Group that paid for Exploration Place’s new water playground gets winter-day preview
Opening day for the $25 million, 6 1/2-acre playground at Wichita’s Exploration Place is still months away: The children’s museum is planning to debut it on March 13, 2026 — the first day of spring break for USD 259.
But the group that raised $2.3 million to pay for the centerpiece of the playground — a giant, interactive water feature that cascades down a hill — got a blustery sneak preview of it on Wednesday afternoon.
Called the Wichita Water Play Cascades, the feature is a “gift to the city of Wichita” paid for by Junior League of Wichita, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Led by members Cindy Carnahan and Lynn Ward, the women’s volunteer organization raised the money for the water play area in just six months. One of the group’s goals was that members could see and celebrate the project before its 100th anniversary year was up.
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“I am very happy to say we made it with only 28 days to spare,” Ward told the group of Junior League members, many of whom had just braved construction dirt and chilly wind gusts in their work clothes to see the water cascades up close.
People who drive past the back of the playground area on First Street have been able to see pieces of the project emerge over the past several months: A giant yellow rocket and a big brown bison now tower over the construction fence.
On the other side of the fence, though, the massive, colorful playground — modeled after Tulsa’s successful Gathering Place attraction — is taking shape.
On Wednesday, Junior League members saw a muted version of the finished water project. The stairstep rocks of the cascades are installed, and Exploration Place had water flowing down them.
The water playground won’t get its landscaping until spring, and that’s what “will make the whole vision come together,” said Exploration Place president and CEO Adam Smith as he addressed the Junior League members on Wednesday. “But I’m glad we could at least show you a pretty solid work in progress.”
The water cascades have been described as a multisensory learning experience, and those who want to properly enjoy them will have to work together at pumps and water wheels to get the water flowing.
At the base of the cascades is a building that will house restrooms where visitors can change clothes after soaking themselves. People who visit will be able to wear bathing suits or just splash around in their clothes, said Laura Roddy, a member of Junior League who is also Exploration Place’s vice president for advancement.
Ward said that when Junior League was trying to choose a project to commemorate the group’s 100th year, it had several requirements: It wanted something that would become a permanent downtown installation — something that would be “visible and visitable,” she said.
The Water Play Cascades checked all the boxes.
Addressing the group, Exploration Place director Smith thanked Junior League members and said that he’s loved watching the project move from blueprints to a three-dimensional reality.
“There is no question in my mind that kids are going to absolutely love this,” he said.
The outdoor attraction, which will feature 10 different playgrounds when complete, was built in two phases. The first was the addition of the 1,500-capacity amphitheater, which opened last fall.
Exploration Place projects that the new attraction, when open, will help it grow its attendance from just over 400,000 people a year to one million annually and grow its economic impact for the area from $21 million to $66.7 million annually.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 4:57 AM.
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