Five things to know about Exploration Place’s new Adventure Playscape

Exploration Place in Wichita on March 13 opened a 6½-acre, $25 million outdoor playground featuring 10 Kansas-themed play areas, a massive water feature and towering equipment shaped like rockets, combines and airplanes. Museum leaders say the addition, which took four and a half years to complete, could double the museum’s annual attendance.

FULL STORY: Exploration Place’s $25 million playscape opens on Friday. What you need to know:

Here are key takeaways:

• Admission is included with an Exploration Place ticket, which rose last summer from $12 to $20 for adults and $10 to $15 for children and seniors. Members enter free.

• The playscape includes a 30-foot climbable cityscape topped with a replica Beechcraft Staggerwing, a 40-foot rocket with a twisty slide, a 23-foot rope climbing tower, a combine replica, a 20-foot bison kids can climb inside, side-by-side zip lines and a six-slide hill.

• The Water Play Cascades — funded by the Junior League of Wichita’s $2.3 million contribution — won’t turn on until the freeze threat passes. Kids can still scramble on its boulders in the meantime.

• A new concession area called Graze will serve hamburgers, flatbread pizzas, wraps and salads from its own commercial kitchen — a step up from the museum’s current pickles-and-popcorn snack bar.

• Museum president and CEO Adam Smith said a social media preview targeting Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas and Omaha pulled more than 250,000 views. His business plan targets 600,000 annual visitors, up from the current 400,000.

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