of
our community through education; and provide an exciting and safe place
for families to learn, play and interact together. The hands on exhibits,
camps, and daily programs in the 15,700 square foot building are very cool.
There are also 4.5 wooded acres of obstacle courses, hiking trails, an
enormous tree house, planting beds, stage/classroom, butterfly rain gardens,
and trike paths.
4400 Southwest 10th Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66604 (785)
783-8300 |
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| The Kansas Museum
of History features areas devoted to Native American History, the
settling of Kansas, the battles over Kansas statehood, Civil War, African
American History, and more recent developments. Exhibits include a fully
stocked covered wagon ready for a trip on the Oregon Trail, a 1950s diner
made by the Valentine Industries, a Biplane built in 1914 by A.K. Longren,
and weapons. Kansas has been the home or original location of many restaurant
chains from White Castle to the Harvey House chain to Applebee's, and the
related exhibits are popular.
6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka Kansas 66615 (785) 272-8681 |
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| The best free attraction in the Kansas State Capital
is the Kansas State Capitol Building
in Topeka. The Capitol is open to visitors from 8AM - 5PM, Monday through
Friday and 8AM - 1PM on Saturday, with free tours conducted by the State
Historical Society 4 - 6 times during the day on weekdays. The hours posted
above are subject to change, so be sure to call (785) 296-3966 to confirm
times in advance. The neatest thing at the Capitol is the Kansas
State Capitol Dome Tours.
The State Capital Building is closed Sundays and Kansas
state holidays. Free
10th and Jackson, Topeka, Kansas
66612 (785) 296-3966 |
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| The Museum
of the Kansas National Guard is dedicated to preserving the heritage
of the Kansas National Guard and honoring the memories of the soldiers
and airmen who have served Kansas and the United States. Located near the
main entrance to Forbes Field, the free museum is open to the public Tuesday
through Saturday. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons and the Kansas National
Guard Hall of Fame. Free
6700 S.W. Topeka Boulevard, Topeka, Kansas 66619 (785)
862-1020 |
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| The Potwin Place
Neighborhood Christmas Display is one of the most impressive stops
on our tour of Topeka holiday lights.
This national historic district has 6 blocks of well decorated, beautiful
old homes, plus theme displays on the small roundabouts at each intersection.
Potwin has an attractive mixture of Victorian, Italianate, and nineteenth
century farmhouse style homes on brick streets. Free
SW Greenwood & SW Woodlawn, Topeka, Kansas 66606 |
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| Located less than a block off I-70 in downtown Topeka,
St.
Joseph Catholic Church is one of the most visible churches in the
state of Kansas. Also known as St. Joseph German Catholic Church, the congregation
was founded in 1887 to serve Topeka's German and Volga German-Russian (Deutsche
aus Russland) community. Today the parish is combined with Sacred Heart
Church (312 NE Freeman Avenue) as Sacred Heart - St. Joseph Catholic Parish.
Free
227 SW Van Buren Street, Topeka, Kansas 66603 (785)
232-2863 |
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| Topeka Cemetery
is the oldest chartered cemetery in the state of Kansas. The territorial
governor of the Kansas Territory signed the legislation authorizing the
cemetery on February 2, 1859. Other nearby burials from the previous 4
years were moved to the Topeka Cemetery. The cemetery contains the graves
of five governors, a vice-president, 17 Topeka mayors and many other prominent
Kansas residents, as well as numerous other memorials. Free
1601 SE 10th Avenue # 1, Topeka, Kansas 66607 (785)
233-4132 |
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| The Topeka Christmas
Light Tour is updated each December with our selection of Christmas
light displays worth going out of your way to see. Our tour has over 30
displays or groups of displays. The tour changes as new displays open through
the Christmas season. Free
Assorted locations across Topeka, Kansas. |
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| Topeka State Hospital in Topeka, Kansas operated
from 1879 to 1997. The
Topeka State
Hospital
Cemetery provided a final resting for those patients whose families
did not arrange for their burial, from 1879-1954. The State Hospital was
originally called the Kansas State Insane Asylum. Although at least 1,157
individuals are known to have been buried in the hospital cemetery, there
are only 19 grave markers. But on May 24, 2006, two granite monuments were
erected at the cemetery with the names of everyone known to have been buried
there
2710 Southwest Kanza Drive, Topeka, Kansas 66606 |
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| The Topeka Zoological Park
is located south of I-70 in Gage Park at Gage & 6th Street. The best
known feature of the Topeka Zoo is the tropical rain forest which was impressive
when it was built in 1974. The zoo devotes most of its exhibits to larger
species of animals, though typically there are only one or two members
of the species on exhibit. The medium sized zoo is well laid out, and the
animals are in large attractive enclosures. New since 2020 is a walk through
Christmas
Zoo Lights.
635 Gage Boulevard, Topeka, Kansas 66606 (785) 368-9180 |
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| Truckhenge is
an eclectic combination of farm, salvage & recycled art, and nature
sanctuary. The work of one man, Truckhenge consists of 6 antique trucks
jutting out of the ground - remnicient of England's Stonehenge. The trucks
are surrounded by other recycled object art and a variety of native plants.
4124 N.E. Brier
Road, Topeka, Kansas (785) 234-3486 |
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| Ward-Meade Historic
Site has many things to offer: an old mansion, botanic gardens,
and Old Prairie Town (a short street of 19th century buildings that have
been moved to the site). The 2.5 acre botanic gardens are a bit less scenic
then some, but are very enjoyable with over 500 varieties of flowers, trees,
& shrubs) labeled with their common and scientific names), fountain,
water garden and gazebo.
124 NW Fillmore Street, Topeka, Kansas 66606 (785)
251-2989 |
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| 2022 is the 25th year for Topeka's
Winter Wonderland, a fundraiser for TARC (A provider of support
for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities).
Located in Topeka, Kansas' Lake Shawnee Campground, Winter Wonderland runs
from 6 - 10 PM each night from the day before Thanksgiving through New
Years Eve.
3435 SE East Edge Rd, Topeka, Kansas 66605 (785) 232-0597 |
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| The Yesterday's Museum
shares a neat old stone building with Henry's Grill, the Evel
Knievel Museum and Historic Harley-Davidson. The private museum is
devoted to motorcycles. The displays can be viewed during regular dealership
hours. The motorcycles and displays change periodically, but there are
typically about 35 vintage motorcycles, photographs, tools &
collectibles displayed in the crowded rooms and hallways of the lower floor.
Free
2047 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, Kansas 66612 (785)234-6174 |
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